Jody Zabriskie started babysitting at twelve and marketing her own services, became a nanny at eighteen while studying Early Childhood Education, then opened a part-time preschool from home after she could not find the right fit for her own child. She ran that in-home preschool for five and a half years while raising three children, and launched her first center on a second mortgage and $75,000 in credit card debt. For five years she lived paycheck to paycheck, served as both owner and director, and took no personal paycheck at all.

The turning point came when she stopped trying to do everything herself. She learned that if the standard does not exist, you build it, that delegation multiplies impact instead of surrendering control, and that leadership scale comes from developing leaders, not from doing more.

Today Jody coaches owners through a five-stage operating model: systems and financial clarity, team development, communication rhythms, culture with standards, and intentional expansion. She works best with growth-oriented leaders who are open to structure, accountability, and process. Her owners run centers with leaders independently managing locations, consistent 10 to 25 percent profit margins, and the freedom to step away.

Signature line: “You don’t scale classrooms. You scale leaders.”