January preschool enrollment is decided long before January. When the holidays take over and marketing goes quiet, the families who would have started with you in the new year find another program first. In this episode, Kelley shares how Confident Early Childhood Operators keep families hearing from them all season: they know exactly which spots will open, let their happiest families help spread the word, and use holiday events to meet the families they haven’t met yet.
💡 The 3 Key Strategies You’ll Discover
Count your January before November ends. Find your real openings by classroom, program or party date, then list the families from your fall inquiries, tours, waitlist, siblings and past camps who could fill each one.
Turn your family newsletter into your referral engine. Give your newsletter a steady rhythm, then put your January openings and one share line near the top of every issue between now and the new year.
Open your doors for the holidays and follow up. Invite new families to one holiday event, keep one home for every inquiry, and send a handwritten thank-you note after every tour.
⏰ Key Moments & Timestamps
0:00 Why January enrollment slumps start in November
1:29 Why the January you want gets built in November
2:48 Why waiting for January works against you, and what the data says about child care deserts
4:37 From surviving to leading: a director’s story
5:40 Strategy #1: Count your January before November ends
9:36 Strategy #2: Turn your newsletter into a referral engine
13:13 Strategy #3: Open your doors for the holidays and follow up
18:00 Recap and Manifestation Minute
19:17 This week’s action steps and free resources
📋 Grab Your Free Resource
Download the free Family Newsletter Samples for a ready-to-copy school email and classroom email with a January openings section built in. Then use the Marketing Collateral Evaluation to check your one-liner, your website and how you’re growing your list of families, so you know what to fix first. Both are on the Episode 206 page of kelleypeake.com/podcast.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Clarity Collective: Live group coaching with Kelley and a dedicated coach, plus full access to the Preschool Business Blueprint, including Module 3, Attraction and Nurture Marketing, and the full inquiry system. Learn more →
CEO Leadership Assessment: A free assessment that shows you which part of your business needs your attention first. Take the assessment →
Shine Membership: Monthly trainings and done-for-you templates for the owner who’d rather build it at her own pace. Join today →
Private CEO Facebook Group: A free community of early childhood CEOs. Come tell us how many January spots you’re filling, and we’ll cheer you on. Join us →
🔗 Related Episodes & Resources:
Gratitude and Retention: Keep Your Team Through the Holidays
5 Communication Strategies For Growing Your Preschool Enrollment
💛 Connect With Kelley:
Final thoughts
The families who will fill your January spots are already out there. This season, the difference is whether they hear from you in November and December, from your newsletter, from a family who loves your program, or from a handwritten note after a tour.
If this episode helped, subscribe so you don’t miss next week, share it with an owner who’s about to go quiet for the holidays, and leave us a review. Listen to every episode at kelleypeake.com/podcast and watch on YouTube at youtube.com/@PeakeCreative.