Season 4, Episode 9: How to Attract New Families to Your Child Care Center, with Molly Hichens

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 points, also known as value propositions
• Make the tours special for prospective families (and check out Molly's 2023 podcast on that topic to go deeper and get even more tips!)
• Follow up, even if a family chooses a different center
• And more!

To learn more about Molly and her work, visit IMollyHichens.com, or email her at [e-mail].

 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Two, one, and listen, I, I start this show
the same way every time, justtrying to welcome everybody to
the Childcare Business podcast.
And , uh, I usually take sometime to introduce our guest ,
but because we have , um, arepeat guest that we think is
gonna, you know, bring a lot ofvalue , discuss some topics

(00:20):
that we think are relevant tothe industry, I'm gonna, you
know, maybe give Molly a quickchance to introduce herself.
You know, Molly Hitchens, forthose of you who , uh, are
familiar with our show, mightrecognize that name. Molly ,
uh, had , uh, a session with usback in the fall, I think
sometime in late October iswhen it was released. If, if
you get an opportunity to goback and listen , uh, it's

(00:41):
definitely worth the time. Um,you know, but Molly , uh, is a
second generation childcareowner. She's got a lot of
experience in the industry, notjust as an owner and , and as a
leader, but also has someperspective of what it means to
grow up in a childcarebusiness. Uh , her and her
family , uh, own and operate, Ibelieve, three centers , uh,

(01:02):
in, in the Charlottesville,Virginia area. Um, and I think
in recent years, you know,Molly, you've kind of started
to, you know, move a little bitinto , uh, thought leadership.
You do a lot of speaking, a lotof consulting in the industry.
So just wanna welcome you backto the show and maybe give you
a chance to add anything you'dlike to that, to that bio.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm always so
happy to be here. And Yes,that's exactly right. You know,
I grew up in the industry. Uh,we have three schools right now
in Charlottesville, Virginia.
And I think, you know, I'mreally passionate about helping
preschool owners because as youknow , uh, many preschools have
closed since Covid . And Ithink owners are looking for

(01:46):
that support from other ownersand , uh, companies,
consultants , uh, you know,just to collaborate and, you
know, grow, grow, even ifthey're not, you know, growing
to another school. Just growingas far as your quality. And so,
you know, one thing that I loveabout our industry is we're an
industry of impact. And so,especially with, you know,

(02:10):
being owners, mostly onsiteowners, you know, it's really
exceptional that we all get tomake decisions and see that
impact sometimes the next day,sometimes the next week. And so
it gives me a lot of energy tobe able to share ideas that I
have, you know , learn fromother preschools, but also that

(02:30):
we use at our preschool everyday to, you know, help each
other.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah, I'd love to hear that. And you, so just to
give our audience a littlecontext on your journey, I know
I referenced this a minute ago.
I knew, I know you grow up. I,you know, I've worked with your
mom a little bit, Kathy , and,and familiar with, you know,
your organization and whatshe's doing now too. But I'm
curious for you, like growingup in the business, were you

(02:58):
the child that was always, I amdefinitely not following the
path of my parents and I'mgonna go do my own thing and,
and, you know , conquer theworld. Or did you always have
an inclination watching thebusiness as a, a child of
parents who were in childcare,that this is where you wanted
to head to? What was yourjourney?

Speaker 2 (03:18):
That's a fantastic question. So, you know, I have,
it's always felt innate to me.
This industry, it's always feltlike home. What we offer. The,
the sense of family at each ofthe schools has always felt
like home to me. So I havealways wanted to be a part of
this industry. Now, I wasn'tsure if I necessarily saw

(03:39):
myself owning, you know, I'vehad other experiences as , uh,
working on, on the broker side, uh, working actually on the
social media side before that.
Uh, and, you know, all, allthose experiences led me to
coming back to owning secondgeneration owner and being able
to implement on the, you know,business side, but also the ,

(04:01):
uh, teacher training side, amentorship side, leadership
side. But yes, it's always feltvery, I've always had a , a , a
, a lot of passion for achild's experience and becoming
a parent myself. And I just had, uh, my second child in
February , uh, four months ago.
And, you know, it really justgives you a different
perspective. Uh, and, you know,just again, that we're, we're

(04:24):
an industry of impact and beingable to be able to make an
impact the next day as an owneror two weeks from now and
really follow through issomething that's pretty
priceless.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yeah. Yeah. The , um, and it seems like you've
taken a route too , just interms of like taking a
leadership position in theindustry, at least watching as
a, you know, you know ,congratulations on baby number
two. Just adding like , uh,like a second. It goes from
more than double. I remember Ihave two kids as well, and

(04:56):
they're older now, but it feelslike going from one to two,
it's more than just doubling.
It's like somehow exponentialthe work. So I'm sure early
days , um, congratulations toyou guys. That's exciting.
Thank

Speaker 2 (05:08):
You. Yes, definitely. From , from one to
two, definitely double the workand also double the love

Speaker 1 (05:14):
. Yeah, there you go. Somehow it just
works out that way. And you,because you, going back to like
the business side of it, Molly,you obviously co-own the
centers there in , in Virginia,but you haven't just stopped
at, Hey, I'm gonna run thecenters. I'm gonna operate.
That certainly is a passion ofyours, but you're also doing
other things. Like I know youworked with Hinge mm-Hmm . I

(05:36):
think you're doing stuff onyour own now from a consulting
standpoint. Um, I guess how doyou balance your time before we
get into some of the specifics?
Because you are activelyinvolved in running the centers
, right ? And I am right thatyou're doing some of these
other things. Is it, is it youjust kind of balance your
calendar and, and do a littlebit of everything?

Speaker 2 (05:56):
I think that's the best part about being an, an ,
uh, an ECE owner is that youcan have that, you know,
diversity in your skillset andbeing able to flex to what you
love. And, you know, one day Icould be working on QuickBooks
and the next day I could bedoing a podcast and then a
webinar, and then a phone callwith a center in California.

(06:17):
And you know, and then the nextday, you know, you're, you're
handling helping a schoolhandle someone who, you know,
just quit. You know? I mean,you know , there's never a dull
moment. And, you know, thepassion that I have for that is
exponential. And it's, it's,it's, the path has led me to
really, it actually beingsustainable, even though it's a

(06:39):
little bit, it's reallydiverse. It's become
sustainable because of thepassion that I have for it. Uh,
and I also think when you'reboots on the ground, as we call
it, I think that, you know, theenergy you have and the also
the energy that you wanna shareis just, there's so much energy
you wanna give to share yourexperiences with other owners,
because it can be a very, veryisolating industry on a local

(07:02):
level. And when you can connectwith others, it just makes the
world a difference. And so whenyou go to conferences, when you
go, or a part of a mastermindgroup when you're, you know, a
part of the Facebook groupswhere you're sharing ideas and
people know, Hey, I'm not alonein this. Well , someone else is
also struggling with this. And,you know, staffing, the
staffing shortage is, you know,a big pain point right now.

(07:25):
Yeah . And I think reallyimportant for owners,
directors, managers to know ,you know, you're not alone. You
know, it could be the bestpreschool in America. And they
also are struggling withkeeping teachers or, you know,
hiring, getting teachers in ortheir training process. You
know, everyone's in ittogether.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah. The , um, it , and maybe other industries are
like this, you know, most of mybackground, at least over the
past 20 or so years has been inECE, but that has been an
observation of mine as well.
Certainly I've experienced it.
Owners like to share, ownerslike to connect. There is
community, and there's, eventhough everybody's out trying

(08:06):
to , uh, certainly build theirbusiness and be as successful
as possible from a businessstandpoint, there is this
spirit of like, let's partner.
Because at the end of the day,we are all in this because we
love kids and we wanna, youknow, impact, to your point,

Speaker 2 (08:22):
A hundred percent .
I think we're, we are thenicest industry. I mean, I
will, I will stand up on asoapbox and say that we are the
nicest industry. I mean, the,you would be, I mean, I , I
don't think you would besurprised, but I think a lot of
other industries would bereally surprised with the
camaraderie and the willingnessto help others because, you
know, if we don't all succeedtogether, we're not gonna

(08:43):
succeed as an industry. So, youknow, and I always say, you
know, there's a school thatactually closed. Um, you know,
schools are closing all thetime, unfortunately. And
there's a school that closednear one of our locations about
a year ago. And one of theteachers came in for an
interview and she said, oh, Ibet you're, I bet you're really
excited because you're gettingall these teachers in, you

(09:05):
know, looking for a job. And Istopped her and I said, no ,
let me stop you right there.
You know, when another schoolis not succeeding, it actually
will impact us. And that's notgreat for the industry. So
while I'm happy to interview,you know, any teachers and, you
know, welcome you all with openarms, I really, you know, it's
actually really sad for theindustry when someone does not
succeed. So, you know, and Ithink that's, you know, the

(09:27):
message that I always wanna getacross is, you know, you know,
reach out to me, reach out tothe people around you that want
to communicate, that wanna, youknow, we wanna support each
other because it's really isgonna help you with
sustainability and, you know,problem solving and, you know,
really, you know, gettingthrough the hard times in our
industry. And we just wentthrough a very hard time, you

(09:47):
know, during COVID as anindustry, and we're still
seeing the effects of that in apost covid world. And , uh,
it's, the operationalchallenges are very different.
Um, but you know what ,together we can really support
each other with, you know,ideas based on different
models. And I think that's alsoreally fun is, you know ,
sharing the ideas is great, buteveryone has different models,

(10:10):
different demographics,different areas of the country,
different funding. And so, youknow, it's a puzzle . It's
puzzle pieces and it's fun totry things, but it's also fun
to, you know, share things thatwork in your demographics. So,
you know, I just think it'sjust so fun to, you know, kind
of see where other people arecoming from and the solutions
they have for their market and,you know, the type of schools

(10:30):
that they run.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah. That, that term, you said a couple of
minutes ago, sustainability, Iwant , I wanna come back to
that because just even to likedouble click on your point
about us having the nicestindustry, I can tell you from
experience when we hire peopleat ProCare, so we obviously get
people coming to us from alldifferent backgrounds and
industries, and that is a verycommon piece of feedback when

(10:52):
they actually start interactingwith our customers, which are,
you know, ECE providers is,they're the nicest people.
However, what I will say is,one of the challenges that we
sometimes see is because it'ssuch a passion business, and,
you know, the people that wework with that run centers
obviously are doing it 'causethey love kids and they wanna

(11:13):
make an impact and they wannabe a part of that community.
But sometimes sustaining thebusiness is a bigger challenge,
you know, for our customers.
They love kids and they'retalented, but it's like, oh, if
I don't run a successfulbusiness, I can't continue to
do what I love to do. So itleads me to kind of like, I
have a few questions for you,like just kind of picking your

(11:35):
brain on what you're hearingand seeing, but one of 'em
being around, you know,attracting families. We hear
this a lot where it's like acenter that will say like,
look, we give a lot of tours,but we're not getting
enrollments. And then we haveother schools. And I think you
guys, your schools fit thiscategory where we have a
waiting list and there'sobviously a distinction between

(11:57):
how providers approach thosetours and attracting families.
What are you seeing and hearingand any reaction to that in
terms of how you guys havethought about attracting and,
and marketing your schools?

Speaker 2 (12:10):
Absolutely. It's such a great question. And you
know, as far as enrollment, youknow, I think, I think you ,
you hit the nail on the headwhen you talked about how we
have a lot, there are a lot ofpeople, owners, managers,
directors in the industry thathave such a passion for
children and they don't havemaybe the experience or the
skillset or the tools yet, yet.

(12:30):
'cause we're there , hold themto, you know, combat the, you
know, operational businessside. And, you know, if you're
fully enrolled or enrolled to Xcapacity where you're making
profit, then you're gonna beable to give the increases to
the teachers that you want toget the big playground
equipment that you've beendreaming of to, you know,
invest in the professionaldevelopment, the conferences,

(12:53):
sending your staff to theconferences, you know, but you
have to have enrollment. And soI think there's definitely
this, you know, this the sideto a lot of people that you
know, and families to, to , tobe honest where it's, you know,
oh, well, you know, maybe weshouldn't do well financially.
Maybe we shouldn't, you know,be as savvy as, as, as as other

(13:16):
companies. And it's actuallythat exact opposite. 'cause
we're able to give that qualityand give back and reinvest if
we have that enrollment. Andso, you know, that's why then
enrollment is so, so important.
And when you're attractingfamilies, you know, knowing how
you're going to attract thefamilies and having that
succinct messaging is really,really important. But also the

(13:38):
genuine side is equally asimportant. So what you're
offering, if you're, you haveto be actually offering it. And
so, you know, I call themunique selling points, unique
selling propositions. And ifyou're attracting, trying to
attract families, say you'renot getting the tours in and ,
um, you want to have three tofive unique selling points,

(13:59):
unique selling propositionswhere, you know, everyone knows
them the same ones, and you'reconsistent, concise with them
in the person who's giving thetour and your teacher's talking
about it. But then also all ofyour marketing initiatives. So
your newsletter, your website,your socials, and that succinct

(14:19):
messaging is so important on a,for, especially for , well, for
any company, but especially ona local level , uh, of getting
the word out. But the mostimportant part is that you're
actually doing those things andthat they're updated from
before, you know, from beforecovid , it may have been very
different what you're offering,and now you could be doing

(14:39):
something totally different.
And so making sure they'reupdated is also very important.
But having that messaging,because, you know, we're really
in a cornerstone to anyrelationship is trust. So if
we're actually doing the thingswe're saying we are, then it's,
it's gonna, it's going to beamazing for your program, but

(15:00):
also getting the message out.
Uh, but as far as theunderstanding, the, getting the
tours in, I think it's reallywhat's really important is to
look at your demographics. Ithink, you know, I've done a
lot of mystery shopping in thepast nationally. Yeah . Uh ,
and, and a lot of it was prepre pre-kids because, you know,
you're, you're away for, youknow, five, six days at a time

(15:22):
researching a market. But, youknow, it's really important to
know, you know, say it's theOrlando, Florida market, they
have tons of walk-in tours.
Same with Texas. But you know,if you look at a market like
Charlottesville, we don't haveas many walk-in tours. We're
more rural. We're a collegetown in Charlottesville,
Virginia. We're two and a halfhours away from the biggest
city, which is Washington DC ofthe area. So, you know, knowing

(15:46):
your market is really importantbecause, you know, in Orlando
they can anticipate, you know,you're gonna have, you know,
two to three walking tours aday. Um, and making sure you
can be really consistent withyour messaging, but also the
being genuine is even moreimportant and having the right
person who that's showcasingyour school. So, you know, you

(16:07):
don't want to, you wanna makesure the person has the
personality and the confidenceto relay your message in the
community. And if you're tryingto have someone give, give
tours that is maybeuncomfortable on the spot,
uncomfortable, not asconfident, you know, reaching
out to people on their own or,you know, maybe isn't the first

(16:27):
person to, to , um, shakesomeone's hand, that might be
someone who you need to trainup, or it might not be the
personality, and that's totallyfine. We can find the right
seat for that person. But it'sreally important that comes off
as someone who's reallycomfortable and you know, that,
that makes all the differencewith , um, with attracting, you

(16:49):
know, families that feelcomfortable and welcomed to
your facility just from thesecond they step into your
school. And , um, one thingthat I think across the board
nationally that we couldimprove on as an industry is,
you know, anticipating thosenew families, those potential
families coming into yourbuilding. And I can't tell you

(17:11):
how many mystery shops I'vedone where I walk in and I
don't feel like they don'tcoming , or even though I made
an appointment. And so that's areally important, and we say,
you know , have that littlechalkboard out, welcome little
James and mom, you know, Stacy, and you come in and you know,
you , you shake their hand. Wewere expecting you, you get on
the child's level. We're soexcited to have you here.

(17:32):
Here's a little activity foryou to play with at the table,
mom, here's the application.
So, you know, having thatwelcoming , um, attribute at
your schools , um, really itcan be taught, but it has to be
the right person who's doing itas far as their personality and
them getting excited to do it.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah. That makes all the sense in the world to me
too, because if I'm hearing youright, it's like a , if you are
going to be trying to fillseats in your classrooms, you
better understand what you'reunique, what we call value
proposition, what you justreferenced as value proposition
or selling propositions, whichis what are the key
differentiators, or at leastwhat are the key things that

(18:10):
you want as a business owner tohang your hat on? This is what
we're about, this is what we'refocused on. And I think rather
than trying to adapt to everyparent that walks through and
be something different to eachparent, and and tell me if I'm
saying this wrong, from yourexperience, what you've seen
and what you've experienced isknow who you are, actually

(18:33):
deliver what you say you'regonna deliver, and be
comfortable representingyourself with what you believe
is important to you. And thenthe right families are gonna be
attracted to that

Speaker 2 (18:44):
A hundred percent.
And choosing the things I thinkwe could all think of, you
know, 50 things we all dodifferent than the center down
the road, right? We all, and ,and , and we, we are, we are
doing a lot of things that aredifferent, but choosing those
things that might stand out. Soexamples could be, you know,
oh, we offer Spanish in all ofour classrooms. We have a
cooking lab, we have atinkering lab, we have an art

(19:05):
studio, and you know, we, weoffer yoga. We also, or one ,
one could be, you know,teachers' experience, you know,
we, you know, all of our leadteachers have bachelor's
degrees, all of our, you know,we, we offer technology or we
don't offer technology. I mean,I think you can go both ways
these days on that. Yeah .
Like, we're actually a easyfree school as far as, you

(19:25):
know, we don't have, you know,smart boards in our schools
and, you know, we, we we're ,we're anti-technology. So I
think choosing the things thatset your yourselves apart , um,
even even teacher wise , youknow, oh, this one teacher has
been here, you know, 20 plusyears, that's a unique selling
point for that school, youknow? Yep . And , um, they're

(19:46):
really at your fingertips. Butchoosing the three to five is
really important because, youknow, your messaging can get
very common . You don't stickto those three to five. You can
change those three to five and, you know, sit , you know , in
a year, but stick to thosethree to five, say, you know,
nine to 12 months and then youcan reevaluate and and freshen
them up.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah. I, I like that too, because that's very
tactical, I think, for peoplethat are listening in terms of
looking at your business andreally try to pull out those
three to five things and beclear on what your distinct
value propositions are. And ifyou can be clear on that, then
you, the other point that youmade, which makes all the sense
in the world to me, make surethat if it's not you as the

(20:30):
owner giving the tour, thatyou're entrusting that initial
experience that these newfamilies have to somebody that
can embody what your center isall about. Because I think for
all of us who've walked intoany type of business where
maybe that initial experiencewasn't great, it is true. Like,
if, even if that is the mostamazing business in the world,
if your initial experiencewasn't great, you're probably

(20:52):
not gonna go back. And so yougotta make sure that the person
giving tours fits the bill

Speaker 2 (20:57):
A hundred percent.
And you know, we have, we havea , we have, we have one person
that gives all of our tours forus that makes the most sense
because we know she'sconsistent. We know she has
that personality. She's superbubbly. Her children went to
our schools, and I call hersunshine. Even when I talk to
her on a daily basis, I'm like,hi, sunshine. Because she
exudes sunshine. And that'swhat you want for a preschool.

(21:19):
You want the person that'sgonna make you feel warm and
fuzzy every single day. Andthat's how I feel, even on a
colleague level with her. Sohow do you feel like on a
colleague level with someone,because that's how they're
gonna, you know, they're gonnabe perceived with your, your
community at hand

Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah. And how they make you feel. What is, what is
the follow up step maybe atyour schools, or you could use
an experience that you've seenat , uh, you know, other
schools that you've worked withthat you find to be effective.
But in terms of like, okay,I've given a tour, we've
represented, you know, ourbrand and our, our value
propositions correctly. I hadsunshine or my key, you know,

(21:57):
employee give the tour. I'mjust curious for you, any
suggestions on what happensnext? So the family leaves,
they haven't enrolled. Whatdoes , what does a follow up
look like or a next step looklike?

Speaker 2 (22:09):
Absolutely. So I think what's important is for
your team to know what theinitiatives are. So if you are
trying to get families toenroll, you know, set , you
know, we're about to go intosummer right now, so mm-hmm ,
, it's a key timeto get the summer spots full.
'cause all of our, you know,little pre-Ks are going to
kindergarten soon. So a lot ofpeople drop off in June. And so
it's really important thatwe're having that in mind when

(22:32):
we are enrolling. And so thefollow up is so important. And
I think that is something thatis so easy that every single
center can work on, is fallingup. And I think a lot of
centers, I'm not saying all,but I think a lot of centers
would turn those tours intoenrollments if they would just
follow up. And the thing is,it's not a cold call, a cold

(22:58):
experience. You know, they'vealready shown interest, they've
already been to your school,you know them. So it's really
following up, Hey, do you haveany questions that I could
answer for you? Hey, is thereanything that I need to do to
support you in making yourdecision? And, you know, it all
is always I important too tosee where, where are they
looking, you know, what otherschools are they looking at in

(23:19):
the community? But, you know,having that initiative though,
in the beginning of, you know,offering a deal during the
tour, Hey, we have this, youknow, we are doing, we're
waiving our reg fee and we'redoing one week free if you
start by June 15th. And sothat's really important to
offer because then it's givingthem a timeline. They can go

(23:41):
back and think about it. Wedon't wanna rush them, you
know, on the spot. I mean, Icertainly don't wanna get
someone to sign a contractthere if they're not ready.
Right . You know, it's a reallybig decision and it's a
massive, you know, financialobligation as well. We want
them to have all of the answersand make a decision, you know,
in their own time. But I alsowant to incentivize them, you
know, if, if they do make adecision at this time, you

(24:03):
know, that will be helpful. Notonly for them, but for us, for
planning purposes, for thatenrollment, for, you know,
financial success for us. So wecan give those raises. We , so
we can give the, get the, youknow, playground equipment, do
all the, all the fun things ifwe have that stability
financially.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah. I think , um, uh, you know, so smart to talk
about like the little thingsthat make such a big
difference. Like you said,anybody can take the two
minutes to follow up , butoftentimes people don't. It's
the same thing like in ourworld, like our account
executives that work withowners like yourself, Molly,
like, we talk all the timeabout the little things that
make you different and set youapart. And sometimes that's

(24:41):
honestly just caring enough tofollow up . And the question
isn't, Hey, have you made adecision to buy software in
your case, enroll your child.
Yet it's actually following upand saying, Hey, I know you
guys were really concernedabout, you know, safety in the
classroom and I just wanted tomake sure calls when you were
here. And it's, it's morespecific and personal than

(25:03):
just, like you said, likechecking a box and being
impersonal.

Speaker 2 (25:08):
A hundred percent.
And you know, I think the keyis, you know, and it's funny
'cause I think about my sonwhen I say this, but you know,
he, you know , turns hislistening ears on right now,
he's three. So, you know, hecomes home and, you know, he's
like , I'm putting my listeningears on . And I, I love
that. And, you know, I think wecould learn from as always, you
know, our preschoolers and, youknow, turn your listening ears
on when you're doing that tour,because oftentimes they're

(25:31):
gonna tell you exactly whatthey need. Hey, at this center
that we're currently at Bitingsa really big issue. We're
really concerned about that.
How do you support on that? Andyou can follow up with what you
do. And, you know, it could be,you know, hey, we actually
think we wanna start part-time,then can we move full-time? And
you could say, you know, we, weprioritize full-time
enrollments. But absolutely, ifyou are thinking you're gonna,

(25:52):
you know , just need a littletime for that transition, we
will absolutely accommodatethat. So just taking notes with
your listening years on is soimportant. And I think the
devil's in the details and youknow, again, we're it , this is
a trust business. Yeah . And,you know, really we're, we're
such pillars of ourcommunities. And I think the
one thing that, not the one,there's so many things that

(26:13):
help us stand out, but, youknow, being locally owned is
so, makes us, makes us sodifferent in such a positive
way. And you know, itdefinitely helps us stand apart
from the national providers.
And so being able to make thatdistinction and give that
personal experience of not anautomated, not everything's

(26:34):
automated, you know, oh, here'sjust this generic email. You
know, you can actually do a ,do a really thoughtful email to
that family. You can text them, you can, you know, call them.
And , um, and you know, also,it's okay if they don't choose
you. I also think that's okay.
You know, you're not the rightfit for everybody. And you
know, we want to wish themwell, but also the door is

(26:54):
open. So don't, don't feel badif someone chooses another
school. You know, leave thatdoor open. Oh, you're choosing
the , the school down the road.
That's totally fine. We wishyou well in your experience. If
anything changes, here's mynumber. Reach out at any time .
We'd love to have you back. Youknow, and you know, 'cause I
think people feel verycomfortable if, you know, maybe
they aren't the first choice,maybe maybe that other school

(27:15):
is closed to their house ortheir work. And so keeping that
door open and realizing, youknow, we are all in , you know,
we're all the pillars of ourcommunity and, you know, be
having that locally owned ,managed operated touch is
really important.

Speaker 1 (27:29):
Yeah. And , and not burning a bridge, like you
said, how you react sometimesto, I , maybe it's not
disappointment, maybe that'sthe wrong word, but a family
telling you, Hey, we've made adifferent decision. How you
react to that as a professionaland as a human being says a lot
about character and who youare. And I think it probably
speaks a lot to those familieswho, I mean, you know this way

(27:51):
better than I do, Molly, but Idon't think it's uncommon that
families go through the processof trying to choose a school ,
make a decision based on whatthey have for information right
now, and then find that thatwasn't the right fit. And have
to go back and revisit thedecision. And if you're the
provider or the school thattreated them well, that

(28:13):
probably is your best marketingeffort for that second time
around.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
Couldn't have said it any better. That , that
that's, that's exactly right.
And, you know, the follow up ,I think, I think sometimes
people can feel very insecurefollowing up with people who
have chosen another school, butreally you're just there to be
their local resource and keepthat door open. It's a small ,
all of our communities, even ifyou're in, you know, the
biggest cities, you know,they're still, they're still

(28:38):
small communities and peopletalk and people want to be a
part of something. And so, youknow, it's really important to,
to follow up , even if someonehas chosen another school, you
know, follow up in that 90, 120day mark and, you know, see if
you could be a resource forthem. And you know what, they
might recommend you to a friendin three or four months or in a

(28:59):
year, oh, well we chose thisschool, but gosh, that person
from Bright Beginnings, theywere so nice. And we love their
experience too. So I'd probablylook at both. I mean, that will
pay off more often than notjust to have , just to be a
great community member and tryto be helpful.

Speaker 1 (29:14):
Yeah. And it also shows, like you said, a lot of
confidence and belief in whoyou are, I think as human
beings and when we're lookingfor partners in business, you
know, just, there's somethingthat, that , um, authenticity
and genuineness comes throughwhen people truly, truly
believe who they are. And youwanna do business and interact

(29:34):
with people like that.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
A hundred percent .

Speaker 1 (29:37):
Yeah. The , um, talk about, I know we're hearing a
little echo, we'll edit thisout. I don't know if you can
hear it, but talk to me aboutMolly. Um, the other side of
the formula, there's attractingfamilies and you know,
obviously filling seeds andbuilding enrollment, you said
it really well earlier, youhave to be able to generate

(29:58):
revenue, feel bad about being asuccessful business owner while
you're still, you know,contributing to your community
in this way. But the otherside, and this is what we've,
you know, heard a lot in recentyears, is the challenge of
recruiting staff. Because theother side of it is, Hey, I'm

(30:18):
giving these great tours. Ihave parents that are
interested. A really big pieceof that puzzle is being able to
demonstrate excellence in theclassroom. Is that something
that you're still hearing asyou talk with providers that
the challenge with staffing,and if so, anything you can
share about what you're seeingschools do to be effective in,

(30:40):
in that piece of recruitingstaff, retaining staff?

Speaker 2 (30:44):
Absolutely. That is the number one thing that is
holding our owners managersback from giving the last, you
know, say 15, 20 spots to thechildren. Our community, that's
what's stopping people frombeing full is, you know, is, is
the , is , uh, is teachingteachers hiring and teachers.

(31:06):
And so it's so important to it. It is a puzzle and it's a
balancing act. So as you are ,you know, as you are giving the
tours for potential families,we need to be putting equally
as much effort into hiringgreat staff and our training
procedures before they go intoa classroom. And I think the
most important thing right nowis the thing that we're seeing

(31:28):
is that our teachers are comingto us with less experience than
they historically had . And ,um, you know, say 10 years ago,
you know, a teacher comes inand we give 'em a regular, you
know, training and you can put'em in a room and they would be
flourishing. Now we're havingto do a lot more handholding.
And I think the more we getused to that, and the more the

(31:50):
deeper we go with ourtrainings, the better we're
gonna be as a , a school that'sgonna retain our teachers. And
so I think the teacherretention has been a big, big
issue , uh, for our industrywith every other industry
probably in America right now.
And, you know , really from,from the people I've spoken to,

(32:12):
you know , we've gone from, youknow, 35% turnover to, gosh,
almost 70% turnover in a postcovid world. And so that is
absolutely going to affect, youknow, first of all the children
and, you know , the consistencyand quality of care. If, you
know, we're having that muchturnover, it's really hard to
work on quality. So I think theemphasis on the training before

(32:35):
teachers go into a classroomhas never been more imperative.
But then also the level oftraining as they're in a
classroom and that support forthe first one, one week, two
week , three months, sixmonths, nine months. And I
think, you know, 10 years agowe could, you know, put a
teacher in a room and you know,after a one week we give 'em a
water bottle and after a monthwe give 'em a sweatshirt and

(32:57):
then we, then they get ahandwritten note on month
three. You know, that's verysurface level now, now it is
deeper on the training, thebehavior challenges have never
been more frequent. And youknow, that's also something,
you know, we're having teacherscome in with less experience
and also more behaviorchallenges than we've had
before. So having that supportin that classroom, considering

(33:17):
having some, an extra extraadmin at the front desk to be
able to go support thoseteachers and, you know, do
really actually support in theclassroom and model, you know,
how we want, you know, our, ourteachers to support our
children has never been , uh,more important. And so it is
absolutely what's holding usback and know , attracting the,

(33:41):
the quality teachers, you know,not just attracting them, but
but keeping them , uh, is allabout culture and you know, are
your directors, you know,providing that leadership to
have that great culture at theschool where they are. And I
talk about this a lot in ourtrainings, is we're a culture
of feedback. And so from dayone, I will tell you, if you

(34:02):
don't have both ha hands onthat child when you are
changing a diaper, I'm gonnasay something right away and I
might startle you a little bit,right? Because it's a safety
issue. And so, but that's alsoa teaching moment and you're
probably gonna remember that ifI'm a little abrupt about
keeping both hands on a childwhen they're changing a diaper.
And so it's so important thatwe have a culture of feedback,

(34:24):
but also that the positiveleadership and, you know, our
directors are know how tomanage , uh, staff. And, you
know, the culture is soimportant, especially in a
post, again , I talk about postcovid world, but you know, the
culture, you know, peoplereally value their time more
than they've ever valued theirtime. And so to go leave your

(34:45):
house and go to a job that'sreally, you know, strenuous can
be hard, can be taxing. It'salso the most fulfilling job, I
think, in the world. But it'salso can be, you know,
emotionally taxing. And so, youknow, be to , to spend your
time doing that. You know, youwant to make sure that they're
supported in a really positiveculture where they feel like

(35:07):
it's family when they come towork. And if you don't have
that, you're gonna lose people.

Speaker 1 (35:12):
Yeah. The , uh, the puzzle piece that you're
mentioning, like the pre covidpost covid, it's amazing that,
you know, I know we we're two,two and a half, three years
post covid , I think it wasfour years ago now that, you
know, all of us were taken backby this, you know, pandemic
and, and that certainly changedthings and we continue to hear
it. Are you still finding, likewith candidates at your school

(35:36):
and maybe others that you workwith, you mentioned that it's
changed in terms of theexpectation that that staff
have, like in terms of like, Ineed more training, I need
support. Is it different thepeople that you're interviewing
now and bringing into theschool than it was a decade
ago? Meaning was it back thenmore people were like, this was

(35:58):
a career choice I was makingand a path that was clear and I
definitely wanna get into it,and now it's a little bit more,
Hey, this is a job and I'm notsure this is a passion until I
start doing it. I don't know ifI'm saying that right, but I'm
just wondering if thecandidates are different that
you're working with.

Speaker 2 (36:13):
Yeah , and it's are totally different. And you
know, a lot of the boomers leftthe industry. We've had a lot
of our tenured seasoned staffteachers who, managers who left
during Covid and didn't comeback.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
And because it just became too much. Like, is that
why they're like, I've donethis for a long time. And yeah,

Speaker 2 (36:32):
I think people reevaluated how they wanted to
spend their time. They also hadhealth concerns that they were
a little bit older. And so wehad a lot of boomers leave. And
I think a lot of it's the gener, multi-generational workplace
and all working together and,you know, having those, those
seasoned veteran teachersreally are the key stakeholders

(36:52):
of your each school. I mean,they will hold a school
together based on theirexperience and their mentorship
of the new ones. So if you'velost a lot of your seasoned
staff or even a few, even onemakes a big impact. Yeah. And
so you absolutely. The, youknow, the people coming in or
teachers coming in, a lot oftimes it's, you know, a stop

(37:12):
gap . It's, oh, well I, Ithought about this, I might be
interested in it. I like kids.
And it's not, oh , well I havea degree in this, or Oh, I have
my CDA and , uh, it's more,well, I think this sounds fun.
And so the reality of, youknow, oh, this sounds fun on ,
on paper versus going into aroom and having, you know, 12
children running around and youknow, three that need to, you

(37:36):
know,

Speaker 1 (37:37):
Have behavior issues like you said. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yeah. And we're dealing with, you know , potty
training and, and biting . Andso it's, it's a very different
, um, world for them that wouldbe on paper. And now of course
you get all the fun stuff too,but you need to make sure that
they're trained to be able tohandle, you know, the bigger
things so they can have the,the fun small, whimsical,
magical moments that we're allthere for. But, you know, you

(38:00):
can't get very far if, you know, your whole whole class is
taking, you know, 40 minutes togo to the bathroom. Right. Um,
so it's definitely , um, it'sleveling their expectations is
really important. But also,again, providing that support
has never been more important.
And, you know, as, as a school,we are part of a na a few
national, national , uh,mastermind groups, and I think

(38:23):
that's so important to be ableto talk to other centers and,
you know, get some support. AndI know there was a , I think a
school with 10 plus locationsand they were considering
getting a behavior specialistto go from school to school to
support these new teachers oreven seasoned teachers in these
behavior challenges. And that'sone way that they were going

(38:44):
to, you know, support theirschools in quality. And that's
very different than it was, youknow, 10 years ago. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
That, that wasn't a resource that people needed a
decade ago. It , with, withthat in mind, I'm curious from
a standpoint of like the, theage difference in your
workforce. 'cause you, youmentioned this a little bit,
like we've got these teachersthat have been here 10, 15, 20,
25 years that are so criticalto the operation. But obviously
the business and its continuedsuccess is gonna be dependent

(39:14):
on this newer generation, theyounger workforce. Have you,
have you found, is itchallenging to have your older
teachers be able to relate ,relate to the younger teachers
and vice versa? And, and I saythis from firsthand experience,
even myself as, you know, Iinteract with different, you

(39:35):
know, maybe generations of, youknow, workers in our company.
It, there is a differentapproach and everybody has to
learn from each other.
Everybody has to mentor eachother. Even the young mentoring
the older workforce in someways. Is that something you've
observed as well and anythingthat stands out in terms of
things that you've identifiedare helpful in helping that

(40:00):
work better?

Speaker 2 (40:02):
Absolutely. I think it is such an aha to see it on
a daily basis. And, you know,our boomers do really well at
the young ones. So, you know,the Gen Zs, the millennials
and, but if you put amillennial with the Gen Z year
, it could be a littledifferent of an experience. And
so yeah . Hearing , you know,your more seasoned teachers or

(40:25):
the, the boomers with the, withthe gen, with the , uh, with
the Gen Zs and the millennialsis really, really great because
they kind of take the youngerones under their wing and they
mentor in a way that is, youknow, that it's, it's a really,
in a really fun dynamic where,you know, the, the younger ones
don't feel, you know, combativeat all. Mm-hmm .

(40:47):
, um, you put, you know,generations side by side like
a, like a millennial and a GenZ, it can be a little bit more
competitive or, you know, maybethe leadership isn't quite
there yet. And so, yeah , Ithink my biggest aha with our
schools is pairing the seasonedwith the younger ones, but the
younger ones also really need alot more support. And I think

(41:10):
we need to get used to, youknow, not expecting them to
just go in a room and, and, andunderstand what we did 10 years
ago. And I think, you know, themore we willing we are to train
and provide that support,especially in the first 30 days
of just literally physicallygoing into a classroom and
being that third teacher , uh,and supporting them and showing

(41:31):
them , uh, is really, reallyimportant. So I think, you
know, just kind of surrenderingto the fact that, you know, we
are gonna have to up ourtraining and we have to be held
accountable on a, on a managinglevel, on going deeper. And
that's up to us, you know,there's something that happens
at a school . Yeah . It'sactually not on the teacher,

(41:54):
it's, it's on the director,it's on the regional director,
it's on the owner. At the endof the day, it comes down to
the owner and if somethinghappens, it really comes down
to you. If there's a leadershipissue, it comes down to you
where was the gap? You know,how could you have done it
differently? So I think, youknow, when you take
accountability , uh, for thepain points and you come up
with some strategies, you know,that's, you're gonna have

(42:15):
success in that. But I thinkalso hearing from your staff is
so important. And you know whatI said earlier about the
feedback, you know, they needto be open to feedback, but we
need to be open to feedback.
And the best idea don't comefrom the one person at at the
top, the owner, the best ideascome from the people who are
actually in the room everysingle day and actually could

(42:37):
do, you know, I think a lot ofowners, the more they are at a
school, I'm not saying theyshould be at a school every day
'cause they need to be workingon the business and making sure
we're sustainable, but you know, it's not a bad idea to go
into the, you know, aclassroom, you know, once every
few weeks and see what ateacher's, you know, dealing
with on a daily basis. 'causeyou know, they also probably
could get some great ideas onhow to improve.

Speaker 1 (42:59):
Yeah. It's the classic, I mean, same thing in
corporations of any kind, wherethe further you get from
actually being with thecustomer, there's the idea that
you're too disconnected, thatyou don't have a good, you
know, understanding of what'shappening. So policies,
procedures, decisions, strategyyou're putting in place, you

(43:19):
know, your teachers mightsometimes you , you know, kind
of grimace 'cause they're like,you don't really understand
what we're dealing with. Sobeing there and being present.
And is that part too of, Iwould imagine for even your
brand and , and your schoolsMolly, part of like that
retention of staff, like ifthey see ownership that's
invested that way, it probablyat least minimizes turnover and

(43:45):
teachers jumping from school toschool.

Speaker 2 (43:48):
A hundred percent.
Yeah. I think seeing an owneron site , even if it's once a
month, and you know, I'm sure alot of your listeners, you
know, they might be in home ,they might have one location,
they might have 15 locations.
And so having that presence,whether it's at a professional
development day, if you're, youknow, the 15 locations or if
you're going in once a month,but being able to see that

(44:08):
leadership, working with thedirectors and holding the
directors accountable as wellis really important. But I can
tell you, every time I'm at aschool, I go and I think of, I
mean , I have about 10 thingsthat I wanna do differently
from being in that school, andI'm in a school frequently. And
so, you know, I'm like, oh wow,we need to buy this. How do you
guys do this this way? Oh mygoodness, did you guys write

(44:30):
this on your supply order? Didyou write this on your sign out
log? I mean, if you did, let mego check. And so I'm like going
back and looking at sign outlogs, and guess what? There
wasn't a sign out , log done.
And so how is the directorsupposed to follow up on
something and how am I supposedto follow up on something if,
you know, some, a system isbroken? And so, you know,
that's our job. And ultimatelyagain, it comes down to the

(44:51):
accountability of an owner, butthat handholding of a new
generation is not goinganywhere. And I think the more
we lean into it and lean intoleadership and lean into the
culture, the the sooner we'regonna alleviate those pain
points. But I think, you know,the expectation if you're kind
of just, you know, steadilykind of limping along and

(45:12):
expecting it , it to get betterjust based on time, oh, we'll
get better. You know, we justneed to get a , another
seasoned teacher in here. Thosedays were long gone,
unfortunately. And, butfortunately we have an
opportunity to really improveour training, our systems, and
, you know, when something'sbroken any place in the
company, you know, it goes downto systems and training. And so

(45:34):
how can we improve? How can ourquality improve? And so yeah.
But that handholding is, is Ineed to lean into it versus it
being like a, ugh , gosh, canyou believe that generation,
they need so much attention. Itneeds to be a wow, this is an
opportunity for me to coachyou. Let me coach my directors
up so they can coach you alland we can be a culture of
feedback.

Speaker 1 (45:53):
Yeah, classic. Um, I mean, in a positive way,
reframing, you know, maybe theadversity or a challenge into
an opportunity, like you'resaying. I think, you know ,
that does seem to be a themewhen you talk with, you know,
schools that have shownconsistent success is just the
mindset of there's anopportunity to keep getting
better. And that just shows, Ithink, you know, real like

(46:14):
dedication to the craft, butalso, you know, concern and
empathy towards the people whowork for them and the kids who
are coming into the school youmentioned. I see. You know, I
know we're, we're running outtatime here, but I see this final
note on our , uh, agenda.
Something about the Lululemonbrand, and I don't know if I'm
pulling this outta left fieldor if this was a case study

(46:35):
that , um, or a culture studythat somebody did, but somehow
tying in some best practicesfrom , uh, you know, Lululemon
and how that applies. Am Imaking sense? Is this, is this
a thing? Yeah , that's

Speaker 2 (46:48):
My favorite words .
Lululemon. Uh, yes . Soabsolutely. So Lululemon, and
I'm gonna mention anothercompany as well , uh, trader
Joe's, you know, they reallyfoster a culture of feedback
with their employees and alsojust being incredibly welcoming
to their employees. A lot ofcamaraderie and teamwork and

(47:09):
collaboration. And so when youwalk into a lemon, you ha you
see the , uh, the , all thecoworkers really supporting
each other and, Hey, can I helpyou with that? Hey, do you need
to do that? They're really,they take the initiative to go
behind the register. If theysee it's online , it's a
well-oiled machine in the, the,the , the culture and the
collaborating and the feedbackand, you know, and it , it

(47:32):
exudes into the customerexperience. And so, you know,
when you walk in, I can, Iguarantee you , every time you
walk into a little lemon , theywill say, hi, welcome to Little
Lemon. Can I help you findsomething? And almost to the
point where you're like, canyou stop following me around? I
don't need help right now .
And, but that's great becausethey really wanna help you, and
they'll come back and they'llcheck on you, Hey, do you want
me to put that in a room? Hey,do you want me to get that a

(47:53):
different size? And so, butit's consistent and their
culture shows. And you know,same with Trader Joe's. You
know, you see their , their ,their cowork , everyone's
coworkers that , uh, uh, traderJoe's, you know, it's an
incredible experience to seehow happy they are. They are so
happy, true to be working atTrader Joe's every single day.
They're, Hey, can I help youwith that? And they're laughing

(48:15):
and they're chitchatting.
They're enjoying their job. Andthat exudes into the customer
experience where, you know, andI've talked about this before,
you know, when you go up to thecash register at Trader Joe's,
they always ask you, Hey, whatare you making with that
broccoli tonight? Hey, what areyou making with that pasta? Oh,
I see you got the, the redwine. Is it a special occasion?
And they're always these likeopen-ended questions where you

(48:36):
can't just say, I'm good, I'mfine. Yeah, it's a good day
today . Like, it's alwayssomething that has to like go a
little bit further. And thatjust shows in their culture.
So, you know, on both ends, thecustomer and the employee. And
so I think, you know, we canabsolutely learn from, you
know, from their culture ofbeing welcoming towards the

(48:58):
customer and the employee. Andyou know, that leadership and
that culture, it goes deep andyou can feel it, you can feel
it when it's positive, but youknow what, you can feel it even
more when it's a little off ora little bit negative. You can
feel it right away. You canfeel it at a school. You can
feel that energy. So you knowthat energy is so important and
that leadership is so importantto having the right people

(49:21):
manning the ship. You know,mentoring, getting your message
across about the quality andwhere you're going in your
vision has never been moreimportant. Especially like, you
know, we spoke about, you know,multi-generational workplace,
you know, it's more imperativenow than ever. So going deeper.
But, you know, learning fromthose companies where, you

(49:42):
know, that culture is exudedfrom the moment you walk in.

Speaker 1 (49:46):
Yeah, I think that's a great way to , um, I mean it
puts in a nice little bow onthis conversation because I
think it does translate and ittransfers. Like those are
different industries anddifferent environments, but the
idea of how people feel whenthey come into your
establishment goes a long wayinto building that business
that you're trying to build. Sothat's perfect. It , Molly, if

(50:08):
people wanted to connect withyou, and maybe you can take a
minute to talk , uh, realquickly about the types of
things that you're doing, youknow, through your , your
agency. 'cause I think, youknow, certainly you're still
involved in Bright Beginnings,but I also think you're
providing some services , um,outside of that as well. So I'd
love for you to share that.

Speaker 2 (50:27):
Thanks for mentioning that. Yeah , so of
course I'm still involved on alocal level at Bright
Beginnings and, you know, I'mspeaking at National
International Conferences. Ilove to consult. I also just
love to talk to owners. Youknow, I love to just hop on the
phone and if you have aquestion, you know, I just like
to talk to people. It's really,I feel, I really feel like we
can learn from each other , uh,without it being, you know, a
whole, you know, structuredconversation. Like, Hey, are

(50:50):
you dealing with this issue?
Yes, I am. Or, Hey, this is agreat idea. Uh , so I, but I
also offer consulting serviceswhere I can help you grow your
business , uh, look at your pand l , uh, help you with your
professional developmenttraining systems. Uh, I just, I
just love this industry truly.
And I have a big passion for,you know, again, the impact

(51:10):
that we have. And, but if youwanna find me , uh, I have a
website. It's Molly Hitchens,H-I-C-H-E-N s.com, and you can
email me [e-mail]. Always
happy to chit chat and I'mreally hoping to, you know, see
a lot of you all at, you know,our ECE conferences and don't

(51:32):
hesitate to reach out. I'malways happy to be a resource.

Speaker 1 (51:35):
Awesome. And we will make sure and put all that
information into the show notesas well. So for anybody
listening that wants to get intouch with Molly or you know,
look into a little bit more ofthe work she's doing, you can
find her at those differentplaces she mentioned. We'll
have that in the show notes aswell. And , uh, you know,
Molly, again, congratulationson baby number two. I know with
all the stuff that's going onin addition to growing your

(51:55):
family, you're extremely busy.
So we appreciate you carvingout time to, to spend with us
and , um, hopefully we'll do around three at some point in
the future.

Speaker 2 (52:03):
You know, I would love it. The content is endless
and I love working with you alland we're big fans of ProCare.
We use them at our schools, so, um, I would ha be happy to
contribute at any time .

Speaker 1 (52:14):
All right . Thank you so much, Molly. Have a
great day. Thank

Speaker 2 (52:16):
You .

Speaker 1 (52:17):
Yeah, we'll cut right there.