You Raised Your Hand.
Here’s How The Focus Group Works.

Director Zen is a membership website for childcare owners and directors, made by people who ran childcare programs for thirty years.

A few of the highlights:

• Leadership development, including articles and courses, for the person running the program, the kind that shortens the list instead of adding to it.
• Growth Academy, which teaches the thinking behind running the program. The foundations come first: enrollment, staffing and daily routines, then the culture and retention that keep the people who make your business work. With those in place, growth and marketing come next. The goal is a center that runs when you’re not in the room.
• Tools ready to use and customize for your center: editable email templates, the 90-Day Onboarding System (a fully customizable template), staff appreciation ideas, checklists, scripts and much more.
• Self-Care strategies from psychology and the childcare field, written with psychologist contributors, because the person carrying the center is the part of our field that gets overlooked.
• My Community, a private forum of childcare owners and directors for networking and ideas. No vendors, no sales pitches, no one from your own building.

What We Won’t Cover

Director Zen doesn’t provide licensing, compliance specifics or legal advice because regulations differ from state to state and program to program. Which is why the feedback form doesn’t bring it up. Instead, we focus on best practices, the things that help any licensed program run more smoothly and efficiently.

About two hours in all, and you don’t have to do them in one sitting.

1. Look around directorzen.com (about 30 minutes)

Explore the site the way a director or owner deciding whether to join would. Plan on at least 30 minutes getting familiar with Director Zen, including what the membership includes. Start with Home, What’s Inside, Pricing, This Month’s Focus and the Blog, then wander wherever you like. Jot down anything that excites you, confuses you or loses you. Those notes make step two faster.

2. Complete the feedback form (30 to 45 minutes)

After you’ve looked around, complete the online form here: [feedback form link]. It has three parts.

• Part 1, a little about you. Your name, your role (owner, director, owner and director, or assistant director), how many children you serve, how many staff you have, your years in leadership and your years in childcare altogether.
• Part 2, your first impressions. What drew you to Director Zen, what intrigued you most, what you thought Director Zen was before you looked and what you think it is now. It’s also your chance to tell us what was exciting, where the site or the membership lost you, anything confusing or hard to find, and who you think this membership is for, and whether that includes you.
• Part 3, you and your job. This part isn’t about our site. It asks what fills your week, what you’d hand off tomorrow if you could, and what you’d want a membership like this to do for you. It tells us what a membership like this should be solving.

3. Join a small Zoom group (about 45 minutes)

The final step. You’ll be in a group of four to six owners and directors, and we’ll go over the feedback from your group together. It’s a brainstorm: we take what you told us, talk it through and look at what would help Director Zen serve its members best. We’ll also give a short demo of the membership site so you can see the basics. Your moderator, the person who emailed your invitation, runs the session. At the end, everyone gets instructions for receiving the $100.

The Dates

• Sign up by [sign-up date]. That’s five business days from our email. Until you sign up, you’re not in the group, and after that date your spot goes to the next person on the list.
• Finish steps 1 and 2 by [form deadline]. That’s one week after sign-up closes. Do them in one sitting or several, any time that week.
• Zoom the week of [Zoom week]. We’ll schedule your group’s session around the availability you gave us on the interest form. If that has changed, tell us when you sign up.
• Payment within [X] business days of your session.

Each participant receives a one-time payment of $100, sent electronically to your bank once all three steps are complete. After your Zoom session you’ll get a secure invitation from QuickBooks, our payment provider, where you enter your own bank details. Director Zen never sees your bank information. The $100 is the full compensation for taking part. Taking part is voluntary, and it isn’t a job. If you’re outside the US, we’ll confirm the best way to pay you.

A Few Things To Know

• Once is the limit. Each person can take part in one Director Zen focus group, so this is a one-time invitation.
• You can step back at any time. Email your moderator and we’ll take you off the list, no explanation needed. Payment is only sent once all three steps are finished.
• We record the Zoom session so we can take accurate notes. The recording stays with us and isn’t published.
• If you miss your Zoom session, your participation ends and no payment is owed, unless there’s a significant reason. If there is, reach out to your moderator, and we’ll try to place you in another group if one is available. If no group is available and the reason is legitimate, you may receive half the payment ($50).
• Your feedback isn’t confidential. What you share in the form and on Zoom may be used to create content and improve the site. This is the same thing you agreed to on the interest form.
• Questions? Reply to your invitation email, or write to mick@directorzen.com.