February 27, 2024 • 38 mins
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.
"Don't be afraid. Technology is a beautiful thing when used correctly. Give it a chance," she says.
In this podcast, LaToya shares her tips for how to get your staff on board with using technology in their classrooms and for running other parts of the business, including using QR codes for check-ins and getting rid of paper documentation that is prone to errors and takes so much time to complete manually.
One such tip is to break staff into small groups so nobody gets lost or is afraid to answer questions. And she has a lot more to share.
"One thing about technology is that it's very forgiving. Everything has an undo button," she says.
To reach LaToya, email her at lriggins@betterfuturesdc.com or visit www.betterfuturesdc.com!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to the Childcare Business Podcast,
brought to you by ProCareSolutions. This podcast is all
about giving childcare ,preschool, daycare, after
school , and other earlyeducation professionals. A fun
and upbeat way to learn aboutstrategies and inspiration you
can use to thrive. You'll hearfrom a variety of childcare
(00:29):
thought leaders, includingeducators, owners, and industry
experts on ways to innovate, tomeet the needs of the children
you serve. From practical tipsfor managing operations to
uplifting stories oftransformation and triumph,
this podcast will be chock fullof insights you can use to
fully realize the potential ofyour childcare business. Let's
(00:50):
jump in.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hello and welcome everyone to today's podcast.
Um, my name is Leah Woodbury.
Um, I work in the marketingdepartment here at ProCare
Solutions, and I'm filling infor Ryan Gwaltney , who is our
usual host today. But I'm gonnado my best and I have a really
great guest who's gonna make itreally easy, and we're gonna
have a wonderful conversation.
(01:15):
Um, her name is Latoya Riggins.
She's the Vice President ofprofessional Development , um,
of Craft by Better Futures. Sowelcome, Latoya. We're so happy
to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Thanks, Leah . Thank you so much. I'm excited to be
here. Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And yeah, and she's gonna talk to about she Talk
technology in ECE classrooms,which is something she knows a
lot about. And to get started,Latoya, could you talk a little
bit about, about what yourcompany is and what it does,
and then let's go right intohow you got your start in ECE.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Absolutely. Well, I'll tell you a little bit
about Craft . So, craft ByBetter Futures is an online
business and professionaldevelopment platform,
specifically designed for earlychildhood education business
leaders. So what we do is wecombine our knowledge of
childcare operations and all ofthat with the business side,
(02:11):
because one thing that we foundis that all the different
education you need to become anECE leader, it never touches on
business. And lo and behold,about 90% of the centers out
there, whether it's family,childcare , center based group
home, are ran by entrepreneurs.
So that's kind of like the pinkelephant in the room is the
(02:34):
business side. And you know,when it comes to children, you
know, the love trumpseverything. But guess what, in
order to give that love andprovide the space for the love
and the programming for thelove, we're gonna need money,
which means that we're gonnahave to run this business like
a business. And culturally, youknow, it's always kind of been
(02:55):
like, okay, this is somethingthat maybe moms do, or, you
know what I mean? So it, youknow, not to be like, I'm a
mom. So a lot of times we mightget a little devalued because
we do it so well, you know,, it looks like it's
easy, but it's really not. Sowhat we do is we empower
business owners to really diginto the business piece and
take their business seriously,because it's not rocket
(03:17):
science, but if you have neverbeen taught it, it's gonna be
foreign language to you. Sowhat we do is we take that and
we break it down, we break itdown to layman's terms, and we
teach business, but we only,we, we really, really hone in
on the early childhoodeducation business because that
is a unique business. Now, asyou know, you know, with
(03:40):
ProCare, you guys are taking itto the next level, you know,
helping businesses take it tothe next level. And that's what
we really love about , uh,childcare management systems
because, you know, what we'veseen, I don't wanna go deep
into that just yet, but whatwe've seen in , you know, with
our clients is just theconfidence. When we talk about
business, you know, they'relike, well, you know, I'm just
(04:01):
a this or I'm just a this. Andwe're like, no, you're exactly
what you should be. We aregonna help you take it to the
next level. So with Craft byBetter Futures, we go all the
way in Leah , we go in Uhhuh .
I mean, from the nitty grittyto the business plan, to
budgeting to taxes, to actually finances. Meaning not
(04:23):
just, you know, knowing, youknow, financial literacy, but
how do you keep your books? Uh, how do you actually manage
your finances? And I'm tellingyou , the , the answers
that we get will smack you inthe face because you're like,
you , you gotta be kidding me.
But no shade, because that'swhy we are here. 'cause we are
gonna teach you. So if you knowanything about Better Futures,
(04:45):
better Futures are the foundersof Craft By Better Futures,
obviously by Better Futures, , and they are , well ,
I call the Odd couple , uh, Dr.
Robert Ling, he has over 50years of experience in the
early childhood educationindustry. I mean, he is done
everything from teaching inschools. I mean, he's even
taught CDA in prisons. I mean,this man gives his life to this
(05:09):
industry, you know, and then,you know, it's a very woman
dominated field. So as a man,he really had to, you know,
break through some of those,you know, strongholds to make a
difference. And he's done agreat job. He's developed his
life. When he met his partner,Mr. Jahi , b Davis, NBA , he,
(05:29):
he was a banker. He was workingon treasury boards. And I mean,
he was all about funding andthings like that, business,
business business. So he said,this is what we're missing in
ECB , we're missing thebusiness part because if we
have that knowledge, who knowshow big our centers can go? Who
knows how much we can really dofor our communities. So he
(05:52):
asked him , you know, let's gettogether and do this. And Jahi
said, you know, know what, thatis the craziest idea I've ever
heard, but it's just crazyenough to work. I'm in.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
And
Speaker 3 (06:05):
These guys, they went all over the country
teaching these principles aboutreally running your business as
a business and really honing inon the specifics of talent
acquisition, credentialingsystems, put , bringing in
technology, which is what we'regonna be talking about today,
which is sometimes the hardestthing to kind of bring people's
(06:27):
mind to, but it's the biggestgame changer. So they went
around doing all these classes,but realize, you know, they're
in conferences and, you know,these big conferences can get
pretty pricey, and then youhave to shut down your center
so that you can travel and allof that. So people were really
missing out on what they had tosay. So they thought about what
(06:47):
can we do to really bring thisto everyone and really make it
not just accessible, butaffordable? Mm-Hmm ,
, let's govirtual, because now we can,
you know, create something thatreally can get to people and
bring that flavor that I love.
You know what I mean? Andbecause, you know, you don't
want it to be boring. You wantit to be upbeat, you want it to
be interesting, but you alsowant it to be effective. So
(07:10):
that's when Craft By BetterFutures was born. And we went
online, and this is way beforethere was a pandemic, Leah . So
we were ready . We didn't even,obviously no one knew it was
gonna be a pandemic, but thepandemic was, you know, didn't
hurt us at all because we werealready virtual. I came aboard
. Yeah, I came aboard in 20 19,20 20, and we started to do,
(07:33):
you know, push with the virtualclasses. We , uh, morphed into
boot camps, which are hands onbecause, you know, when you go
to all of these , uh, webinarsand stuff, they're great. You
feel amazing. But then, youknow , you probably remember
maybe 10% of it if that. Sowhat we do is we make sure that
not only do you have the theknowledge, you get the
(07:54):
one-on-one, and you get theactual handholding to implement
it into your business, so yousee results. So that's what
Crap by Better Futures is in anutshell. .
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Excellent. Uh , and how about you? What is your,
what's your background in ECE?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Well, glad you asked Leah . Well, UL ultimately, I'm
actually from New York City.
And growing up, my sister,shout out to my sister Denise.
She had this idea, she was asingle mom, and she had about
three kids, and she was like, Ialways wanted to have my own
daycare, and, but I don't havea place to do it. And she's
like, you know what? I'm justgonna do it in my house.
Everybody told her she wascrazy. They were like, no one's
(08:31):
gonna bring their kids to yourhouse. That's crazy. And I told
her, I said, I actually thinkthat's gonna work. She's like ,
yeah, I've seen people do itbefore, but I don't know
anybody that did it. So I waslike , I'm gonna help you. She
created it. We, I mean, we, shehad a big house, so, you know,
we had a lot of space to do itin . I was a teenager then, so
I worked there. Uh , afterschool I worked there. I was
the closer, I was the, the ,the kid who wore your kids out
(08:54):
for you, . I took themto the park. Oh, yeah. I would
wear those kids all the wayout. I'd have them chasing them
up and around and all that. Youknow how the energy Uhhuh
. So I saw mysister build this business
against all odds, and peoplelooked to her as just a savior
because they didn't understandhow they were gonna do it on
their own. And here she isproviding this resource for
(09:18):
them to go ahead and make aliving for their, for their
families. And it just gave methat, I call her my muse,
because I always worked withchildren growing up, even in
high school, in college, I wentto Howard University. I worked
in DC public schools, workedwith , uh, preschools and all
that. So fast forward in mycareer, I ended up in workforce
development,. Okay. SoI , um, worked with all
(09:41):
businesses in DC about , uh,really bringing that core
essence of qualified candidatesto businesses. And when I got
into childcare , I worked withchildcare businesses, I
realized that I had a reallygood knack for placing people
into childcare , uh, positions.
And that was due to how Irecruited, you know, I acquired
(10:04):
talent. I didn't go off of thepaperwork, I went off of their
heart because I understood whatit took to be successful in
that business. And then I , bythen, I was a mom myself, so I
knew what I looked for as a momand then as an employee. So I
had the best of all threeworlds, the employer, the mom,
and the employee perspective.
(10:25):
So that's how I, that's howactually met Dr. Gunman. Um, I
was, I had this big projectthat I wanted to do. I wanted
to create a center inside theWorkforce Center, and I got him
in there to help me. And when Isaw what these guys were doing,
I had to be a part of it. I waslike, oh, yeah, I'm in, I'm in.
And the rest is history leader. Like, we've been working,
(10:47):
it's what, 2024? So it's beenover four years now that we've
been doing this work. And it'sbeen super amazing. You know,
we've been everywhere and wemeet so many people like
yourself that mm-Hmm , really love this
business, and they're lookingfor solutions. So I'm just
happy to be here talking aboutthis.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, it sounds like it was meant to be,
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Right? I believe that. I definitely believe
that.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I do too . I do too . So , let's talk a little bit
about technology, ECE usingapps, that kind of thing. And
one question that I think isreally important to start with
is, let's start with theteachers. Like, why are so many
of these teachers nervous aboutembracing technology when it's
(11:33):
something we know is gonna maketheir job easier, but they're
still scared? Why do you thinkthat is ? Why do you
think that is?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well, Leah , I'll tell you one thing. Um, you
know , I'm also a , a marketingconsultant as well. And one
thing that I've learned fromworking with our members and
our clients is technologyscares people. It scares people
down because it, it can bequite intimidating. Even the
lingo, like when I starttalking about just Zoom, people
are like, oh my God, I don'tknow that . And I'm
(12:01):
like, it's fine. It's sosimple, I'll teach you. Yeah .
And a lot of times, you know,you kind of feel dumb when you
don't know something, so youstay away from it. So I think
the biggest pushback is the,the not knowing the unknown
and, and feeling like, I'm notgonna learn all of this, but
not realizing that it justtakes a quick little training
and to do it, you know, morerepetitiously and you'll get
(12:24):
it. So I think it's the fearmost of Olia , it's the , it
has to be. And if you see thelook on people's faces, when I,
when I give them a link,they're like, oh God, what am I
gonna do with this? And I'mlike, just , just click it.
,
Speaker 2 (12:35):
. But I ,
Speaker 3 (12:36):
I've learned that easing them into it helps and
really, you know, slowing itdown and teaching them, you
know, but it's the fear. It'sdefinitely the fear.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Okay. So if we're talking about fear , um, so
what is the best way then tointegrate technology into a
center ? I mean, is it thatslowly or is it like tearing
off a bandaid? What, what haveyou found that works?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Well, I would say it's a little bit of both.
Okay. I , I say that you haveto introduce it for one, let
people know the benefits of it.
You know, what happens if youdon't use it
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah . First
. Yeah .
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So that they started to put it in perspective. Once
you show them the benefits ofit, then they're like, okay, I
guess I'll give it a chance.
But then let them know that youare gonna walk them through it.
You're gonna handhold when itcomes to craft, that's how we
get them through the technologyis honestly Leah , the
handholding. Okay . And that'swhy we do one-on-ones that is
the game changer is theone-on-ones. All our
(13:42):
memberships come withone-on-ones. That way you have
an expert on the other side ofyou, and they can walk you
through it. Hold your hand justlike riding a bike. You know
how your mom or your dad had tohold the back of that seat,
. Yeah . You know, andthen once you get to Pedalling
, you are off. Then you'relike, all right , get off me. I
got this now. And that's whatyou have to get 'em to. I think
that when people don't havetraining, that's when they
(14:05):
fail, because they're, theyjust throw their hands up.
They're like, I don't know howto do this. And they throw
their hands up and they quit.
Uhhuh , when youhave proper training and
guidance, it is a no brainer.
So I think that's the best way. That's when I say ripping off
the bandaid, which you mean,don't just trickle it in.
Meaning, Hey, this is what wehave a new system. And that's
the rip off of the bandaid tosay, Hey, this is starting such
(14:28):
and such . Let's say we givethem a couple of weeks to kind
of get used to it. And we'llsay, in two weeks we're going
full throttle. Okay. So here'swhat's gonna happen up until
then. Okay, we're gonna havedaily trainings. We are gonna
have exercises, something thatmakes it fun, because I'm a
visual learner. Leah , I don'tknow about you. I'm a visual
and a touch learner. Like Itotally
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Am
Speaker 3 (14:49):
A rhythm person, so I gotta see it. I gotta touch
it, and I gotta do it myselftoo. I can't just read about
it. So I think hands-onlearning. That's, I mean,
that's what we're all about.
Hands-on learning. And alsogroups, especially if you have
a a , a thick staff, I wouldbreak 'em up into groups and Oh
, really? I , I , I like tomake cohorts, you know, little
(15:10):
pots, because those big groups,sometimes you get lost, you're
scared to ask a question 'causeyou don't wanna look crazy or
dumb. So you kind of keep it toyourself. Small groups help the
people in that group connectwith each other. Now they're
partners in this, they'repartners in the learning. They
can hold each other's handbecause something you might
understand, I might not Mm-Hmm. . And sometimes
(15:32):
even that trainer, you know,as, as a trainer myself, I
noticed that there's sometimeswhen your neighbor has to lean
over and say she's on page 18,you know what I mean? And
you're like, oh, yeah, yeah,yeah. You know what I mean? So
that comradery that I would saywork togetherness aspect of it,
it makes that so much easier.
(15:53):
And it calms people down, youknow? And Go ahead. What were
you gonna say? So,
Speaker 2 (15:57):
So I was just thinking, like, so when you're
forming these small groups, doyou put together people who are
kind of maybe on the same levelas technology? Or do you mix up
the, say the Gen Z who've, youknow, were born with an iPhone
in their hand, it seemslike or, or do you keep
'em kind of where everybody'son the same page and what
(16:17):
works?
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Oh, no . Well, I mean, I would say mix 'em up.
Mix 'em up, definitely mix themup. Because just like I said,
when you think about a classthat has a mix, you, your
superstars become your, yourTAs, your te your , your
teacher's assistants. And nowthat when you are , when you
need to work with the fullclass, you don't have to stop
for maybe one or two people whoare not getting it. That person
who already has it can say,Hey, that's why I love breakout
(16:39):
rooms. Because if someone'sstruggling with a specific part
and you don't wanna, you know,specifically stop the training,
you can say, Hey, Lee's gonnatake you into a breakout room
to practice that more with you.
Okay. And then we're gonna comebring you back in. And now they
come back in more confident and, and they say, oh, wow. I
don't know how I didn't getthat. You know? And , and, and
(17:00):
you're like, come on back inhere. And we get, you know, it
gets right back on track.
Mm-Hmm, . Mm-Hmm. . So I , I
definitely think that a mix is,is good. You know, some people,
they say, I mean, these peopleare already working together,
so they should have some typeof relationship. And the more
that you guys achieve together,the more you will achieve
(17:20):
together, because it makes youcloser as a staff, you know,
because we've gone throughsomething together. We've
learned something together,we've achieved something, you
know? Yeah. And reward, youknow, I, I'm a celebration
person. I always say I have anevent spirit. So anytime we do
trainings, we, we givecertificates of completion. And
(17:41):
I step in and I, like, I alwaystell the guys, I say, can I
give them a graduation,
Speaker 2 (17:46):
?
Speaker 3 (17:48):
And they say , go ahead, Latoya. And because I
love it, you know, who doesn'twanna feel celebrated? Yeah .
It gives you that sense ofpride and accomplishment. And
even if I , I just give you acertificate and I have like,
maybe some juice and somedonuts or something, or, you
know , send you a littleDoorDash card to , you know ,
(18:08):
get you something or Starbucks.
You know what I mean? Like,just something to celebrate
that win, because a win is awin no matter how small it is .
Absolutely . And incentives arealways a thing, you know. And
also, like you said, like, youknow, using a system like
ProCare, like, you know , thatis something that can be, you
know, maybe a littleintimidating because you guys
(18:29):
are the, you know, the , youare the, the gurus, you know,
so they're like, this has to besomething complicated. If they
can do all of this in a click ,it's gotta be something crazy
that I just don't understand,you know?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So Well, we got, we got it handled for everybody
, just do it with a ,like , right. Yeah. Yeah. And
why, I mean, why do you thinkit is that people maybe do
hesitate to ask questions?
Especially like in thiseducation space where we, you
know, we're always encouragingpeople ask questions, yet when
it's us, we're sometimes, Ooh ,I don't know if I should ask
(19:05):
that. Is that silly? Mm-Hmm.
. Is there a way, is there a way to make
someone feel more comfortablewith throwing those questions
out there? 'cause somebody elseis probably thinking it
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Well, yeah. Um, you know, that's always been a
thing, Leah . I mean,throughout time Yeah . In
education. And , and it's a ,it's a vulnerable thing to ask
a question and to Mm-Hmm .
to openly say, Idon't know . You know what I
mean? Yeah . 'cause we we're,we're a people of knowers. We
know her , we know everything.
And we, and we feel, you know,some people will make you feel
bad, like, oh my God, you don'tknow that. You know? So it's a
(19:36):
vulnerability thing. So what Iwould do is have them write the
questions down anonymously andsubmit 'em . Oh , yeah. So that
way nobody knows, who doesn'tknow. And, and , and
those people who are too shy toask, they're gonna be so
relieved. So relieved. Like, ohmy gosh, I thought it was just
me. You know?
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Oh, that's a great idea. Yeah. I like that. I'm a
,
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I'm a firm. I'm a big FAQ person. Ask Jahi , I'm
always on him. I'm like, weneed an FAQ , you know? And
he's like, okay, okay. I gotyou, Latoya, because I know me,
it , it alleviates a lot ofquestions for me when I have a
frequently asked questions barwhere I can kind of get a jump
on some of the things that I,you know, that I'm probably
gonna wanna know anyway. Sohaving that handy and , um,
(20:25):
even a , uh, like a glossary,because tech terminology, like,
I talk to a guy and he's like,oh, you're such a techie. And
I'm like, I'm not, I , I'm alittle, but not really, you
know, like, not as much as Iwould like to be. So, yeah .
And, and like, even the way youwrite your numbers, like I
write the dots and stuff, he'slike, you write like a techie.
So I realized like it's alanguage that techies talk ,
(20:48):
and I didn't realize it becauseI speak it a little Mm-Hmm . So
I didn't think it was a thing,you know? And I'm like, wow.
Like, th that's a thing to you,but you can't discredit anybody
for not knowing if they not inthat realm or, you know, they ,
they don't do tech, theydefinitely might feel
intimidated. So breaking downit , breaking it down into
layman's terms what these termsmean. So it gives them a , a ,
(21:12):
a power pack going in. You knowwhat I mean? Uhhuh , it gives
them that ammunition. So atleast I understand a little
bit. So when I heard that, I'mlike, oh, okay. I see what that
is. You know? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah. And then kind of along those lines, can we
talk a little bit about givingteachers buy-in, like, like,
how is it that, that you canshow them that using this
technology, you know, whetherit's digital curriculum,
whether it's these QR codes tosign in, sign out, anything
along those lines that it isdifferent, but how do you show
(21:44):
them that this is gonna makeyour job easier and hopefully
lower your stress, hopefullylower your burnout? You know,
that's always a goal.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
I'd say the proof is in the pudding. Okay. I always
say the proof is in thepudding, showing real live
examples of how things havechanged. And the numbers do not
lie. Uh , I , I'm a firmbeliever of the numbers don't
lie. When you show them, Hey,here's how much time you're
spending on of your day doingX, Y, and z,
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Uhhuh
,
Speaker 3 (22:12):
If you use this system, you can cut that into a
fraction of that time and, andwhatever they like to do, put
that in there. Like, you know,you like, you know, strolling
on Instagram, on your phone,look how much more Instagram
time you gonna get.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
You know what I
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Mean? Yeah . And they're like, oh , really ? If
you , like , if a person lovestheir lunch break and you don't
wanna be doing work on yourlunch break, 'cause that
happens, you know, you havethat one quiet moment, and now
you have to do paperwork, youknow, with it. How are you
eating your lunch ? Dripping itall over the paper? You know
what I mean?
Speaker 2 (22:42):
, right . No
one put into
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Perspective for people. Say, Hey, here's what
you're doing Uhhuh . Here'swhat , here's what it could
look like if you usetechnology.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Gotcha . And then
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Handhold, walk 'em into it, give 'em a little
taste and say, Hey, let's trythis. How about let's see how
much easier and more accurateyour clock ins will be. You
know, you remember last weekwhen you had to ask about your,
your hours because you , youforgot to write down on the
book , the book log in whattime? Mm-Hmm . .
What if all you had to do wasflash your badge and we clock
(23:15):
you in ?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Yeah . Now
Speaker 3 (23:16):
You're getting your full check . You know what I
mean? Think about, you know,giving them the scenarios of
what happens if you don't.
Yeah. How much time you're,you're you're giving away Now
it becomes a choice.,
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I like it. You know?
And when you were talking aboutspilling your lunch all over
paperwork, when we , um, whenwe were talking recently, you
were telling me about some ofthe crazy spreadsheets that
you've seen. And I'd love it ifyou could like , give
me some of these examples ofwhat directors, assistant
directors, I mean, maybe eventeachers are doing too, to try
(23:50):
to keep track of the businessend and talk a little bit about
those and what the end resultis for how the, how the
business is being is being run
Speaker 3 (24:02):
. Oh, wow.
Leah . Yeah. When, when we talkabout technology, one thing I
craft by better future is weare big on technology because
uhhuh , we are , you know, weare grassroots team. So we were
just joking the other day abouthow we've gone through so many
systems to find the right onesfor us, because we had to do so
many things manually. And I'mnot a millennial, I don't think
(24:24):
I'm a millennial. I don't knowwhere I am in it, but I'm not,
what do you call those? Theones, the new ones that come
out ?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Oh, the Gen Z.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Gen Z. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm not a Gen Z , sothere's a lot of things that I
know, but there's a lot of ,like, I , you know how they can
text 2000 words in two seconds?
I can't do that. So typing forme is, is is brutal. Uhhuh
. So we talkabout different systems, and
one of the systems that we use,we, we teach on a accounting
system. We do a bootcamp about, uh, a wave bootcamp where we
(24:54):
teach business owners, EEbusiness owners how to manage
their finances with a actualsystem. Okay. Uhhuh
. So the samething with ProCare. We talk
about what happens if youdon't. We have Leah , we have
this bootcamp, and we wereteaching people how to manage
their finances, right? Uhhuh . And this woman,
she has a laptop. And I mean,she pulls out this spreadsheet.
(25:16):
This thing has 300 line items.
It has about seven differentcolors. I mean, she's got
formulas in it. And lemme tellyou, this spreadsheet looked
great. I was like, my goodness,where'd you get this from? She
was like, oh, I made it overthe years. I'm like, okay, how
, how long does it takeyou to, to edit and update? She
was like, well, you know, aftermy kids go home, I take about
(25:39):
an hour and a half to input thedays. I'm like, you do what?
Like, oh , my, like, wait aminute. And she said, or
sometimes I get up 5:00 AMbefore my kids get in, and I do
a couple of hours on thespreadsheet. And I'm like , are
you serious? Are you serious?
What happens if you miss a , a, a coin? You know what I mean?
The whole spreadsheet's ruined,you know, if you accidentally
(26:01):
delete something, how are youeven gonna know it's a million
line items on here? Yeah .
Like, this is crazy. And shewas like, well, this is all
I've got. I'm , I'm just kindof a slave to it. And I was
like, honey, we've gotta dobetter than that. And there's a
better solution for that. Butlike you said, Leah , it takes
for somebody to see that.
(26:22):
'cause if nobody saw , if Ididn't look over her shoulder
being a little nosy, like, whatis that thing? You know? Yeah .
She would've even thought aboutit. She's like, oh, this is
nothing. You know, because it'sa great spreadsheet, but it's
killing your lifestyle. No worklife balance. You are not
getting any free time becauseyou gotta wake up and do it all
over again. So we're like, whatabout a childcare management
(26:43):
system? You can manageeverything from there. And,
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Oh , I think you're cutting out a little bit. Oh ,
it's a little, it's a littlegrainy right there. Okay . No ,
it's still really, huh? That'sweird. Can you hear me okay ?
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Okay. What about now?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Perfect. It's perfect. Okay. We'll just edit
that last part out. That'ssuper easy. Um, do you wanna
start , um, where you weretalking about like your
work-life balance, how thataffected it, or Definitely you
don't really have any,you don't really have any work
life balance. It's all work
Speaker 4 (27:59):
.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah. If you're getting up two hours before
your shift starts just to fillin a spreadsheet or staying two
hours late to fill in aspreadsheet, you're never going
to catch up. It's a rat raceand you're never gonna have
quality of life, and it's notworth it. You guys do the most
important job. You know, youhave to face these children and
(28:22):
they're looking to you for yourenergy to be on point, and
they're looking for you tobring their energy up. So if
you are spending your timemanually doing everything, you
are not gonna be at 100% . Youdefinitely, you're not even
gonna be at 80%. You know? Sowhat we talk to our business
owners about is efficiency.
Efficiency, because you wantsomething that's gonna be
(28:43):
correct and you want it to betime, you know what I mean? You
know, to save you time , save ,and in turn it's gonna save you
money. Because now when, like Iwas saying before, it's the
output for me. You know,because you have the excellent
reporting, you know? Mm-Hmm .
, if yourparents, your, your clients
slash parents ask you for anytype of detail in what you're
(29:05):
doing, one click. You don'thave to shuffle through papers
and download this and put thistogether and pull out this and
hide this column and.
It's just a mess. So ,
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Well, it just seems like there's so much room for
error. And maybe I'm thinkinghow when I do excel, how it
how it turns out.
Mm-Hmm . . But Imean, that's just asking for a
mistake that's just gonna sendyou down a rabbit hole of
, of a mess.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Yeah. And the anxiety that comes with it,
Leah , that, that you couldhave made a mistake. And I'm
one of those people, I'm gonnakeep checking back. I'm gonna
check it a million timesbecause I'm like, like, I'm
worried that I might've missedsomething or I accidentally
clicked something off and, anddid something else. I can't
undo it. Or, yeah. But like yousaid, just the , if you have
seen the, I've seen peopleactually do things on Word
(29:56):
documents, like keep books onWord documents. So a
spreadsheet is asking me tostep up. Yes. I'm like, what is
that? And even handwritten.
I'm, I'm, I'm definitely anotebook girl, I'm no shade. I
love a good notebook. Yeah .
But that's like a backup to mycomputer. And that's like my
anxiety anyway. I'm like, Ihave to write things down. I'm
(30:16):
a scribbler,
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Uhhuh , .
Speaker 3 (30:18):
I also have systems, you know, that I, that I use .
And they have done nothing butchanged my life and my
business. So we definitely , wespeak by example, Leah . That's
why I said, you know, withProCare being such a , a , not
, don't wanna say intricate,but such a , uh, sophisticated
system. You guys have seen the,you've seen 30 years of this.
(30:42):
So you've guys have been ableto grow with the industry to
see where it's going. Andthat's what I love about you
guys. 'cause you're listening,you know, listening to what
people really need and whatwill help make it better so
that we can be better for thechildren. Because that's really
the, the biggest deal. We wannabe able to go outside and play
in the water and not beworrying about, oh my gosh, I
gotta go and put my spreadsheettogether, you know? Oh . And if
(31:05):
the parents say, Hey, I'mapplying for , uh, a loan and I
need to get my , uh, receiptsfrom you for the last six
months. And , and that's awhole nother project for your
weekend. And you thought youwere going to Atlanta City this
weekend, not
Speaker 2 (31:20):
, not
anymore . You're putting
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Together , right?
You're putting together a , awhole report, but not with
growth here . Not with a systemwhere you can hit a button and
say, Hey , um, what we , whatwe really talk about technology
for businesses when it comes towowing your clients, wowing
your families. 'cause familiesappreciate efficiency. Yeah .
(31:42):
They look at your business in adifferent light when they see
that you've invested inprocesses that make not only
your life easier, but theirlife easier. And it just makes
your business look more, Iwould say, more responsible,
you know? Mm-Hmm.. So who want , who wants to be
with somebody that is notresponsible and, and you're
leaving your child there andyou're, you're really putting
(32:03):
your , you're trusting yourraising your child to someone
else. Pretty much. So if youknow that in there on the
spreadsheets, who's, who'shanging out with the kids and
teaching them things and havingexperiences, you know? Yeah .
So we wanna make sure you're,you're present.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Yeah. And when we, you know, we talked to a lot of
center owners, teachers all thetime, you know, and the
question I asked you right atthe beginning, you know, how
did you get into ECE? And notonce has anybody ever said,
because I'm so excited aboutaccounting and running a
business like that is,that is what's really driving
me. So, and I'm, you know, myyoungest isn't preschool. He
(32:40):
goes to a UCE center and I'mgrateful for that. Like, like
be there with him teaching himhis letters, that kind of
thing. Yeah . So I totally getwhat you're saying.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
And Yeah, the parents love it. Yeah .
Speaker 2 (32:51):
For the ,
Speaker 3 (32:51):
The parents side of it, because they get a glimpse
into their child's day. And I'mgonna tell you, you know, I was
a working mom and, you know, mykids are bigger now. They're
like, you know, early, earlyteens. So, you know , they
don't care about me anymore, . But when they were
young, I had such mom guilt,Leah , because I didn't get to
see my kids all day. So I knowfrom the mom perspective,
(33:13):
having that access to yourchildren and what they're doing
and what they're learning andhow they're experiencing life
is just so much easier to havethat peace of mind when you are
at work trying to focus on yourspreadsheets,.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Right, right.
Exactly. . Exactly. Andthen let's, let's kind of end
it looking a bit into thefuture, if you will. So now
let's, let's say the centersays, all right , we're gonna
use technology in theclassrooms. You've done the
training. How do directors keepsupporting this as it, you
(33:47):
know, keeps gettingimplemented, people are using
it, maybe mistakes are made.
What's, what's the, what's thekey to success there?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Oh, Leah , I'm so glad you asked. And you have
some people think, oh , atraining is a one time thing.
It's not. It has to beprogressive. You know, and I'm
a person, I love evaluationsbecause you don't know what was
retained. You know, you peoplelove nodding and saying, okay,
I got it. And they don't haveanything. They don't, they ,
they're still making the samemistake. So what I would say
(34:17):
is, quarterly trainings arealways great. Um, we know that
in this industry, it can be ahigh turnover rate. So you,
you're gonna have new people,but that doesn't mean only the
new people get this training.
Everybody needs to be updated,especially, and you guys are
always adding new, cute thingsand features . So it's
always good to make sure thatyou're up on those new times
(34:38):
and those new features. Andwhat I would say is to keep
making an incentive for beinggreat at it. For being great at
using it and, and not bashingpeople for making mistakes, but
making it a learningexperience. I mean, that , I'm
a firm believer that it's aboutcorrection and not just, you
know, Hey, you did this wrong,look what happened. You know,
it's like, Hey, let me, let's,let's, let's explore that.
(34:59):
Let's see how we can do better.
But bringing it back up, makingsure, like making sure that the
trainings are currentlyhappening and, you know,
reoccurring, I should say, andevaluation afterwards. A
knowledge test. Let's see whatyou retained. You know, make it
a thing. You know, if you'regreat at, at , uh, using
(35:19):
ProCare, you could be theteacher, you can be that person
that runs the trainings. I'm ,I'm big on showing people
their, their strongness, theirtheir strengths, really
building on people's strengths.
And if that's something thatyou're strong in , nobody ,
everybody loves to share theirstrengths. Yep . Make that a
(35:39):
thing, you know, and, and whenit comes to talent acquisition,
that's how you show a personthere , that you value them by
noticing their strengths andactually utilizing it. Because
one of the things I see in theindustry is under utilization
of the talent that you have inhouse . So Oh , bring it
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Out . So maybe the younger Yeah, like the younger
Yeah . Staff maybe can help.
Yeah . Some of the peoplewho've been doing it longer.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
Yeah. And show them that they have a strength this
a strength in that. Yeah .
Speaker 2 (36:09):
You know ?
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Oh , love that .
They love that phone. Let 'emuse it. .
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Right . Well, I think we're wrapping up. Is
there, can you think ofanything I didn't ask or I
should have or that you'd likepeople to take away from this?
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Well, well, I think you asked everything, but what
I want people to take away fromthis is don't be afraid.
Technology is a beautiful thingwhen it's used correctly. And
give it a chance. You know,give it a chance. And don't
feel like you have to learneverything at once. Start with
the small stuff and ease yourway into it. And another thing
is repetition, repetition,repetition. The more you do
(36:48):
anything, the better you'regonna get at it. Don't expect
to be so great your first time.
Fail forward if you make amistake. You know, one thing
about technology is veryforgiven. They, everybody has
an undo button. And that's howI help with my clients. I'm
like, just remember you got anundo. Okay. not the end
of the world. Try again.
(37:10):
,
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I like, and Latoya, what's the best way for our
listeners to get in touch withyou or craft better Futures?
Any of that? Emails, phone,whatever, whatever you guys
like. Yeah ,
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Well, all of that.
Well, my , you can email me ,um, at l
riggins@betterfuturesdc.com, oryou can visit our website at ww
dot better futures dc.com. Andwe are on all platforms on
social media. You guys, we'reat Craft By Better Futures on
Instagram. We're at , we'rethat on LinkedIn, Facebook,
(37:45):
we're at Craft Cafe Live.
That's my , uh, live show. AndTikTok , we are craft by Better
Futures. Yes, we're on TikTok,guys, .
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Nice. Very
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Cool. Then we , we have a YouTube channel Craft by
Better Futures. Okay, guys, socheck us out. You have
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Well, thank you, Latoya, this was so great. We'd
love talking with you. Lovedgetting all your insights. And
thanks to everyone who'slistening, we'll catch you on
the next podcast.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
the Childcare Business Podcast.
To get more insights on ways tosucceed in your childcare
business, make sure to hitsubscribe in your podcast app
so you never miss an episode.
And if you want even morechildcare , business tips,
tricks, and strategies, headover to our resource
center@procaresoftware.com.
(38:35):
Until next time.
Welcome to the Childcare Business Podcast,
brought to you by ProCareSolutions. This podcast is all
about giving childcare ,preschool, daycare, after
school , and other earlyeducation professionals. A fun
and upbeat way to learn aboutstrategies and inspiration you
can use to thrive. You'll hearfrom a variety of childcare
(00:29):
thought leaders, includingeducators, owners, and industry
experts on ways to innovate, tomeet the needs of the children
you serve. From practical tipsfor managing operations to
uplifting stories oftransformation and triumph,
this podcast will be chock fullof insights you can use to
fully realize the potential ofyour childcare business. Let's
(00:50):
jump in.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hello and welcome everyone to today's podcast.
Um, my name is Leah Woodbury.
Um, I work in the marketingdepartment here at ProCare
Solutions, and I'm filling infor Ryan Gwaltney , who is our
usual host today. But I'm gonnado my best and I have a really
great guest who's gonna make itreally easy, and we're gonna
have a wonderful conversation.
(01:15):
Um, her name is Latoya Riggins.
She's the Vice President ofprofessional Development , um,
of Craft by Better Futures. Sowelcome, Latoya. We're so happy
to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Thanks, Leah . Thank you so much. I'm excited to be
here. Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
And yeah, and she's gonna talk to about she Talk
technology in ECE classrooms,which is something she knows a
lot about. And to get started,Latoya, could you talk a little
bit about, about what yourcompany is and what it does,
and then let's go right intohow you got your start in ECE.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Absolutely. Well, I'll tell you a little bit
about Craft . So, craft ByBetter Futures is an online
business and professionaldevelopment platform,
specifically designed for earlychildhood education business
leaders. So what we do is wecombine our knowledge of
childcare operations and all ofthat with the business side,
(02:11):
because one thing that we foundis that all the different
education you need to become anECE leader, it never touches on
business. And lo and behold,about 90% of the centers out
there, whether it's family,childcare , center based group
home, are ran by entrepreneurs.
So that's kind of like the pinkelephant in the room is the
(02:34):
business side. And you know,when it comes to children, you
know, the love trumpseverything. But guess what, in
order to give that love andprovide the space for the love
and the programming for thelove, we're gonna need money,
which means that we're gonnahave to run this business like
a business. And culturally, youknow, it's always kind of been
(02:55):
like, okay, this is somethingthat maybe moms do, or, you
know what I mean? So it, youknow, not to be like, I'm a
mom. So a lot of times we mightget a little devalued because
we do it so well, you know,
easy, but it's really not. Sowhat we do is we empower
business owners to really diginto the business piece and
take their business seriously,because it's not rocket
(03:17):
science, but if you have neverbeen taught it, it's gonna be
foreign language to you. Sowhat we do is we take that and
we break it down, we break itdown to layman's terms, and we
teach business, but we only,we, we really, really hone in
on the early childhoodeducation business because that
is a unique business. Now, asyou know, you know, with
(03:40):
ProCare, you guys are taking itto the next level, you know,
helping businesses take it tothe next level. And that's what
we really love about , uh,childcare management systems
because, you know, what we'veseen, I don't wanna go deep
into that just yet, but whatwe've seen in , you know, with
our clients is just theconfidence. When we talk about
business, you know, they'relike, well, you know, I'm just
(04:01):
a this or I'm just a this. Andwe're like, no, you're exactly
what you should be. We aregonna help you take it to the
next level. So with Craft byBetter Futures, we go all the
way in Leah , we go in Uhhuh .
I mean, from the nitty grittyto the business plan, to
budgeting to taxes, to actually
(04:23):
just, you know, knowing, youknow, financial literacy, but
how do you keep your books? Uh, how do you actually manage
your finances? And I'm tellingyou , the
that we get will smack you inthe face because you're like,
you , you gotta be kidding me.
But no shade, because that'swhy we are here. 'cause we are
gonna teach you. So if you knowanything about Better Futures,
(04:45):
better Futures are the foundersof Craft By Better Futures,
obviously by Better Futures,
I call the Odd couple , uh, Dr.
Robert Ling, he has over 50years of experience in the
early childhood educationindustry. I mean, he is done
everything from teaching inschools. I mean, he's even
taught CDA in prisons. I mean,this man gives his life to this
(05:09):
industry, you know, and then,you know, it's a very woman
dominated field. So as a man,he really had to, you know,
break through some of those,you know, strongholds to make a
difference. And he's done agreat job. He's developed his
life. When he met his partner,Mr. Jahi , b Davis, NBA , he,
(05:29):
he was a banker. He was workingon treasury boards. And I mean,
he was all about funding andthings like that, business,
business business. So he said,this is what we're missing in
ECB , we're missing thebusiness part because if we
have that knowledge, who knowshow big our centers can go? Who
knows how much we can really dofor our communities. So he
(05:52):
asked him , you know, let's gettogether and do this. And Jahi
said, you know, know what, thatis the craziest idea I've ever
heard, but it's just crazyenough to work. I'm in
Speaker 2 (06:04):
And
Speaker 3 (06:05):
These guys, they went all over the country
teaching these principles aboutreally running your business as
a business and really honing inon the specifics of talent
acquisition, credentialingsystems, put , bringing in
technology, which is what we'regonna be talking about today,
which is sometimes the hardestthing to kind of bring people's
(06:27):
mind to, but it's the biggestgame changer. So they went
around doing all these classes,but realize, you know, they're
in conferences and, you know,these big conferences can get
pretty pricey, and then youhave to shut down your center
so that you can travel and allof that. So people were really
missing out on what they had tosay. So they thought about what
(06:47):
can we do to really bring thisto everyone and really make it
not just accessible, butaffordable? Mm-Hmm ,
you know, create something thatreally can get to people and
bring that flavor that I love.
You know what I mean? Andbecause, you know, you don't
want it to be boring. You wantit to be upbeat, you want it to
be interesting, but you alsowant it to be effective. So
(07:10):
that's when Craft By BetterFutures was born. And we went
online, and this is way beforethere was a pandemic, Leah . So
we were ready . We didn't even,obviously no one knew it was
gonna be a pandemic, but thepandemic was, you know, didn't
hurt us at all because we werealready virtual. I came aboard
. Yeah, I came aboard in 20 19,20 20, and we started to do,
(07:33):
you know, push with the virtualclasses. We , uh, morphed into
boot camps, which are hands onbecause, you know, when you go
to all of these , uh, webinarsand stuff, they're great. You
feel amazing. But then, youknow , you probably remember
maybe 10% of it if that. Sowhat we do is we make sure that
not only do you have the theknowledge, you get the
(07:54):
one-on-one, and you get theactual handholding to implement
it into your business, so yousee results. So that's what
Crap by Better Futures is in anutshell.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Excellent. Uh , and how about you? What is your,
what's your background in ECE?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Well, glad you asked Leah . Well, UL ultimately, I'm
actually from New York City.
And growing up, my sister,shout out to my sister Denise.
She had this idea, she was asingle mom, and she had about
three kids, and she was like, Ialways wanted to have my own
daycare, and, but I don't havea place to do it. And she's
like, you know what? I'm justgonna do it in my house.
Everybody told her she wascrazy. They were like, no one's
(08:31):
gonna bring their kids to yourhouse. That's crazy. And I told
her, I said, I actually thinkthat's gonna work. She's like ,
yeah, I've seen people do itbefore, but I don't know
anybody that did it. So I waslike , I'm gonna help you. She
created it. We, I mean, we, shehad a big house, so, you know,
we had a lot of space to do itin . I was a teenager then, so
I worked there. Uh , afterschool I worked there. I was
the closer, I was the, the ,the kid who wore your kids out
(08:54):
for you,
wear those kids all the wayout. I'd have them chasing them
up and around and all that. Youknow how the energy Uhhuh
against all odds, and peoplelooked to her as just a savior
because they didn't understandhow they were gonna do it on
their own. And here she isproviding this resource for
(09:18):
them to go ahead and make aliving for their, for their
families. And it just gave methat, I call her my muse,
because I always worked withchildren growing up, even in
high school, in college, I wentto Howard University. I worked
in DC public schools, workedwith , uh, preschools and all
that. So fast forward in mycareer, I ended up in workforce
development,
(09:41):
businesses in DC about , uh,really bringing that core
essence of qualified candidatesto businesses. And when I got
into childcare , I worked withchildcare businesses, I
realized that I had a reallygood knack for placing people
into childcare , uh, positions.
And that was due to how Irecruited, you know, I acquired
(10:04):
talent. I didn't go off of thepaperwork, I went off of their
heart because I understood whatit took to be successful in
that business. And then I , bythen, I was a mom myself, so I
knew what I looked for as a momand then as an employee. So I
had the best of all threeworlds, the employer, the mom,
and the employee perspective.
(10:25):
So that's how I, that's howactually met Dr. Gunman. Um, I
was, I had this big projectthat I wanted to do. I wanted
to create a center inside theWorkforce Center, and I got him
in there to help me. And when Isaw what these guys were doing,
I had to be a part of it. I waslike, oh, yeah, I'm in, I'm in.
And the rest is history leader. Like, we've been working,
(10:47):
it's what, 2024? So it's beenover four years now that we've
been doing this work. And it'sbeen super amazing. You know,
we've been everywhere and wemeet so many people like
yourself that mm-Hmm ,
business, and they're lookingfor solutions. So I'm just
happy to be here talking aboutthis.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, it sounds like it was meant to be,
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Right? I believe that. I definitely believe
that.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
I do too . I do too . So , let's talk a little bit
about technology, ECE usingapps, that kind of thing. And
one question that I think isreally important to start with
is, let's start with theteachers. Like, why are so many
of these teachers nervous aboutembracing technology when it's
(11:33):
something we know is gonna maketheir job easier, but they're
still scared? Why do you thinkthat is
think that is?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well, Leah , I'll tell you one thing. Um, you
know , I'm also a , a marketingconsultant as well. And one
thing that I've learned fromworking with our members and
our clients is technologyscares people. It scares people
down because it, it can bequite intimidating. Even the
lingo, like when I starttalking about just Zoom, people
are like, oh my God, I don'tknow that
(12:01):
like, it's fine. It's sosimple, I'll teach you. Yeah .
And a lot of times, you know,you kind of feel dumb when you
don't know something, so youstay away from it. So I think
the biggest pushback is the,the not knowing the unknown
and, and feeling like, I'm notgonna learn all of this, but
not realizing that it justtakes a quick little training
and to do it, you know, morerepetitiously and you'll get
(12:24):
it. So I think it's the fearmost of Olia , it's the , it
has to be. And if you see thelook on people's faces, when I,
when I give them a link,they're like, oh God, what am I
gonna do with this? And I'mlike, just , just click it.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Speaker 3 (12:36):
I've learned that easing them into it helps and
really, you know, slowing itdown and teaching them, you
know, but it's the fear. It'sdefinitely the fear.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Okay. So if we're talking about fear , um, so
what is the best way then tointegrate technology into a
center ? I mean, is it thatslowly or is it like tearing
off a bandaid? What, what haveyou found that works?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Well, I would say it's a little bit of both.
Okay. I , I say that you haveto introduce it for one, let
people know the benefits of it.
You know, what happens if youdon't use it
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So that they started to put it in perspective. Once
you show them the benefits ofit, then they're like, okay, I
guess I'll give it a chance.
But then let them know that youare gonna walk them through it.
You're gonna handhold when itcomes to craft, that's how we
get them through the technologyis honestly Leah , the
handholding. Okay . And that'swhy we do one-on-ones that is
the game changer is theone-on-ones. All our
(13:42):
memberships come withone-on-ones. That way you have
an expert on the other side ofyou, and they can walk you
through it. Hold your hand justlike riding a bike. You know
how your mom or your dad had tohold the back of that seat,
, you are off. Then you'relike, all right , get off me. I
got this now. And that's whatyou have to get 'em to. I think
that when people don't havetraining, that's when they
(14:05):
fail, because they're, theyjust throw their hands up.
They're like, I don't know howto do this. And they throw
their hands up and they quit.
Uhhuh
guidance, it is a no brainer.
So I think that's the best way. That's when I say ripping off
the bandaid, which you mean,don't just trickle it in.
Meaning, Hey, this is what wehave a new system. And that's
the rip off of the bandaid tosay, Hey, this is starting such
(14:28):
and such . Let's say we givethem a couple of weeks to kind
of get used to it. And we'llsay, in two weeks we're going
full throttle. Okay. So here'swhat's gonna happen up until
then. Okay, we're gonna havedaily trainings. We are gonna
have exercises, something thatmakes it fun, because I'm a
visual learner. Leah , I don'tknow about you. I'm a visual
and a touch learner. Like Itotally
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Am
Speaker 3 (14:49):
A rhythm person, so I gotta see it. I gotta touch
it, and I gotta do it myselftoo. I can't just read about
it. So I think hands-onlearning. That's, I mean,
that's what we're all about.
Hands-on learning. And alsogroups, especially if you have
a a , a thick staff, I wouldbreak 'em up into groups and Oh
, really? I , I , I like tomake cohorts, you know, little
(15:10):
pots, because those big groups,sometimes you get lost, you're
scared to ask a question 'causeyou don't wanna look crazy or
dumb. So you kind of keep it toyourself. Small groups help the
people in that group connectwith each other. Now they're
partners in this, they'repartners in the learning. They
can hold each other's handbecause something you might
understand, I might not Mm-Hmm.
(15:32):
even that trainer, you know,as, as a trainer myself, I
noticed that there's sometimeswhen your neighbor has to lean
over and say she's on page 18,you know what I mean? And
you're like, oh, yeah, yeah,yeah. You know what I mean? So
that comradery that I would saywork togetherness aspect of it,
it makes that so much easier.
(15:53):
And it calms people down, youknow? And Go ahead. What were
you gonna say? So,
Speaker 2 (15:57):
So I was just thinking, like, so when you're
forming these small groups, doyou put together people who are
kind of maybe on the same levelas technology? Or do you mix up
the, say the Gen Z who've, youknow, were born with an iPhone
'em kind of where everybody'son the same page and what
(16:17):
works?
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Oh, no . Well, I mean, I would say mix 'em up.
Mix 'em up, definitely mix themup. Because just like I said,
when you think about a classthat has a mix, you, your
superstars become your, yourTAs, your te your , your
teacher's assistants. And nowthat when you are , when you
need to work with the fullclass, you don't have to stop
for maybe one or two people whoare not getting it. That person
who already has it can say,Hey, that's why I love breakout
(16:39):
rooms. Because if someone'sstruggling with a specific part
and you don't wanna, you know,specifically stop the training,
you can say, Hey, Lee's gonnatake you into a breakout room
to practice that more with you.
Okay. And then we're gonna comebring you back in. And now they
come back in more confident and, and they say, oh, wow. I
don't know how I didn't getthat. You know? And , and, and
(17:00):
you're like, come on back inhere. And we get, you know, it
gets right back on track.
Mm-Hmm,
definitely think that a mix is,is good. You know, some people,
they say, I mean, these peopleare already working together,
so they should have some typeof relationship. And the more
that you guys achieve together,the more you will achieve
(17:20):
together, because it makes youcloser as a staff, you know,
because we've gone throughsomething together. We've
learned something together,we've achieved something, you
know? Yeah. And reward, youknow, I, I'm a celebration
person. I always say I have anevent spirit. So anytime we do
trainings, we, we givecertificates of completion. And
(17:41):
I step in and I, like, I alwaystell the guys, I say, can I
give them a graduation,
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Speaker 3 (17:48):
And they say , go ahead, Latoya. And because I
love it, you know, who doesn'twanna feel celebrated? Yeah .
It gives you that sense ofpride and accomplishment. And
even if I , I just give you acertificate and I have like,
maybe some juice and somedonuts or something, or, you
know , send you a littleDoorDash card to , you know ,
(18:08):
get you something or Starbucks.
You know what I mean? Like,just something to celebrate
that win, because a win is awin no matter how small it is .
Absolutely . And incentives arealways a thing, you know. And
also, like you said, like, youknow, using a system like
ProCare, like, you know , thatis something that can be, you
know, maybe a littleintimidating because you guys
(18:29):
are the, you know, the , youare the, the gurus, you know,
so they're like, this has to besomething complicated. If they
can do all of this in a click ,it's gotta be something crazy
that I just don't understand,you know?
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So Well, we got, we got it handled for everybody
why, I mean, why do you thinkit is that people maybe do
hesitate to ask questions?
Especially like in thiseducation space where we, you
know, we're always encouragingpeople ask questions, yet when
it's us, we're sometimes, Ooh ,I don't know if I should ask
(19:05):
that. Is that silly? Mm-Hmm.
someone feel more comfortablewith throwing those questions
out there? 'cause somebody elseis probably thinking it
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Well, yeah. Um, you know, that's always been a
thing, Leah . I mean,throughout time Yeah . In
education. And , and it's a ,it's a vulnerable thing to ask
a question and to Mm-Hmm .
mean? Yeah . 'cause we we're,we're a people of knowers. We
know her , we know everything.
And we, and we feel, you know,some people will make you feel
bad, like, oh my God, you don'tknow that. You know? So it's a
(19:36):
vulnerability thing. So what Iwould do is have them write the
questions down anonymously andsubmit 'em . Oh , yeah. So that
way nobody knows, who doesn'tknow
those people who are too shy toask, they're gonna be so
relieved. So relieved. Like, ohmy gosh, I thought it was just
me. You know?
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Oh, that's a great idea. Yeah. I like that. I'm a
,
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I'm a firm. I'm a big FAQ person. Ask Jahi , I'm
always on him. I'm like, weneed an FAQ , you know? And
he's like, okay, okay. I gotyou, Latoya, because I know me,
it , it alleviates a lot ofquestions for me when I have a
frequently asked questions barwhere I can kind of get a jump
on some of the things that I,you know, that I'm probably
gonna wanna know anyway. Sohaving that handy and , um,
(20:25):
even a , uh, like a glossary,because tech terminology, like,
I talk to a guy and he's like,oh, you're such a techie. And
I'm like, I'm not, I , I'm alittle, but not really, you
know, like, not as much as Iwould like to be. So, yeah .
And, and like, even the way youwrite your numbers, like I
write the dots and stuff, he'slike, you write like a techie.
So I realized like it's alanguage that techies talk ,
(20:48):
and I didn't realize it becauseI speak it a little Mm-Hmm . So
I didn't think it was a thing,you know? And I'm like, wow.
Like, th that's a thing to you,but you can't discredit anybody
for not knowing if they not inthat realm or, you know, they ,
they don't do tech, theydefinitely might feel
intimidated. So breaking downit , breaking it down into
layman's terms what these termsmean. So it gives them a , a ,
(21:12):
a power pack going in. You knowwhat I mean? Uhhuh , it gives
them that ammunition. So atleast I understand a little
bit. So when I heard that, I'mlike, oh, okay. I see what that
is. You know? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah. And then kind of along those lines, can we
talk a little bit about givingteachers buy-in, like, like,
how is it that, that you canshow them that using this
technology, you know, whetherit's digital curriculum,
whether it's these QR codes tosign in, sign out, anything
along those lines that it isdifferent, but how do you show
(21:44):
them that this is gonna makeyour job easier and hopefully
lower your stress, hopefullylower your burnout? You know,
that's always a goal.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
I'd say the proof is in the pudding. Okay. I always
say the proof is in thepudding, showing real live
examples of how things havechanged. And the numbers do not
lie. Uh , I , I'm a firmbeliever of the numbers don't
lie. When you show them, Hey,here's how much time you're
spending on of your day doingX, Y, and z,
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Uhhuh
Speaker 3 (22:12):
If you use this system, you can cut that into a
fraction of that time and, andwhatever they like to do, put
that in there. Like, you know,you like, you know, strolling
on Instagram, on your phone,look how much more Instagram
time you gonna get
Speaker 2 (22:25):
You know what I
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Mean? Yeah . And they're like, oh , really ? If
you , like , if a person lovestheir lunch break and you don't
wanna be doing work on yourlunch break, 'cause that
happens, you know, you havethat one quiet moment, and now
you have to do paperwork, youknow, with it. How are you
eating your lunch ? Dripping itall over the paper? You know
what I mean?
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Perspective for people. Say, Hey, here's what
you're doing Uhhuh . Here'swhat , here's what it could
look like if you usetechnology.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Gotcha . And then
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Handhold, walk 'em into it, give 'em a little
taste and say, Hey, let's trythis. How about let's see how
much easier and more accurateyour clock ins will be. You
know, you remember last weekwhen you had to ask about your,
your hours because you , youforgot to write down on the
book , the book log in whattime? Mm-Hmm .
What if all you had to do wasflash your badge and we clock
(23:15):
you in ?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Yeah . Now
Speaker 3 (23:16):
You're getting your full check . You know what I
mean? Think about, you know,giving them the scenarios of
what happens if you don't.
Yeah. How much time you're,you're you're giving away Now
it becomes a choice.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I like it. You know?
And when you were talking aboutspilling your lunch all over
paperwork, when we , um, whenwe were talking recently, you
were telling me about some ofthe crazy spreadsheets that
you've seen. And I'd love it ifyou could like
me some of these examples ofwhat directors, assistant
directors, I mean, maybe eventeachers are doing too, to try
(23:50):
to keep track of the businessend and talk a little bit about
those and what the end resultis for how the, how the
business is being is being run
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Leah . Yeah. When, when we talkabout technology, one thing I
craft by better future is weare big on technology because
uhhuh , we are , you know, weare grassroots team. So we were
just joking the other day abouthow we've gone through so many
systems to find the right onesfor us, because we had to do so
many things manually. And I'mnot a millennial, I don't think
(24:24):
I'm a millennial. I don't knowwhere I am in it, but I'm not,
what do you call those? Theones, the new ones that come
out ?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Oh, the Gen Z.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Gen Z. Yeah. Yeah.
I'm not a Gen Z
know, but there's a lot of ,like, I , you know how they can
text 2000 words in two seconds?
I can't do that. So typing forme is, is is brutal. Uhhuh
one of the systems that we use,we, we teach on a accounting
system. We do a bootcamp about, uh, a wave bootcamp where we
(24:54):
teach business owners, EEbusiness owners how to manage
their finances with a actualsystem. Okay. Uhhuh
about what happens if youdon't. We have Leah , we have
this bootcamp, and we wereteaching people how to manage
their finances, right? Uhhuh
she has a laptop. And I mean,she pulls out this spreadsheet.
(25:16):
This thing has 300 line items.
It has about seven differentcolors. I mean, she's got
formulas in it. And lemme tellyou, this spreadsheet looked
great. I was like, my goodness,where'd you get this from? She
was like, oh, I made it overthe years. I'm like, okay, how
was like, well, you know, aftermy kids go home, I take about
(25:39):
an hour and a half to input thedays. I'm like, you do what?
Like, oh , my, like, wait aminute. And she said, or
sometimes I get up 5:00 AMbefore my kids get in, and I do
a couple of hours on thespreadsheet. And I'm like , are
you serious? Are you serious?
What happens if you miss a , a, a coin? You know what I mean?
The whole spreadsheet's ruined,you know, if you accidentally
(26:01):
delete something, how are youeven gonna know it's a million
line items on here? Yeah .
Like, this is crazy. And shewas like, well, this is all
I've got. I'm , I'm just kindof a slave to it. And I was
like, honey, we've gotta dobetter than that. And there's a
better solution for that. Butlike you said, Leah , it takes
for somebody to see that.
(26:22):
'cause if nobody saw , if Ididn't look over her shoulder
being a little nosy, like, whatis that thing? You know? Yeah .
She would've even thought aboutit. She's like, oh, this is
nothing. You know, because it'sa great spreadsheet, but it's
killing your lifestyle. No worklife balance. You are not
getting any free time becauseyou gotta wake up and do it all
over again. So we're like, whatabout a childcare management
(26:43):
system? You can manageeverything from there. And,
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Oh , I think you're cutting out a little bit. Oh ,
it's a little, it's a littlegrainy right there. Okay . No ,
it's still really, huh? That'sweird. Can you hear me okay ?
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Okay. What about now?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Perfect. It's perfect. Okay. We'll just edit
that last part out. That'ssuper easy. Um, do you wanna
start , um, where you weretalking about like your
work-life balance, how thataffected it, or Definitely you
don't really have any
life balance. It's all work
Speaker 4 (27:59):
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah. If you're getting up two hours before
your shift starts just to fillin a spreadsheet or staying two
hours late to fill in aspreadsheet, you're never going
to catch up. It's a rat raceand you're never gonna have
quality of life, and it's notworth it. You guys do the most
important job. You know, youhave to face these children and
(28:22):
they're looking to you for yourenergy to be on point, and
they're looking for you tobring their energy up. So if
you are spending your timemanually doing everything, you
are not gonna be at 100% . Youdefinitely, you're not even
gonna be at 80%. You know? Sowhat we talk to our business
owners about is efficiency.
Efficiency, because you wantsomething that's gonna be
(28:43):
correct and you want it to betime, you know what I mean? You
know, to save you time , save ,and in turn it's gonna save you
money. Because now when, like Iwas saying before, it's the
output for me. You know,because you have the excellent
reporting, you know? Mm-Hmm .
slash parents ask you for anytype of detail in what you're
(29:05):
doing, one click. You don'thave to shuffle through papers
and download this and put thistogether and pull out this and
hide this column and
It's just a mess. So ,
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Well, it just seems like there's so much room for
error. And maybe I'm thinkinghow when I do excel, how it
Mm-Hmm .
mistake that's just gonna sendyou down a rabbit hole of
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Yeah. And the anxiety that comes with it,
Leah , that, that you couldhave made a mistake. And I'm
one of those people, I'm gonnakeep checking back. I'm gonna
check it a million timesbecause I'm like, like, I'm
worried that I might've missedsomething or I accidentally
clicked something off and, anddid something else. I can't
undo it. Or, yeah. But like yousaid, just the , if you have
seen the, I've seen peopleactually do things on Word
(29:56):
documents, like keep books onWord documents. So a
spreadsheet is asking me tostep up. Yes. I'm like, what is
that? And even handwritten.
I'm, I'm, I'm definitely anotebook girl, I'm no shade. I
love a good notebook. Yeah .
But that's like a backup to mycomputer. And that's like my
anxiety anyway. I'm like, Ihave to write things down. I'm
(30:16):
a scribbler,
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Uhhuh ,
Speaker 3 (30:18):
I also have systems, you know, that I, that I use .
And they have done nothing butchanged my life and my
business. So we definitely , wespeak by example, Leah . That's
why I said, you know, withProCare being such a , a , not
, don't wanna say intricate,but such a , uh, sophisticated
system. You guys have seen the,you've seen 30 years of this.
(30:42):
So you've guys have been ableto grow with the industry to
see where it's going. Andthat's what I love about you
guys. 'cause you're listening,you know, listening to what
people really need and whatwill help make it better so
that we can be better for thechildren. Because that's really
the, the biggest deal. We wannabe able to go outside and play
in the water and not beworrying about, oh my gosh, I
gotta go and put my spreadsheettogether, you know? Oh . And if
(31:05):
the parents say, Hey, I'mapplying for , uh, a loan and I
need to get my , uh, receiptsfrom you for the last six
months. And , and that's awhole nother project for your
weekend. And you thought youwere going to Atlanta City this
weekend,
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Together , right?
You're putting together a , awhole report, but not with
growth here . Not with a systemwhere you can hit a button and
say, Hey , um, what we , whatwe really talk about technology
for businesses when it comes towowing your clients, wowing
your families. 'cause familiesappreciate efficiency. Yeah .
(31:42):
They look at your business in adifferent light when they see
that you've invested inprocesses that make not only
your life easier, but theirlife easier. And it just makes
your business look more, Iwould say, more responsible,
you know? Mm-Hmm.
with somebody that is notresponsible and, and you're
leaving your child there andyou're, you're really putting
(32:03):
your , you're trusting yourraising your child to someone
else. Pretty much. So if youknow that in there on the
spreadsheets, who's, who'shanging out with the kids and
teaching them things and havingexperiences, you know? Yeah .
So we wanna make sure you're,you're present.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Yeah. And when we, you know, we talked to a lot of
center owners, teachers all thetime, you know, and the
question I asked you right atthe beginning, you know, how
did you get into ECE? And notonce has anybody ever said,
because I'm so excited aboutaccounting and running a
business
me. So, and I'm, you know, myyoungest isn't preschool. He
(32:40):
goes to a UCE center and I'mgrateful for that. Like, like
be there with him teaching himhis letters, that kind of
thing. Yeah . So I totally getwhat you're saying.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
And Yeah, the parents love it. Yeah .
Speaker 2 (32:51):
For the ,
Speaker 3 (32:51):
The parents side of it, because they get a glimpse
into their child's day. And I'mgonna tell you, you know, I was
a working mom and, you know, mykids are bigger now. They're
like, you know, early, earlyteens. So, you know , they
don't care about me anymore,
young, I had such mom guilt,Leah , because I didn't get to
see my kids all day. So I knowfrom the mom perspective,
(33:13):
having that access to yourchildren and what they're doing
and what they're learning andhow they're experiencing life
is just so much easier to havethat peace of mind when you are
at work trying to focus on yourspreadsheets,
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Right, right.
Exactly.
it looking a bit into thefuture, if you will. So now
let's, let's say the centersays, all right , we're gonna
use technology in theclassrooms. You've done the
training. How do directors keepsupporting this as it, you
(33:47):
know, keeps gettingimplemented, people are using
it, maybe mistakes are made.
What's, what's the, what's thekey to success there?
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Oh, Leah , I'm so glad you asked. And you have
some people think, oh , atraining is a one time thing.
It's not. It has to beprogressive. You know, and I'm
a person, I love evaluationsbecause you don't know what was
retained. You know, you peoplelove nodding and saying, okay,
I got it. And they don't haveanything. They don't, they ,
they're still making the samemistake. So what I would say
(34:17):
is, quarterly trainings arealways great. Um, we know that
in this industry, it can be ahigh turnover rate. So you,
you're gonna have new people,but that doesn't mean only the
new people get this training.
Everybody needs to be updated,especially, and you guys are
always adding new, cute thingsand features
always good to make sure thatyou're up on those new times
(34:38):
and those new features. Andwhat I would say is to keep
making an incentive for beinggreat at it. For being great at
using it and, and not bashingpeople for making mistakes, but
making it a learningexperience. I mean, that , I'm
a firm believer that it's aboutcorrection and not just, you
know, Hey, you did this wrong,look what happened. You know,
it's like, Hey, let me, let's,let's, let's explore that.
(34:59):
Let's see how we can do better.
But bringing it back up, makingsure, like making sure that the
trainings are currentlyhappening and, you know,
reoccurring, I should say, andevaluation afterwards. A
knowledge test. Let's see whatyou retained. You know, make it
a thing. You know, if you'regreat at, at , uh, using
(35:19):
ProCare, you could be theteacher, you can be that person
that runs the trainings. I'm ,I'm big on showing people
their, their strongness, theirtheir strengths, really
building on people's strengths.
And if that's something thatyou're strong in , nobody ,
everybody loves to share theirstrengths. Yep . Make that a
(35:39):
thing, you know, and, and whenit comes to talent acquisition,
that's how you show a personthere , that you value them by
noticing their strengths andactually utilizing it. Because
one of the things I see in theindustry is under utilization
of the talent that you have inhouse . So Oh , bring it
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Out . So maybe the younger Yeah, like the younger
Yeah . Staff maybe can help.
Yeah . Some of the peoplewho've been doing it longer.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
Yeah. And show them that they have a strength this
a strength in that. Yeah .
Speaker 2 (36:09):
You know ?
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Oh , love that .
They love that phone. Let 'emuse it.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Right . Well, I think we're wrapping up. Is
there, can you think ofanything I didn't ask or I
should have or that you'd likepeople to take away from this?
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Well, well, I think you asked everything, but what
I want people to take away fromthis is don't be afraid.
Technology is a beautiful thingwhen it's used correctly. And
give it a chance. You know,give it a chance. And don't
feel like you have to learneverything at once. Start with
the small stuff and ease yourway into it. And another thing
is repetition, repetition,repetition. The more you do
(36:48):
anything, the better you'regonna get at it. Don't expect
to be so great your first time.
Fail forward if you make amistake. You know, one thing
about technology is veryforgiven. They, everybody has
an undo button. And that's howI help with my clients. I'm
like, just remember you got anundo. Okay.
of the world. Try again.
(37:10):
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I like, and Latoya, what's the best way for our
listeners to get in touch withyou or craft better Futures?
Any of that? Emails, phone,whatever, whatever you guys
like. Yeah ,
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Well, all of that.
Well, my , you can email me ,um, at l
riggins@betterfuturesdc.com, oryou can visit our website at ww
dot better futures dc.com. Andwe are on all platforms on
social media. You guys, we'reat Craft By Better Futures on
Instagram. We're at , we'rethat on LinkedIn, Facebook,
(37:45):
we're at Craft Cafe Live.
That's my , uh, live show. AndTikTok , we are craft by Better
Futures. Yes, we're on TikTok,guys,
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Nice. Very
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Cool. Then we , we have a YouTube channel Craft by
Better Futures. Okay, guys, socheck us out. You have
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Well, thank you, Latoya, this was so great. We'd
love talking with you. Lovedgetting all your insights. And
thanks to everyone who'slistening, we'll catch you on
the next podcast.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
the Childcare Business Podcast.
To get more insights on ways tosucceed in your childcare
business, make sure to hitsubscribe in your podcast app
so you never miss an episode.
And if you want even morechildcare , business tips,
tricks, and strategies, headover to our resource
center@procaresoftware.com.
(38:35):
Until next time.
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