Child Care Rockstar Radio

Kris welcomes two outstanding ladies in the field of early childhood education, Donna Jensen, who owns The Learning Station and who many of you know as "Coach Donna," along with Pallone-Bugeja, owner of Little Scholars Preparatory School. They dive into the hot topic of how to win the hiring war and how to keep, find, attract, and retain A-level staff in today's environment. They each share their...

Hal Elrod is on a mission to elevate the consciousness of humanity, one morning at a time. As a keynote speaker, podcaster, and the author of best-sellers The Miracle Morning and The Miracle Equation, he has helped millions of people overcome their challenges and become who they need to be in order to create the life they truly deserve. He joins Kris this week to talk about his Miracle method, wha...

It's all about the power of play this week as Kris welcomes Drew Vernon, the U.S. Marketing Lead at tonies, a popular European children's audio system that has recently launched in the United States. Drew talks about his former experience as Brand Director at Lego and in marketing at Procter and Gamble, and how it helps him now in his role with tonies. Drew shares why he believes a child who is a...

Kris welcomes Justin Black, founder of The Redefining Normal company. Between his book, podcast, speaking, and mentorship, Justin and his wife Alexis have impacted thousands of individuals and families with the work they are doing. Justin shares his unique story of coming up through the foster system, and how he now gives back to foster youths and foster parents, trainers, and advocates. He talks...

If you are feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, and under-appreciated, this episode is for you. Kris welcomes friend and client Joan Dillon with the Glassboro Child Development Centers in New Jersey. Joan is also the "Change the World Winner," and after hearing her talk about her commitment to her core values, it's quite clear why. Joan talks about the shift she made from feeling like she needed to do...

Kris welcomes Donna Naleway, Owner & Director of Kid Country Childcare, celebrating her 20th anniversary in business. In October 2015, Kid Country Childcare earned the Silver Circle of Quality designation from ExceleRate Illinois, the state's quality recognition and improvement system for early learning and development providers. Donna was also the runner-up for the annual Child Care Rockstar Radi...

Kris welcomes world-renowned coach and author Marshall Goldsmith for a fun conversation on learning to accept feedback, balancing achievement and aspirations, and the fact that we all need help. Marshall talks about his new book, The Earned Life : Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment, and the reasons he sees people forgetting to be happy. Marshall gives a few practical and easy tips to get you out of t...

Kris welcomes nationally recognized productivity expert, Founder & CEO of inkWELL Press Productivity Co., bestselling author, speaker, and growth strategist, Tanya Dalton, this week. Tanya talks about a few of her most successful habits and hacks for getting out of overwhelm and harnessing your energy in a way that makes you productive, efficient, and refreshed. Tanya first talks about why so many...

Kris welcomes Stephanie Parra, Executive Director of All In Education, a non-profit advocacy group for underserved communities and families, particularly the Latino communities. Stephanie talks about All In's mission to focus on closing the performance gap of Latino students and the Latino community and how we can help parents be more confident partners in the education process alongside teachers....

Kris welcomes Early Education pioneer Carol Levins to the show. Carol created a school from nothing and ended up with a business that now has 14 locations, serving over 3,500 children. Carol talks about how a passion for learning sparked her path in education, how she crafted her teaching positions to elevate her teachers and keep them for 20‒35 years, how her door to door marketing led her to get...

Christine McNally is a heartfelt leader and educator in our space and has been doing childcare for close to 25 years, since 1998. You may also recognize her from appearing on stage at the Child Care Success Summit, telling her story and sharing her amazing video for hundreds of engaged listeners. In this episode, Christine joins Kris to talk about her school, Under the Magic Pine Tree, a small Ear...

Kris welcomes Dr. Lauren Starnes this week, VP of Early Childhood Education at Primrose Schools, where she supports curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation. Lauren's new book, Big Conversations with Little Children, helps provide tools and techniques to help teachers and leaders overcome the stress and hurdles in education. Dr. Lauren talks with Kris about the incredible growth of t...

Author, speaker, and leader Andre Norman truly exemplifies what it means to turn your life around and turn your blessings into gifts for others. This week, Andre joins Kris for an impactful and important episode about how we can shift our life to be something we are proud of and excited to live. He shares his story of going to prison and how he turned it around to create the Academy of Hope and sh...

Isobel Wheatcroft, Creative Director of Grow Your Center, joins us from snowy Ottawa to talk about GYC, embracing your marketing message, creativity in all its forms, and the elements of great design. Isobel shares how she melded her background in business as a former yoga studio owner and entrepreneur with being a mom and understanding preschool-aged children and infants. Kris and Isobel cover th...

Kris wishes everyone a holiday season, whether this is your favorite time of year or you can't wait to get to 2022. Then, she welcomes Janaki Patel of the Kiddie Academy. Janaki talks about how she went from one person at an open house and questioning what she was doing in child care to now having her dream team and close to 500 children served. Janaki shares the great story of how she and her hus...

Kris kicks off this week with a fun new announcement about a recent purchase she made and then welcomes Jerzell Pierre-Louis, Founder of Sprout Early Education Center and Bloom Early Education Center. Ever since Kris heard Jerzell talking next to her table in Las Vegas, she knew she had to have her on. Jerzell shares her game-changing strategies for upping your marketing and enrollment, talks abou...

Today's episode will get you all "shook" up! It is all about the power of becoming a published author. Becoming an author is one of the three things that has changed my life the most. I wrote my first book, The Ultimate Childcare Marketing Guide , in 2012 and it has opened so many doors and propelled my career in numerous ways. My guest today, Mike Capuzzi , is a seasoned business owner turned aut...

The Child Care Success Summit in Las Vegas just wrapped up, and there was so much love, support, and fun! On this week's solo episode, Kris shares three takeaways from the Summit, from leaders and keynote speakers Marshall Goldsmith, Stedman Graham, and Andre Norman. Kris also discusses The Great Resignation, along with just how many people in almost every industry are leaving to find different wo...

Kris welcomes back Vernon Mason to the show. Not only is he the first guest to return three times, but he is also a highly sought-after influential speaker and the Senior VP of Growth and Professional Development at the Nest Schools. Vernon and Kris discuss the importance of advocacy at a local and national level, building community, and the most important subject in child care right now — the sta...

Author and speaker Mike Michalowicz brings his wisdom and expertise to the podcast this week. Mike talks with Kris about his bestseller, Profit First, and his latest book, Get Different , created to inspire small business owners to get out of the sea of sameness and stand out. He and Kris talk about why being different is the first way to garner success, how we can be less fearful about being auth...

In this incredibly powerful episode, Kris sits down with Shelley Smith, Culture Curator, Author, Speaker, and Consultant. Shelley has a passion for making the lives of others easier and less stressful and has created a world of incredible tools that serve as absolute game-changers. She talks about why culture matters and how to hire the right person and set them up for success, and shares some inc...

Kris welcomes Joy Clore Willis, aka Mama Joy, Director of A Kids Gym in Oviedo, Florida. In between cruising around Alaska and spending time with her children and grandchildren, Joy is the busy mind behind A Kids Gym, where they incorporate activity and play as well as traditional physically-oriented services. Joy talks about the changes that came about when she joined Kris's community, and what s...

Today's episode will inspire you to get out there and be the true badass that you are! My guest today, Karina Wyllie, is a motivated self-starter that owns two home daycares in New York, Koala Park Daycare. While an incredibly accomplished entrepreneur, Karina is still committed to being a forever student in the school of leadership. She takes cues from Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek, The Child Care Su...

I'm so pleased to welcome our new Chief Operating Officer and Integrator of the Child Care Success Company , Tom O'Connor, to the podcast. And welcome to the team, Tom! Tom brings 30 years of experience in education, after-school care, and early learning expertise. He's also considered a bit of a master in acquisition and growth as he built his program to 44 locations across Colorado. Tom shares s...

Today's episode is one of my favorites that we've done. My guest Jody Zabriskie is an Empire level member here in the Child Care Success Academy with 23 years of experience in the industry. She's based outside of Salt Lake City and recently expanded to five locations of her centers, A to Building Blocks, having started from a small center with just 27 enrollments. Our discussion really highlights...