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• 0:00:08 Kris Murray: Welcome to Child Care Rockstar Radio. I am your host, Kris Murray. Child care leaders around the globe are breaking through challenges, leading the way in innovation, testing new best practices, and impacting children and families in a much more powerful and positive way than ever before. Each week, join me for interviews with early childhood leaders and experts that will leave you inspired to become the next Childcare Rockstar.

• 0:00:34 Kris Murray: Now, let’s go. This is Childcare Rockstar Radio, episode 198 featuring Jessica Harris. Welcome back to the podcast. I am Kris Murray, your host and I am thrilled to welcome you in to learn more about my friend, Jessica Harris. She’s an incredible superstar in her own right, operating a school in Utah. And the name of this episode is be the CEO of your own life. Jessica is an extremely inspiring person with four daughters and that was the inspiration for naming her school.

• 0:01:16 Kris Murray: She talks all about what inspires her in her life and how she kind of pulls up her bootstraps to look out and be a strategic planner to dive into her highest, best use of her CEO power and apply that amazing energy to her life as well as her business. And so we’re going to talk all about that today and you’re going to learn more about her program and how she’s gotten fully enrolled and the strategies that she uses to stay full, which is really amazing information for you to apply to your own business in this time.

• 0:01:53 Kris Murray: Many of you are struggling a little bit with enrollment right now, so I would say listen to this closely with pen and paper in hand and just what you learn from this podcast can transform your business and transform your life. If you haven’t checked out some of the prior episodes, maybe you’re new to the podcast. I would point you back to just go back in your in your podcast app and look at the the previous episodes, see what’s calling you, see what feels energetically exciting and spend some time with me. We have almost 200 episodes of incredible tips, strategies, inspiration, motivation, and just really good, rock solid ideas to apply to your business.

• 0:02:38 Kris Murray: So that is my guidance for you today as your host. A little bit of self promotion here on the podcast and what we got going on here in the personal world is I’m actually about to get on an airplane and go to Bali. I’m going to work on a spiritual, continuing my spiritual awakening and just being with people who are on the same path. Also, we’ve got entrepreneurs in the group going to Bali and my mentor, Amir Zoe, who has been on this podcast.

• 0:03:11 Kris Murray: So I’m excited to work on my leadership work. On my ability to coach others, both in business and in life. Mindset, intuitive practices, which is what I’m coaching on on the personal side. And so that’s what I’m up to. I’m excited. I’ve always wanted to be. I’ve always wanted to travel to Bali. I’ve never been to Asia. And so I’m excited to add this continent to my list to check that off the box and just experience Asia in Indonesia and Bali in particular.

• 0:03:49 Kris Murray: So I’m flying through Hong Kong, which I’ve heard is a pretty cool airport. So I’m excited just to experience all the things. I hope that you are having a great spring. I hope that 2025 is being kind to you and that you’re being kind to yourself. Most of all, taking time to reflect, to ponder, to exercise, to fill your own cup and to be present with your life so that we don’t just spend time in the past and the future, but we are here together, being present with our loved ones and with yourself most of all.

• 0:04:25 Kris Murray: So with that, I want to thank you for taking the time to be with me on this podcast today. And let’s just dive right in to episode 198 with Ms. Jessica Harris. Let’s go. Hey, folks. Welcome back. I am very excited to introduce you today to my guest, Jessica Harris. Jessica, how are you?

• 0:04:54 Jessica Harris: I’m doing great.

• 0:04:56 Kris Murray: Good. Where are you sitting right now? Where are you located?

• 0:04:59 Jessica Harris: So I’m in Linden, Utah, and there is no snow, so it’s weird.

• 0:05:08 Kris Murray: And you’re in your home office. Are you at your center?

• 0:05:11 Jessica Harris: You know what? I’m actually. This is weird, but I’m actually at a friend’s house because my home. My home office, they’re working on the roof, and my husband didn’t tell me, so it’s like, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. And I was like, it’s not gonna work. So I’m just at a friend’s house right now.

• 0:05:27 Kris Murray: It’s cute. Yeah, it’s really cute. Yeah. So we’re recording this in early February and 25, and both of us live in the West. I’m in Colorado and Jessica’s in Utah. You’re a little bit. How far away are away are you from Salt Lake? Couple hours?

• 0:05:47 Jessica Harris: No, I’m only like 35 minutes.

• 0:05:49 Kris Murray: Oh, okay.

• 0:05:50 Jessica Harris: Yeah, Pretty close to Salt Lake.

• 0:05:52 Kris Murray: Okay, cool. And we have no snow, so we went through a crazy, super frigid season. The most of the United States was under a cold freeze, and we got snow in Alabama and Florida and Georgia and Texas. All these crazy Louisiana where they don’t usually get snow. And now we’re, like, in a warm craziness of, like. All the ski resorts here are completely melted, so it’s not looking good. And the Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog did see his shadow and says there’s going to be six more weeks of winter. But I think I’m going to call Phil out that I think he’s wrong.

• 0:06:35 Jessica Harris: I’m going to be with you on that one because I tried skiing this year, and it was ice.

• 0:06:40 Kris Murray: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We went. We went last weekend, both days. But I was trying to get my days in because I’m nervous that if we don’t get snow soon, we’re not going to have any more days. Tell me more about your. Your school, your program. What’s the name? Just give me more of the low. The. The lowdown on the program.

• 0:07:02 Jessica Harris: Well, our name is Four Sisters Child Care. We. Me and my husband own it together, and we have four daughters, and so they’re kind of an inspiration for the name. And we were actually in home first, and you actually pushed me to. I know you don’t know this, but. Or maybe I’ve shared it. You pushed me to do a center. So you were the thing that kind of tipped it. And we’re now at a center. It’s. The capacity is 86, and we’re currently at 91 FTE, which is pretty exciting with the wait list.

• 0:07:39 Jessica Harris: So it used to be a facility for troubled youth, actually, and there was, like, holes on walls as big as bodies that we had to redo. But the community appreciates us being there and not them right now.

• 0:07:56 Kris Murray: Yes. Yeah. Interesting. That’s cool. Congrats on being full with a wait list. Not everyone is in this season. We’re going through a little bit of a weird recessionary time in the industry in some markets, but you’re kicking butt over there, so way to go.

• 0:08:15 Jessica Harris: Thank you.

• 0:08:16 Kris Murray: Love it.

• 0:08:17 Jessica Harris: We’ve worked hard to get there, so.

• 0:08:19 Kris Murray: Yeah. So how long ago did I inspire you to grow from a home to a center?

• 0:08:28 Jessica Harris: It’s. It’s about. It’s gonna be three years in July. I’d gone to a early education conference, and I don’t know if you still do those. I don’t. I don’t know if you still go to conferences and speak at them. You were there, and, you know, we were doing pretty good at our. In home, and I was full and, like, just doing awesome. And you. I walked right in, and you were just like, you know, to be a successful center, you need to be doing this and this and this and, you know, have your funnels and are you. Do you have a wait list and all these things? And I was like, I’m doing that.

• 0:09:03 Jessica Harris: I’m doing that. Like, what? That’s. Yes. What a center. And then I actually accidentally went into another one of your classes that were, like, smaller. Jody was in that classes right before she joined as a coach.

• 0:09:16 Kris Murray: Yes.

• 0:09:17 Jessica Harris: And you guys were talking about millions of dollars, and I was like, I’m sorry, what? Make millions of dollars. So I’d already been kind of feeling like there was a change. We actually almost sold the in home daycare to someone else, and we were going to rent out the home. Like, we were having all sorts of ideas. And so after that meeting, I went home, and normally my husband’s the crazy one that’s like, let’s try things. And I was like, honey, there’s this lady.

• 0:09:45 Jessica Harris: And basically we’re going to.

• 0:09:48 Kris Murray: This lady.

• 0:09:48 Jessica Harris: Yeah. I was like, basically, we’re going to start a center, just FYI. And he was like, okay. Oh, okay. And then right after that, you know, God works in wonderful ways. And right after that, this location, a friend of mine was like, hey, there’s this place that’s been just sitting there and, you know, and. And actually even getting the location. I’ve never gotten a building before. I didn’t know how to do commercial, but because I had joined you guys, the Academy right after that, because I’m like, I can’t do this on my own.

• 0:10:18 Kris Murray: Right?

• 0:10:19 Jessica Harris: There was a moment where I was like, I don’t know what kind of loan to get. Like, I know what I’m doing. And I felt inspired to go watch a video in the academy website. And it was like, right there, Chris. Like, right there. SBA 504. I will never forget. I journaled it. I’m like, they. There it was. And then we got it, you know, got it going. So it’s. It’s been cool. It’s been. It’s definitely been inspiring. But, yeah, it was you. You pushed us.

• 0:10:47 Kris Murray: Well, that makes me super happy. I’m gonna just take one pause off of this and turn this light off, because I’ve got one blinking bulb, and it’s making the podcast look like a strobe, like a disco ball. So hold on one second.

• 0:11:00 Jessica Harris: I’m okay with that.

• 0:11:04 Kris Murray: I need help with this.

• 0:11:06 Jessica Harris: There. Yeah, much better.

• 0:11:12 Kris Murray: I keep. I keep asking my boyfriend to fix my bulbs, so now I’m going to have to really bug Him. Okay, back to the podcast. Cool. Well, I love that story. And a lot of our members started as a home based childcare in about at least maybe two thirds of our coaches, including Jamarian and Donna and Jody, all started as home based.

• 0:11:41 Jessica Harris: Yeah, I just think that you. You do so good at just, like, saying it how it is and, and allowing us to dream big. I. I was never a dream big kind of person. I was very fearful, and I kind of was always mad at God because how we started this, even taking it from my mom, it wasn’t even mine. I was like, no, I don’t want to do this. I’m happy. I do. I was a hairstylist. I was like, I’m good. But, you know, as I did it, there was so much that I had to learn. And I was like, this sucks. Like, God, why are you having me do this? And.

• 0:12:15 Jessica Harris: And you helped me shift that mindset to like, hey, actually, this is good. And. And, you know, get comfortable being uncomfortable and you’ll see the growth. And I think that you are really good. The academy is really good at inspiring. I’m seriously from the heart. Like, and you say, my favorite thing is, you guys just say it how it is. Like, there’s no time for fluff. It’s like, hey, let’s just get it done. And it’s so cool.

• 0:12:41 Kris Murray: Yeah, cool. Love that. Thank you for sharing that. So you are married with four daughters, and your husband is a saint, apparently, with all of that female energy running around the house. No sons.

• 0:12:56 Jessica Harris: No sons. Poor guy.

• 0:13:01 Kris Murray: So tell us more about what’s going on at home. And you can also, if you want to weave in a fun fact about you that you want to share, that would be great.

• 0:13:12 Jessica Harris: Okay, I’ll start with the fun fact. But okay, if I share this with you, you can’t use this against me. Okay.

• 0:13:19 Kris Murray: Okay. Promise.

• 0:13:21 Jessica Harris: I was trying to think of, like, the weirdest things about me. So I love being in front of a huge crowd and I love being one on one with people. But if you put me with about six to seven individuals in a room, yeah, I get really weird. I have anxiety and I’m awkward and I have. My mind goes blank, and I have nothing to say, and I worry about everybody, and I hate it. I hate it. So girl trips, when there’s like, there’s six of us, I’m like, I don’t think I want to go right.

• 0:13:57 Jessica Harris: Weird about me.

• 0:13:58 Kris Murray: Okay, that’s an interesting reflection. I mean, at least you know yourself, you know?

• 0:14:03 Jessica Harris: Yeah.

• 0:14:04 Kris Murray: And so would you Consider that, like, when you go to a party, like, if you go to a Super bowl party this coming weekend and there’s 20 people there, do you have, like, that social anxiety thing, more of like the intro? No, not at all. Just the six. No.

• 0:14:17 Jessica Harris: And I think it’s the people pleaser in me that I worry too much about everybody making sure that everybody feels, you know, heard and that no one’s, like, in the corner by themselves. When there’s like 20 people, there’s like, you know, there’s groups, but when there’s only, like six or seven, it’s just enough that I’m like, are you okay? Is that person being looked at? And. And. And then I just like, this is not fun for me.

• 0:14:38 Kris Murray: Right.

• 0:14:39 Jessica Harris: So weird.

• 0:14:40 Kris Murray: So, yeah. Interesting. And how long have you and your hubby been married?

• 0:14:47 Jessica Harris: So we’ve been married. This will in August will be 14 years. I was 21. He’s my best friend. He’s taught me a lot, actually. When we very first got married, my mom didn’t really. She tried her very best, bless her heart, but I didn’t know how to communicate. I didn’t know what had to ask for things. And basically, he was so kind because he could have taken that power and gone, you know, controlling. But he pushed me to ask questions. It started silly. Like, one time, my mom was like, hey, we’re at dinner. She’s like, you’re gonna buy this electric toothbrush.

• 0:15:27 Jessica Harris: And I was like, okay. And my husband, we go outside and he’s like, I’m sorry, what’s wrong with your toothbrush right now? And why don’t you ask some questions? And how much is that toothbrush? Like, you just, like, didn’t even think about it. And I was like, whoa. So, yeah, it was crazy. It was a good realization. But I realized that I really had to think about myself. And he’s always pushed me to think for myself. And he’s prepared me, really, for this journey. And I’m forever, forever grateful for him. So cool. Yeah. And he’s part of the.

• 0:16:02 Jessica Harris: Part of our daycare now, too. So full time, just fun.

• 0:16:05 Kris Murray: Cool. Is he in the men’s group?

• 0:16:09 Jessica Harris: I think he is scared of the men’s group. So somebody is listening to this reach out to him because he’s funny.

• 0:16:17 Kris Murray: But, oh, the men’s group has it going on, let me tell you. I just interviewed Jacob Jensen on this podcast, and my God, between him and Solomon and Jordy and everybody else, it’s, like, amazing.

• 0:16:29 Jessica Harris: So probably why he’s nervous, because these Men. He’s probably got man crushes on them. I don’t know.

• 0:16:33 Kris Murray: Probably. Yeah. I meant to say Gordy, not Jordy. I don’t know why I said that. Yeah, so that’s cool. I love that he’s supporting you in that way. That’s very, very cool. I want to shift the conversation to your journey and just ask you over the last year, what is the accomplishment that you have done or achieved that you’re the most proud of over the last year?

• 0:17:00 Jessica Harris: I love that. I love that question. I think the biggest thing is understanding what my center needs, like what our passion is. And it’s really come out. And I’ve really learned, really this last year what that is. And the word that comes to my mind is resilience. And I have felt, even from the start, I didn’t know why or what it was, but I’ve been able to put it into words now that our society lacks resilience. And that’s a really important skill to have.

• 0:17:45 Jessica Harris: And I. I always thought it was about kids. And it is. It’s very much this business, the daycare, this platform is very much about kids. But as I’ve been growing and I went from my in home and started having more employees and teachers, I realized that it’s. This platform is also for these teachers that are coming in and realizing that again, that skill of resilience is not there and they’re not understanding how to do that. And so I see a lot of anxiety and I see a lot of fear and just this pressure.

• 0:18:23 Jessica Harris: And I realized, holy crap. Like, this is. This is something we need to work on. Because when we first went into our center, the craziness of teachers. Chris, I can’t even, like, just off the top of my head, I took several people to suicide prevention places where teachers had miscarriages or just like so many issues were happening. And it was a revolving door to where we are now that, I mean, again, we’re going to be three years in July that we’ve had the center. I’ve, like, slowly been learning my passion and realizing that resilience along with communication is just huge, huge.

• 0:19:08 Jessica Harris: So I think that this last year I had a personal experience I’d love to share here because I feel it taught me a lot and really finalize that thought of like, okay, I. I see that this is kind of our passion. I. Last year I made a goal. I’m religious, I believe in God, and I wanted to get closer to him. And so I decided that I would not miss one day of Reading for me, my scriptures, meditating. We have temples that I like to go and worship in. And I made a goal to just not miss it.

• 0:19:43 Jessica Harris: And throughout the whole year, I think I missed, like, 10 days, which is huge. I’ve never done that. It’s always like, yeah, yeah. But I really, really dedicated myself. And up until it was October, it was right before we were going to the summit, I had this realization that I hadn’t felt anxiety and, like, fear. Fear is huge. Like a failure. The center, teachers leaving of all that. And I had this, like, realization. I was talking to one of my directors who I brought with me, and I was like, whoa.

• 0:20:23 Jessica Harris: I think I understand why. I think I just got some, you know, inspiration that. Because I’ve been doing these small and simple things in my life and making it consistent over time, it created some peace. And I wasn’t having that anymore. And I. One of my favorite books is the Atomic Habits. I’m sure. I’m sure you know that book. Yeah. And they. They talk about, you know, 1%, 1% better each day. And, like, over a year, you can get, like, 37 better. Right? Like, there’s little. Little things. And so.

• 0:21:00 Jessica Harris: So then I get to summit. And, you know, I ran for Rockstar, and I was, like, a mess. I was a mess. And it was just. That’s new. Like, being front of peers and everything. And I wasn’t waking up early and doing my workout, which, like, again, I don’t miss the day. I wasn’t praying. I wasn’t reading. And it was like, right.

• 0:21:20 Kris Murray: You stopped everything.

• 0:21:21 Jessica Harris: I stopped everything. And it was, like, two weeks. And because I had so much. Like, I was so nervous. I was sleeping. Right. So all the things. And. And then we like to, you know, soak in everything from the summit, and then we actually take time after to meet and to enjoy wherever we are, you know, with my team. So it was a total of two weeks that I did not do my, like, small and simple things that I was doing.

  0:21:50 Jessica Harris: And I just. Anxiety came rushing back and fear and. And no control. Like, I was wanting to do things that I hadn’t done since, like, high school. Like, just dumb things that I had. I was like, what is going on? You know, And I. I got home, and then I started doing my things again, and the piece came, and I was like, okay, that’s huge. That’s huge. And I had a moment to just journal this out, and I was like, okay, this. This is a huge key, and I need to teach my teachers this.

• 0:22:25 Jessica Harris: I need them to Understand this message of how powerful, how you use your small and simple moments and you’re consistent with it. You know what I’m saying?

• 0:22:34 Kris Murray: Yes.

• 0:22:36 Jessica Harris: So. So following up after that, I did do a training with my teachers and got super vulnerable, which I think is also important a lot of times. And you’ve taught this. We want to be tough and we want to be like, we make no mistakes. And. But I really, I realized that my teachers, it’s not just teaching them how to take care of kids because I have like a whole training system, you know, your trainer, everything.

• 0:23:01 Jessica Harris: But it’s. It’s helping them teach life right. Teach them resilience by doing these small and simple things. And something that. I loved that. Again, you guys always talk about having policies and procedures and systems. Yeah.

• 0:23:17 Kris Murray: Yes.

• 0:23:18 Jessica Harris: And it, it clicked that us as people, like our individual selves, we are our own CEOs. We are on CEOs. And we have to have policies and procedures for ourselves and we have to follow them just like a company. If you don’t do that, it fails. Right, Right. So I felt really inspired to teach this to them. Yeah. And. And we talked about, like, small, small things. I mentioned as small as. I have a policy procedure that every night my retainer has to be next to my nightstand because if it’s not next to my nightstand, I will not pop it in and my teeth will start to move. It’s simple as that. Right, Right.

• 0:24:02 Jessica Harris: And I was like, I have to do that. And every single morning, as soon as I get back from the gym, I go straight to my kids, we do scripture time together. And then I have to turn on the hot water before I take all my clothes off. I mean, it’s like as detailed as that. And realizing that when you do, it’s such a small thing, but when you make that policy and you sit down and I had my team, like, really sit down and pick one thing that you’ve been wanting to do, one thing.

• 0:24:31 Kris Murray: Right.

• 0:24:32 Jessica Harris: And. And break it down. Not just, I’m going to have a goal that I’m going to work out, but, like, this is the. Each procedure to this policy. And, you know, anyways, it seems silly, but, like, I. It felt so inspirational. And so many of them came back and were like, holy cow, Jessica. Breaking it down like that. I’ve been wanting to do this for so long. And, and that’s, that’s my why. Like, that is what I’m so passionate about and so proud of that I’m realizing, because as we teach them that, then all of A sudden they have more resilience because they are feeding themselves, they are prepping themselves for these hard moments.

• 0:25:14 Kris Murray: Right?

• 0:25:15 Jessica Harris: And on top of that, communication is huge for us and we have the hard conversations. But realizing that what’s the purpose of that conversation? Is it just to yell at you or is it to progress? And so I could talk about this all day. I, I feel so passionate about it and I’ve, I’ve been really happy that that is one of the reasons why we’re so successful right now is, is because the teachers, if they’re not in a good place, they’re not going to then do well with the children.

• 0:25:47 Jessica Harris: And so, and even actually at that training, I had them before I even started. I did a poster and I said, what kind of emotions are you feeling right now? And anxiety, fear, overwhelm, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety. And it was like, yeah. So anyways, that’s been a huge passion and I feel like it’s going so well and we’ve had so much success and retention with teachers and realizing that this generation needs that help.

• 0:26:17 Jessica Harris: And a lot of my teachers aren’t even coming from, you know, child care backgrounds, but they are learning and growing and it’s really cool, really cool to see, love that.

• 0:26:28 Kris Murray: A couple things that I wanted to share and pull out from that. So for me, the practice has been when you make a commitment to yourself of these little things. And I’m doing it right now. So I’m in the middle of what’s called the mind over matter challenge. And I’m going to share this on one of my, on my session in Phoenix. My main keynote is just adding something and taking something away. So I, and I did this two summits ago. I added cold showers at the end of my shower for 30 seconds and took away sugar.

• 0:27:03 Kris Murray: And I did the same once this time. This is the second time I’ve done this challenge. But the challenge of doing it for 30 days, super simple. But the commitment, the reason why it helps you be more resilient, love yourself more and stay more centered energetically so you’re not so ping ponged by what’s going on outside of you is that the monkeys on your shoulder watching you. And if you do what you say you’re going to do, then you have a higher level of deservingness, self love and value. And so that energy, then you put out a less anxious, more loving, more calm, relaxed energy because you have elevated your deservingness because you actually did for 30 days the practices that you said you were going to do. So when you stopped and you went to Summit and you were all like, ah.

• 0:27:51 Kris Murray: I even remember, like when you didn’t win, you were upset and I was upset for you, but I also was just holding space for you and just.

• 0:28:00 Jessica Harris: Yeah, I loved that.

• 0:28:01 Kris Murray: Sending you love in the. But. And I get that. But yeah, you were definitely emotionally triggered during. And I get it. Like in getting in front of a thousand people and competing for Rockstar. And it was. And you did an amazing job. But you know, it’s just, it’s one of those things and. And I want to ask you, like, what you learned from that experience too. Like, what in terms of just about yourself or just about your. What you’ve accomplished or just what was good about.

• 0:28:34 Kris Murray: About competing in that. But it was. I love that you’re sharing this with your team and getting them to dive into their own small habits, atomic habits, little things they can do. Because when they do it and they follow through with what they said they were going to do, their deservingness will increase and their.

• 0:28:51 Jessica Harris: Well and.

• 0:28:52 Kris Murray: Yeah, yeah.

• 0:28:53 Jessica Harris: And the biggest. Aha. I think for me is that if you treat it like you are your own CEO and if you think about how you have to have. You have to think about everything that could go wrong. So, like a new one right now, this year that I’m working on. For two years I’ve been trying not to be on Instagram because I get sucked in. Hardcore. Like drugs, man. Like, once I start, I can’t stop. And it’s always like, not even like, I know social media can be good, but I get sucked in. And I was like, oh, I just like. But I can’t because of, like, work and like the Academy and like, I have to be in there. And so this year, practicing this that I learned, I really sat down and was like, okay, why doesn’t it work? Okay, because I have to get on there. I have to get on there.

• 0:29:36 Jessica Harris: So what can I do to help me stay accountable? And it sounds so silly, but for me it works is anytime I get on it, I have to be supervised. So that’s a director’s next to me, my husband’s next to me, my girls are next to me. And I am so happy to say after two years of trying, it’s been a month and some. Right. And it’s worked because I like really looked at the details, like, what is going to make me fail and what’s going to make me be successful.

• 0:30:07 Jessica Harris: And it finally was like, I can’t just completely cut it out. It won’t Work, so what can I do? And. And it’s fun. I’ll just be like, honey, I am following Blake Lively’s whole drama right now, and I really want to go see if there’s anything on her Instagram. So will you just watch me as I look really quick? Because then I don’t get sucked in, and then I’m like, I got my goods. And then I’m like, move along. But, like, really deep. Like, diving deep into that small detail that I think a lot of people just sit right here, but you got to go a little deeper, and then you have more success.

• 0:30:41 Jessica Harris: And so that’s been cool to see and apply in my life.

• 0:30:45 Kris Murray: So, yeah, like, it’s just that accountability piece. So what you’re. It’s a system. Your system is. I know by having somebody there with me, that it’s going to support me to achieve this goal. For me, my system is with the gym, I have to have accountability. Like, if I don’t have somebody monitoring how many times I actually go. So we have to. I’m in small group fitness, so I have to go into the Google sheet that everybody in the gym belongs to, and we put our sessions in, we write our name in, and if we don’t go, we get penalized. If we say we’re going to be there and then we blow it off, you have to take your name out and be it. It’s a whole thing. Yeah, but that’s really, really good, because it is that accountability where my trainer’s going.

• 0:31:32 Kris Murray: You really haven’t been to the gym, like, much in the last two weeks, you know, or whatever. So that’s my system. So I guess the lesson for the audience here is if you want to achieve a goal and you’re struggling or you find that you’re up and down, in and out on it and not consistent, look at your system and change your system. Or try and test different things with your system. Like, it’s. But you are your own operating system is basically what you’re saying. Or your own CEO, so. Of your life.

• 0:32:05 Jessica Harris: Yeah.

• 0:32:06 Kris Murray: So I love that. So at the summit, just. And you did reflect a little bit about what went on when you were on the stage, and then your experience. But sometimes even the preparation of it is where people get that learning or that growth, because you’re putting together a package and making a video of your accomplishments to compete in Rockstar. And so what did you learn from that?

• 0:32:33 Jessica Harris: So many things. The interesting thing is that I have used that content so much after for marketing purposes, which has Been really cool because I would never have taken the time to think through how I wanted to present. And so it’s really only been positive. Some, I guess some of the hards were it is a little intimidating against your own peers, like presenting to your own peers when you might feel a little bit inadequate.

• 0:33:05 Jessica Harris: And I think what helped me was to realize that, you know, if, if one person gets something out of what I have to share today, then it’s a win. It’s a win because that’s. We’re here to lift each other. And so I really did feel like a winner regardless. You know, Mercedes did an amazing job. Sister Mercedes, amazing.

• 0:33:26 Kris Murray: Yeah.

• 0:33:26 Jessica Harris: But I did, I felt so good. And, and making the connections throughout was probably one of the coolest things. Like because when you present, everybody knows who now you are.

• 0:33:39 Kris Murray: Yes.

• 0:33:39 Jessica Harris: And, and I had several people come up to me and say, you know, your story really, really resonated with me and thank you so much for sharing. Like you inspired me to do this and that and just that alone. I was like, yes, that is so cool. That is so cool that, you know, I, I was able to connect with a lot of people and make new friends that way in connections. And, and yeah, I think again the hard was because I stopped doing my little things. I was not grounded and right. I, I was not where I needed to be, which was fine because it is, it is nerve wracking on top of everything.

• 0:34:14 Kris Murray: Yeah.

• 0:34:15 Jessica Harris: I think overall it was a really cool experience. And, and again, the amount of love I got and support and. Hi, how about again, advertising, marketing, like I, I posted that everywhere after that. I was one of the rock stars.

• 0:34:30 Kris Murray: Right.

• 0:34:30 Jessica Harris: Like, so really just a cool experience. And it is different than what you think like going in. I don’t know what I was thinking, but it did feel a lot different. But even just rubbing shoulders with you and Jen and, and being backstage and talking to other people, I mean, just cool.

• 0:34:48 Kris Murray: Yeah, it’s cool. A lot of people have. I just interviewed the sisters Mercedes and Maria Consuela for their win and they, they felt like she was battling imposter syndrome. Like, everybody that’s up there, everybody that’s up there feels, do I really deserve to be up here?

• 0:35:08 Jessica Harris: Yes.

• 0:35:09 Kris Murray: What are people going to think of me? Can I actually dive in and really tell my story? Is it, does it feel like bragging? Like, is this all about the ego? Like, I don’t want it to feel that way. Everybody struggles with all of that stuff.

• 0:35:20 Jessica Harris: Yeah.

• 0:35:21 Kris Murray: And that’s people in childcare. Like you are loving Heart centered people and you aren’t a traditional entrepreneurial group and so it’s very normal to feel that way. But I always tell people like you are such an inspiration to others just by getting out of your comfort zone and stepping up here, you know, and that’s what you received. And so for anybody listening, it’s like a lot of people want to push their accomplishments down and not take the spotlight, but I want to. I love that you used it for your marketing and also it helps you attract amazing staff because young Gen Z women and men want to be led by somebody who has that kind of cool influencer vibe and they are inspired by it. They want a coach, they want somebody who is going to step into their power to lead them.

• 0:36:22 Kris Murray: So if you. I always share this because one of my original mentors always said it’s not sharing your brownies. So when somebody comes over and you have a brand new plate of brownies that just came out of the oven and they smell it but you’re not willing to share your brownies and then they leave and they’re sad or they think that you’re being stingy, that’s you. If you’re like going, I did all these amazing things but I’m not going to share it because I’m afraid or I’m going to stay small.

• 0:36:48 Kris Murray: That’s you sharing your not sharing your brownies.

• 0:36:51 Jessica Harris: Right? Well, and not sharing, I mean when I shared it really made me self reflect too on the accomplishments that I was doing and, and asking around like what are some things that you’ve been seeing? And, and it became this whole group thing. Like our whole school was so excited about it and, and you could feel the energy and they were so excited to see it. I saw that it finally came out. They’re like, we want to watch your whole thing. And it’s just, it does, it’s exciting when everybody’s celebrating.

• 0:37:21 Jessica Harris: And I did, I learned a lot. Even though I did feel that at first, but I think realizing that again if, well, I know there will be at least one person that is touched by your story that you can connect with that maybe was feeling the same thing that you were feeling. So I love that brownie example. Yeah, it is.

• 0:37:41 Kris Murray: I mean, and I do still welcome going to conferences. But if I had not gone to Salt Lake to that conference and then not been able to share my stuff with you, you still might be in a home childcare.

• 0:37:55 Jessica Harris: Absolutely, absolutely.

• 0:37:56 Kris Murray: Who knows?

• 0:37:57 Jessica Harris: No viewer is huge inspiring.

• 0:38:00 Kris Murray: So talk about you use it for your marketing and so you’re obviously full with a wait list. What have you done that you feel has worked the best for you in your marketing to get full and stay full.

• 0:38:17 Jessica Harris: Google number one and Facebook, Instagram huge.

• 0:38:25 Kris Murray: And so like running ads. Like Google Ads.

• 0:38:28 Jessica Harris: Yes, absolutely. And we do use GYC as they’re the ones that are running our website and then doing our ads. I love it because we actually will meet monthly and we’ll look at like, okay, this ad wasn’t working so well. Let’s move it here or let’s add more here. Here we have like three different ads running and before we were doing it ourselves. And we just. We’re putting a lot of money in places that maybe we shouldn’t have because I don’t understand how the advertising goes. So I do that and then yes, we have an Instagram and I will go in there and do stories.

• 0:39:09 Jessica Harris: We’ll share different events. So yeah, when the Rockstar happened, we did a little post and talked about, you know, why we’re so awesome. Because that’s the time that you really want to brag because you want to let your parents know how awesome you are.

• 0:39:23 Kris Murray: Yep.

• 0:39:24 Jessica Harris: So that. That’ always huge. And we keep all of our alumni on there and so they’re all following. And I’ve actually had times when I posted things like this that alumni parents will bring their kids back or you know, if like they moved away or for whatever reason they left, they have like come back because of it. So. So really those are the biggest things that we focus on. And then our. We’re on a really busy road.

• 0:39:53 Jessica Harris: So our outside appearance and having banners is huge. We’ll switch out our banners for like summer camps for preschool enrollments. We’ve even had a. I’m trying to think who. Michael gave me idea one time to rent our yard because our yard’s about half acre and so we had like a banner out there. And so we’re like constantly switching it. Cause the eyes will notice it. Right. Because people are driving by all the time. So those are like the main things that we do. But any big event, any.

• 0:40:26 Jessica Harris: Any cool thing, any kudos, we make sure that we are posting and talking about it.

• 0:40:31 Kris Murray: Cool. I love that parents want community. They want a place where it feels like they’re just in that. Yeah. Tribe or that to. To be with other families and to feel like they’re part of something is, I think more important now than it was 10 years ago. And so you’re doing those parent events and those child events and posting it and talking about Your community. And that’s a big, big, big deal. We’re studying it at gyc. We’re studying all the clients who have full enrollment and all the clients that don’t and looking at trends for what’s driving enrollment today.

• 0:41:12 Kris Murray: It doesn’t hurt that you’re on a busy road. Location is of course, part of it. So you’re definitely gaining brand awareness and clients and leads because you’re doing. You’re switching up your signage. So that’s super, super smart. But if you weren’t on a busy road, even more important for you to get your digital marketing in shape, guys. And so I love that you’re using our services, leveraging them, and that it’s working for you, which makes us super, super happy.

• 0:41:42 Kris Murray: So I love that. Where are you headed? Where. What’s next for you? What’s going on in 2025? Do you think you would ever expand to your second location?

• 0:41:52 Jessica Harris: What’s.

• 0:41:53 Kris Murray: What’s in your. What’s in your dream journal?

• 0:41:55 Jessica Harris: Well, Kris, I really did keep my promise at the summit. I said I would just, you know, go for that second location, and we actually did. It was amazing. Building three minutes from my house. It was a retire or a facility for. Oh, man, now I can’t think of what it’s called for people that have disabilities. So it was a facility for people that have disabilities. And so every single classroom had bathrooms next to it. And there was a huge gym and outdoor space and like right on State Street. Beautiful. And we went all the way. Like, we got under contract.

• 0:42:34 Jessica Harris: We were looking to get a loan. And at the very, very last minute, I was actually in Italy and dropped my phone in a fountain, so. Had no phone. Yeah, it was awful for two weeks. So great. So my husband was doing awful stuff, but very last minute, it was just a little bit too premature. So we ended up not getting it. And it was really hard. It was really hard because we put a lot, a lot into it. But the cool thing that I did love about this was that whole month and a half that we were really working hard on getting that second location, I completely stepped away from the center, like 99.9%

• 0:43:20 Jessica Harris: and my leadership, I’m going to, like, cry. They were just beyond amazing. They just took it and ran and it ran so well and, you know, with the occasional communication. But, man, it was such a test to see how our systems or processes, how are things going. And it gave me the hope that, like, yeah, we can absolutely do this. So we didn’t get it, but we’re not done. We are. This year is all about leveling up for our team.

• 0:43:52 Jessica Harris: We are definitely going to look, keep looking for a second location and just make sure that any little thing that didn’t wasn’t up to par where it needed to be, that we are there. So as soon as that thought just manifests itself, we’re ready to jump on. And we’re not, you know, having to scramble because I think the location came a little too soon and it was like so perfect. I had to try.

• 0:44:17 Kris Murray: Yeah.

• 0:44:17 Jessica Harris: And. But I learned so much. Me and my husband learned so much and I’m glad we did it. I really am.

• 0:44:23 Kris Murray: So. Yeah, we’ve had people share in the academy. I think it was Thomas recently. Thomas Bronner. It took him three tries.

• 0:44:34 Jessica Harris: Yeah, I did listen to his. Yeah.

• 0:44:37 Kris Murray: And so it happens and you learn each time and then the one that’s actually supposed to be meant to be is the one that shows up. So for whatever reason that one wasn’t the right one. So yeah, just kind of like being in acceptance about it I think is a huge lesson for me. What I’ve been trying to do is when things either go my way or don’t go my way, it’s like I’m not going to put power into wanting to claw at it and control it and need it and be in resistance to the fact that it’s not working is just like just be in acceptance to it and it’ll flow.

• 0:45:14 Jessica Harris: Yeah, it was hard for me because I felt like we were really inspired again. I. I look to God in all, all my things that I do and it felt so right. And so I had to self reflect a little bit. Not necessarily that we didn’t get it, but like, why was I prompted to do all these things? And things were just moving along to at the end not get it. And I had to just kind of have that conversation with God like, okay, like what. What was I supposed to learn from this and. And have more like that accepted, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, like it was sad to not get it, but it was more of just like, okay, we felt like it was the right thing and so what, what do we need to learn? And at this point I feel very grounded and just like, okay, we did learn a lot and, and I think some of the things, like my husband and he learned some things because we’re working together. Right. And that’s been just in the last year that we’ve had to learn how to do that. And so that was a great opportunity for Growth that way.

• 0:46:16 Kris Murray: Cool. Love it. Well, any final thoughts? Jessica, as we come to the close on this episode, I’ve loved hearing the stories of your resilience and your leadership and your journey. It’s been amazing and inspiring. Anything else you would like to share?

• 0:46:35 Jessica Harris: Just really wanted to thank you as a person and what you’ve created and I’m grateful that you have have the courage to do all this. And I always love hearing your story from the beginning. Right. You always look at like the beginning. You’re like, how did I get here? But yeah, if it wasn’t for your striving and everything. And I know a lot of people say this, but I want you to hear that is I wouldn’t be where I am today. I really wouldn’t. Like you’re God put you in my path and I’m so grateful he did because you helped me get past fear.

• 0:47:07 Jessica Harris: From fear to excitement of new things where I would never have thought, I mean to think of a second location this fast and everything, like I wouldn’t have done that. So I’m just, I’m really grateful for you. Your team is amazing and just you guys are so inspiring. So thank you.

• 0:47:24 Kris Murray: Well, you’re very welcome. It’s my great joy and love to be in this place that has. Yeah. Manifested and just excited for the future and can’t wait to see you next time. We see you hopefully soon and spend more time together. Thank you so much for everything that you do and all of your leadership. Can’t wait to see where you take it. And thanks everybody for tuning in. Jessica Harris from Utah, you’re amazing.

• 0:48:02 Kris Murray: Big, big love and hugs to you and thanks everybody for being here with us on childcare Rockstar Radio. And we’ll talk to you next time.

• 0:48:10 Jessica Harris: Thanks.

• 0:48:11 Kris Murray: Bye. I hope you liked this episode of Child Care Rockstar Radio. If you did, please leave a review and share it with someone you know to help spread the word to friends in our industry and on social media media. Child care business success is my passion and I’m honored to be on this journey with you. As a thank you for listening, I’ve got a new video training that shows you how to add six figures or more of new revenue to your program in the next 60 days by improving your hiring and your enrollment systems.

• 0:48:43 Kris Murray: To watch my new video, just go to www.fixmyschool.com. that’s fixmyschool.com thanks. Take care and God bless.