There was a week last year when I had to make the math work or close. I didn’t tell my families. I didn’t tell most of my staff. I told my partner and my one provider friend, and then I tried to figure out what to do.
I’m writing this anonymously, but my situation is not unusual. The reason I’m writing it is that I think a lot of California childcare owners have been through a version of this week, and almost nobody talks about it out loud. We make the math work, and we move on, and the field acts like none of us have ever stood at the edge of closing the doors.
Here is what almost closed it.
I was running a small center, fully enrolled. The rooms were beautiful. The teachers were strong. From the outside, we looked like we were thriving. The truth was that my CCRC reimbursement was running 30 to 45 days late, my private-pay families included one who had quietly stopped paying for two months, and my rent had increased 11% on renewal. I had been covering the gap with my personal credit cards, and the credit cards had finally maxed out.
I sat at my kitchen table on a Sunday night with a spreadsheet. I had enough cash for one more payroll. After that, I would need either a reimbursement check, a private-pay catch-up, or a loan, or I would need to start the conversation about not opening the next month.
Here is what kept it open.
I called the parent who had stopped paying and had the most direct, calm conversation I have ever had with anyone. She was going through a custody situation and was deeply embarrassed. She paid the next morning. I should have called her two months earlier.
I called my CCRC contact and asked, very plainly, what the current payment cycle was looking like. She had specific information about an internal delay and gave me a realistic date. I had been guessing for weeks.
I called my bank about a small business line of credit. I had not done this before because I felt it was an admission of weakness. The banker treated me like a normal small business owner. The line was approved within eight days.
I emailed my landlord and asked for a 30-day rent deferral. He agreed. I had not asked because I assumed he would say no.
I told my one provider friend everything. She didn’t try to fix it. She listened. She told me her own version of the same week, two years prior. Just knowing I was not alone made the next steps feel possible.
Here is what I changed afterwards.
I built a 60-day operating reserve, starting with $200 a month. It is now real.
I changed our private-pay billing to auto-pay, and I check overdue balances on the same day every Monday.
I started talking to my CCRC contact every month, not just when something was wrong.
I treat my business banker like a business partner now. We talk twice a year.
I joined a small provider peer group. Three people. We text each other through the hard weeks.
And I started telling the truth, in small ways, when I’m asked how the center is doing. Not the polished version. The honest one.
If you are in your version of this week right now, you are not failing. You are running a small business inside a system that wasn’t designed around your cash flow. There are calls you can make this week that will move the math. Make them, in order. And tell one person. The center will probably still be there next month.