The Child Care Business Podcast

In this episode, Kelly Matthews and Paula Drew of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association describe how to create a family handbook for your child care center. This handbook is key to your bottom line, your reputation and ultimately, your business. 

They give the following writing tips:

• Use a consistent font and formatting throughout. 
• Review carefully for correct spelling and grammar. 
• Write in plain language that is easy to unde...

Mr. Ty, the Childcare Whisperer, has the answers to your child care questions! Among the questions he answers in this podcast:

How can you encourage middle management to not be friends or overly friendly, causing a divide between teachers?

How can I encourage staff to take initiative and feel empowered in their roles while maintaining consistency in classroom practices?

As a new owner taking over a center that has a tarnished reputati...

Dr. Nermeen Dashoush is the chief learning officer of MarcoPolo Learning, the award-winning global developer of educational products and instructional resources, and she's also a clinical associate professor of early childhood education at Boston University.

In this episode, she shares her insights about how early childhood education programs can use videos in their classroom to supplement lesson plans. She explains the appropr...

Michele Schmitt is the senior director of government relations and business development for Procare Solutions. In this role, she meets with legislators and other stakeholders in early childhood education to advocate for the industry and stay on top of what's happening in government, both at the federal and local levels, in policy and proposals.

In this episode, Michele breaks down a recent visit to Capitol Hill and gives an upd...

In this important episode, Jon Pollock, chief product officer at Procare Solutions, and Kathlyn McHenry, director of state policy and government relations at the Early Care & Education Consortium, share their expert insights on the latest business trends and legislative updates. 

Many of their insights draw on the findings of the 2025 Procare Child Care Business Trends Report. Jon and Kathlyn discuss important trends in ECE in a...

"You cannot be a director if you don't have a vision," says Mr. Ty, the Childcare Whisperer who is the president of The Childcare Agency, a popular motivational/keynote speaker and an early childhood education teams coach.

In this podcast, Mr. Ty shares his tips from his years of experience working in ECE, including what he sees as problems that must be fixed. On that list: Putting a Band-Aid over a problem ...

The Child Development Associate CDA credential, better known as the CDA, is the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education. It is an important  part of career advancement in the field, but many talented teachers do not have the certification.

In this podcast, Sammantha Boyle, a curriculum manager at Procare Solutions, breaks down step-by-step what the CDA is and how to earn it.

 She also descri...

Samantha Phillips is an insurance broker who specializes in insuring child care centers, a job that is especially tough this days as ECE businesses struggle to find and keep insurance.

Costs are soaring. Samantha said she has a client in Massachusetts whose insurance DOUBLED, from $25,000 a year to $50,000 a year .. and the client had never filed a claim.  And paying that amount was the client's only option.

Molly Hichens is a second-generation owner at Bright Beginnings Preschool, which has three locations in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is about to celebrate 40 years in business! She’s also an accomplished child care consultant and speaker. 

In this episode, Molly breaks down some tips for how child care center leaders can attract new families!

Those tips include:

• Highlighting three to five unique selling point...

Kathe Petchel began her education career working as a public school teacher before opening her own preschool center in 1984. She now owns three sites serving more than 300 families in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In 2017, Kathe joined HINGE Advisors, where she now works in business development. In this podcast, she shares her tips on using creative leadership and assessments to train child care center staff.

Among the topics ...

Beth Cannon is the owner of 13 Stretch-N-Grow child enrichment franchises and is an expert in early childhood education working as a speaker, trainer and coach. One of her talents is teaching child care center leaders how to develop talent from within their current staff, which is especially important as owners and directors struggle to retain high quality staff.

In this podcast, Beth shares her tips for identifying staff...

Are you ready to take your child care center to the next level? Whether you're a seasoned child care professional or just starting out, the tips from Caroline Jens shared in this podcast will help you grow and succeed in the competitive world of early childhood education and management!

Caroline is the owner and co-founder of Child Care Biz Help and has dedicated nearly 20 years to child care. She is an expert in busi...

"We've gone down this path of expecting little humans to sit when they're not developmentally made to sit this long. Brains don't learn like this," says Prerna Richards, founder of Together We Grow.

In this episode, Prerna walks us through how to use developmentally appropriate practices to de-stress teachers and children. Prerna says early childhood education programs are seeing aggressive behavio...

As early childhood education providers, your jobs including serving many people, including children and families. But too often, you don't pour enough back into yourselves ... and that's where burnout comes from, says Anisha Angella, founder of the The Early Childhood Coach.

In this podcast, Anisha walks us through the roots of burnout and gives tips on how to stop teacher burnout from starting. She explains ther...

Kathy Ligon is the founder & CEO of HINGE Advisors. Trained as a public accountant, Kathy has more than 35 years of experience in educational operations. During that time, she has found there are five pillars to the success of a child care business:  occupancy, tuition rates, discounting practices, salary costs and rent-cost management. Listen as Kathy walks us through each of these pillars in detail to learn how you can grow y...

Procare Solutions recently released our 2024 Child Care Management Software Industry Trends Report, which provides a comprehensive look at the current state of the child care industry’s use of technology as well as challenges that early childhood education programs must adapt to, and overcome, to thrive.

But the findings detailed in this report go deeper than software. In compiling this data, the goal was to better unders...

Technology scares people, and that's true for child care employees.

"Easing them into it helps, and really slowing it down and teaching them," says LaToya Riggins, vice president of professional development of CRAFT by Better Futures. 

Proper training and guidance is key, and so is showing employees how they'll benefit from using technology ... and that you're ready to help them.

Tuition collection can be a breeze when families can easily pay you on time and with their preferred method of payment. And for today’s parents, their preferred method overwhelmingly is digital, whether through autopay from their checking accounts or by debit cards and credit cards.  

 
The perks of accepting digital payments at your child care program are many, for both you and them! In this podcast, you'll learn more how ...

A tour of your child care center should be your Super Bowl, says Molly Hichens. Are you doing enough to wow families who tour your daycare or preschool?

Molly is a second-generation owner at Bright Beginnings Preschool, which has three locations in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is about to celebrate 40 years in business! She’s also an accomplished child care consultant and speaker. And when it comes to giving tours to pro...