I never thought with all my years of business success, that I would ever learn anything about marketing from any of my kids. But I was proven wrong. My younger daughter showed me that even at her young age that she knows more than most people will ever know about marketing her business.

Here is a prime example. There is a local indoor soccer facility where both my sons play and practice. Usually when I take them there, my daughter comes with me.

Almost every time we go there she leaves with a babysitting job.

I was curious how she was able to do this with so many other eligible babysitters around and she told me how she was playing in the play area (it’s a climbing area for really little kids). I told her I thought she was a little old to be playing there.

But then she let me in on her secret. She said that the play area is where her potential customers hang out. By going in there and interacting with the kids, the parents get to witness first hand how she will interact with their kids. She doesn’t have to approach the parents to ask them for a job. They come to her practically begging for her services once they see how comfortable the kids are with her. Also, some of the kids ask their parents when they will get to see her again. She is growing an incredible business with no advertising and doing it completely offline.

This is the perfect business model and made even easier with the Internet. You hang out in places where your potential customers (i.e. target market) hang out. I usually like to go into marketing forums, user groups (for networking and marketing), offline business groups and other networking avenues. Surrounding myself with these people and making connections is a great way to build up your network of potential customers/distributors. Then you establish yourself as a leader in these groups by providing real content and not just pushing your opportunity and yourself on these people. They will start to see the value that you can bring and will want to work with you. Once this has happened, people will beg you to join your organization and even if they don’t join you right away, if you have formed a real relationship with these people they will want to see you again sometime. Maybe then the timing will be right.

Follow this model and you will reap major rewards.

And who knows, you may even get a babysitting gig out of it.

( What are the parents looking for? )

Many of us are hiring new babysitters as the school season is about to get into full swing. Here are some tips on how you should interview a babysitter, what you should ask for and how you know if he or she is right for your family.

The Initial Interview

The initial interview will be based on your observations, the questions that you ask and your overall impression of the sitter. Here are some questions to get the conversation started:

1. What do you like most about babysitting and being with children? What do you like the least?
2. Do you have any special training or certification? Are you trained in first aid or CPR?
3. What is your approach to discipline?
4. What kinds of activities do you enjoy doing with children?
5. May I obtain a background check?

If you are confident with this initial conversation, you should ask for a list of references and other personal information about the candidate that you may need to perform a background check, like: previous names and addresses, birthdate, driver’s license and social security number, and anything else you might want to know. If you use a babysitting service like Sittercity, they will obtain a background check, references and other information for you and have reviews from other families who have previously used this babysitter.

The Second Interview

Just like any other job interview process, it is important to have a second “interview” with the kids. Simply arrange for him or her to meet and play with your children. This will help you to be able to see how he or she relates to your kids and how the children react to the new sitter. Some families have the person baby sit once while they are still in the home, in order to help a new sitter get accustomed to the family, the rules of the house, and to make sure you are confident that things will work out when you leave them alone.

If you followed these guidelines, you should be able to determine if the babysitter is right for your family. Although it seems like quite a process, finding a great babysitter is worth the effort.

Being a babysitter is a responsible job. It’s not the sort of thing that you should enter into because all your friends are doing it or you just want the money. The money is great but you will gain a lot more satisfaction from the job if you take a little while to examine why you want to do it in the first place.

Maybe you love children? That’s a good start! Maybe you’re thinking of working with children in the future as a Nursery Nurse or assistant, or even as a teacher. Working as a babysitter is great as a ‘dry run’ for these jobs. Children can be endearing, cute, adorable and loveable. They can also be difficult, demanding, downright dislikable at times and totally exhausting.

If you discover that babysitting isn’t really for you, be honest with yourself and with the parents. Trying to continue a job like this when your heart isn’t in it can lead to a drop in standards and everyone will end up miserable.

I love it!

If you do enjoy it – make the most of the experience. Building a relationship with children and parents can be extremely rewarding and satisfying. If children are going to play a large part in your life, either as an employee or as a Mother (or Father) yourself – use it as a learning opportunity.

Watch the children as they play and observe how they reason things out through role playing or the use of dolls and toys. You might be amazed to find that even small children are highly observant of what is going on around them – especially things that they’re not supposed to know about or notice!

If you’re lucky enough to work regularly with one family, watch how the children are growing and changing. Their speech will alter and their physical abilities will change and become more defined.

Taking all of this in may sound like a lot of work but if you just absorb it while you play and interact with them, you will be learning a lot about children just by spending time with them.

How babysitting can affect you.

You will learn a lot about yourself. Many parents say that they didn’t know that they had a temper until they had children! Children are masters at testing you to your limit and beyond, just to see how far they can go. However, they love boundaries as it makes them feel safe. Don’t fall into the trap of over-indulging them just because it is cute to see them behave like tiny adults. They’re not and they’re looking to you for guidance and the safety of limitation.

It might feel strange at first to be ‘in charge’ of the children – unless you have younger brothers and sisters. It’s fairly important to be firm from day one. You can always relax a little later but if you start off too laid back, it’s much harder to regain control.

Having the responsibility of babysitting and carrying it out successfully can be a great confidence booster. This can affect other areas of your life. You may find that you’re not as shy as you once were or that it’s easier to make decisions.

Getting the most from babysitting can make it a fulfilling and enjoyable job. There is a saying that in any situation, you get out what you put in – and babysitting is a perfect example of that…so give it your best shot and enjoy!