Child Care Rockstar Radio

We are pleased to bring you an episode focused on professional development with my wonderful guest Maria Taylor. Maria truly knows the child care industry inside and out as a 30-year veteran and CEO of ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI). CCEI is one of our newest partners and you'll soon see me on their platform teaching about marketing and other topics. Also, they are the sponsor of our (drumro...

In today's episode, I am pleased to share the positivity and inspiration of Mallorie Malloy-Coe. Mallorie is a childcare veteran, joining the industry when she was only 14, and the owner and founder of Inheritance Academy in Baltimore. She talks to us about her core values which she refers to as "SEED," branding, attracting and retaining the right people, her unique events, building culture, her s...

I am overjoyed and honored to bring you this episode today with one of the top entrepreneurial coaches in the world, best-selling author and speaker Cameron Herold. He has been coaching clients across the globe for 30 years to become multimillion-dollar businesses and is most notably behind the growth of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? He is also the founder of the wildly successful COO Alliance. Cameron has been...

I am so excited to welcome our guest today who has over FOUR DECADES of experience in early childhood education. Alix Hall has seven centers in California, Discovery Tree and Arista Schools, and is also partnered with Child Care Business Coach Rachel Supalla on multiple Montana locations of Discovery KidZone. Alix has developed a leadership style focused on uplifting women, promoting from within,...

We did it! We made it to Episode 100! For this milestone episode, I am ecstatic to welcome Ali Brown to the podcast. Ali is one of the top female entrepreneurs and coaches in the world and host of the very successful podcast "Glambition Radio." Ali also founded the emerging coaching and mastermind group, The Trust, which I am honored to be a member of. She provides some incredible insights around...

In this episode, I am so happy to be joined by the wonderful Brittney Luther. Brittney is an early childhood education leader, owner of two  Young Sprouts  locations in Texas, and an Empire member in our Child Care Success Academy. During our time together, she shares so many valuable nuggets of knowledge and strategies that she's learned throughout her journey in the ECE industry that she accredi...

In today's episode, I'm joined by the incredible Lori Buxton — the managing director of the Association for Early Learning Leaders . Lori has been involved in early care and education in many different facets since 1995, and she is just so passionate about what she does. Lori is a national speaker and training specialist who brings her leadership advice and enthusiasm to thousands. We talk about c...

I am thrilled to welcome Danielle Paige back to the podcast! She first appeared in episode 60 and today we are going to talk all about licensing. Danielle now owns two centers, Academic Explorers , in New York and she talks us through how she expanded to her second location. She shares some of the challenges she overcame during licensing, what she might have done differently, how she chose her sec...

In this new episode, I am joined by Jamarrion Tabor of Madalyn's House Childcare in Georgia. I couldn't think of a more heartfelt, fun, and creative thinker to speak to than Jamarrion. She is bringing her vision of high-quality early child care and education to inner-city, minority, and underserved children, as well as single parents. She tells us about her background in the inner city, her approa...

Kris digs in this week to recap the crazy year of 2020 and reflect on her biggest accomplishments and challenges, both personally and professionally. She gives a roundup of the best moments of 2020, the top three insights from the year that we can take into 2021 and beyond, and even shares something controversial as well. This has been a year of strength, innovation, and challenge for many of us,...

Mecca Johnson is an incredible and heartfelt speaker, trainer, and founder of the professional development consulting company My Joy Speaks . Her long and very successful career in early childhood education with Primrose Schools plus corporate experience led her to develop The Five Guardians of Life, which she shares in this week's episode. Mecca and Kris also talk about finding gratitude in times...

I am thrilled to have Bari Baumgardner on the podcast to share her truly inspiring journey. Bari is the founder of SAGE Event Management ; a boutique event production company best known for creating a purpose-driven payday for speakers, authors, and influencers with her "Sales IS Service" approach. If you're ready to take your own personal leap, this episode will really resonate with you. Get read...

This week I am joined by rockstar Rachel Supalla. Rachel is a multi-site owner of Discovery Kidzone in Montana as well as one of the newest coaches here at The Child Care Success Company . She has shared her expertise as a national speaker at Association for Early Learning Leaders , NAEYC , and more. We dive into Rachel's unique strengths, her creative quest to culture building (and budgeting!), a...

This week Kris is joined by Chantel and Zack Pettengill; a husband-wife duo and owners of the Pettengill Academy in Maine.  They placed second in our Child Care Rockstar 2020 contest and have managed to keep their center nearly full during the pandemic. They also talk about overcoming the pitfalls they've had from licensing, parents, social media, and more that almost shut their doors.   Key Takea...

In this episode, Kris is joined by the mother-daughter team and owners of Kids In Action , Heather Jensen and Diane Havens, located in Kingwood Texas. They share their stories of having a business survive two natural disasters, how they were able to still stay positive, and the importance of building strong relationships. Because of their strength and resilience, they were crowned this year's winn...

Child Care Rockstar returns this week for the first time since the Child Care Success Summit.  Kris is joined by Jim Dew, CEO of Dew Wealth Management and creator of the Functional Wealth Management process. Jim has 23 years of experience building wealth management for entrepreneurs and has been featured in Inc ., Entrepreneur , Huffington Post, and more. He is also a sought-after speaker and auth...

This week, Kris is joined by Brian Duprey, Certified Child Care Coach and the Director of Business Development at The Child Care Success Company. He is a 20-year veteran who came to his first Child Care Success Summit in 2015 and became a coach in 2017. Last year, Brian wrote his first book, Child Care Millionaire, for early childhood business owners wanting to grow their business into a (multi) m...

Kris couldn't think of a better time to bring in the wonderful Dr. Nefertiti Poyner, to talk about resilience and the right protective factors that will serve us through the storms of life. In this episode, Dr. Poyner shares her unique insights for staying resilient in times of crisis and stress, how we can let go of toxic people and patterns in our lives, and advice for directors and leaders to g...

This week Kris is joined with Dave Vasen, founder and CEO of brightwheel, one of the leading parent management software platforms that features best-in-class parent communication. Dave shares his journey into developing and launching brightwheel and gives us an exclusive behind the scenes story of appearing on Shark Tank and striking a deal with Mark Cuban. Kris and Dave also talk about transparen...

Tameenah Adams is a Child Care Business Coach for The Child Care Success Company and has over 18 years of experience in personnel management. She joins Kris for a conversation about gaining confidence through preparation and action and how she has continued to expand her empire and development centers throughout the pandemic. Tameenah also talks about the ways that Jeff Bezos inspired her business...

Alyssa Campbell is an emotional development expert, podcaster, and founder of Seed and Sew. She joins the show to talk with Kris about the method of Collaborative Emotion Processing that she co-created, how developing emotional intelligence skills saved her life, and why this work is of the utmost importance for leaders and teachers to deal correctly with the tiny humans of tomorrow.   Key Takeawa...

Dr. Calvin Moore was recently named Interim CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition. He joins the show to talk about what first attending the Head Start Program as a student meant to him as he moved up the ranks into executive positions. He and Kris also discuss why obtaining a CDA (Child Development Associate) certification is so important, and how we attract and retain a more diverse wor...

Sarah Cudnik is the Executive Director and Owner of Kids' Work in Chicago, with two very active and successful locations. Sarah shares her insight from growing up in an environment where childcare was important, and what she learned from starting as a mother-daughter duo. She and Kris also discuss goal setting, creating a great work culture, and the key components of making a website look great. S...

Linda Hassapis is the owner of Magical Beginnings daycares and learning centers, with six locations around the Boston area. Linda shares her beginnings in the industry from opening up a childcare facility in her home to now growing Magical Beginnings with a full staff and bustling capacity. Linda talks about the importance of teamwork, how her culture got even stronger throughout the pandemic, and...

Pamela Piekarski is the President and CEO of Exploring Minds Academy, which has two programs in two different states: Colorado and Kansas. Pamela joins the show this week to discuss her journey into ECE as a Kindergarten teacher in 1978, and share a few amazing golden nuggets of advice and wisdom she has gained from a long and successful career. Pamela talks about her work in Bilingual studies, th...