Kris is joined this week by the incredible and accomplished Shana del Castillo, owner of a Growing Room Learning Center. Shana has two large locations with about 200 kids at each school and is dedicated to maintaining a high culture and leadership team that is engaged and on fire....

Kris welcomes Jodi McMaster, an incredible innovator, teacher, and the force behind Circus Vowels. Jodi talks about how she created Circus Vowels to help kids learn to read in an intuitive and interactive way. She talks about the real-world success she’s seen with the product and gives her advice...

It’s all about money, finances, and recognizing your worth this week, with Rachelle Calina, CPA and Founder of Honest Buck Accounting. Rachelle shares her journey into starting a fantastic early learning accounting and financial metrics firm, and details some financial benchmarks and best practices to be set up for...

This week, Kris welcomes Kate Lund, Psy.D., and author of Bounce: Help Your Child Build Resilience and Thrive in School, Sports, and Life. Kate shares her unique viewpoint on how to help children build resilience, deal with frustration, and negotiate better when things don’t go their way. Kate shares...

Kris welcomes Maureen “Mo” Thompson, M.Ed., founder of the Rocky Mountain Kids Club, for the first in-person interview. Mo talks with Kris about creating a mobile learning space by outfitting her RV, how we can break barriers between children and adults, and how to help children embrace their weirdness....

Kris welcomes two outstanding ladies in the field of early childhood education, Donna Jensen, who owns The Learning Station and who many of you know as “Coach Donna,” along with Audrey Pallone-Bugeja, owner of Little Scholars Preparatory School. They dive into the hot topic of how to win the...

Hal Elrod is on a mission to elevate the consciousness of humanity, one morning at a time. As a keynote speaker, podcaster, and the author of best-sellers The Miracle Morning and The Miracle Equation, he has helped millions of people overcome their challenges and become who they need to...

It’s all about the power of play this week as I welcome Drew Vernon, the U.S. Marketing Lead at tonies, a popular European children’s audio system that has recently launched in the United States. Drew talks about his former experience as Brand Director at Lego and in marketing at...

On this episode I welcome Justin Black, founder of The Redefining Normal company. Between his book, podcast, speaking, and mentorship, Justin and his wife Alexis have impacted thousands of individuals and families with the work they are doing. Justin shares his unique story of coming up through the foster system,...

If you are feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, and under-appreciated, this episode is for you. I welcome friend and Child Care Success Academy member Joan Dillon with the Glassboro Child Development Centers in New Jersey. Joan is also the “Change the World Winner,” and after hearing her talk about her...

I am so happy to welcome Donna Naleway, Owner & Director of Kid Country Childcare, who is celebrating her 20th anniversary in business. In October 2015, Kid Country Childcare earned the Silver Circle of Quality designation from ExceleRate Illinois, the state’s quality recognition and improvement system for early learning...

I am thrilled to welcome world-renowned coach and author Marshall Goldsmith for a fun conversation on learning to accept feedback, balancing achievement and aspirations, and the fact that we all need help. Marshall talks about his new book, The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment, and the reasons he sees...

Kris welcomes nationally recognized productivity expert, Founder & CEO of inkWELL Press Productivity Co., bestselling author, speaker, and growth strategist, Tanya Dalton, this week. Tanya talks about a few of her most successful habits and hacks for getting out of overwhelm and harnessing your energy in a way that...

Kris welcomes Stephanie Parra, Executive Director of All In Education, a non-profit advocacy group for underserved communities and families, particularly the Latino communities. Stephanie talks about All In’s mission to focus on closing the performance gap of Latino students and the Latino community and how we can help parents...

On this episode, I am honored to be joined by Early Education pioneer Carol Levins to the show. Carol created a school from nothing and ended up with a business that now has 14 locations, serving over 3,500 children. Carol talks about how a passion for learning sparked her...

Christine McNally is a heartfelt leader and educator in our space and has been doing childcare for close to 25 years, since 1998. You may also recognize her from appearing on stage at the Child Care Success Summit, telling her story and sharing her amazing video for hundreds of...

Kris welcomes Dr. Lauren Starnes this week, VP of Early Childhood Education at Primrose Schools, where she supports curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation. Lauren’s new book, Big Conversations with Little Children, helps provide tools and techniques to help teachers and leaders overcome the stress and hurdles in education. Dr. Lauren talks...

Author, speaker, and leader Andre Norman truly exemplifies what it means to turn your life around and turn your blessings into gifts for others. This week, Andre joins Kris for an impactful and important episode about how we can shift our life to be something we are proud of...

Isobel Wheatcroft, Creative Director of Grow Your Center, joins us from snowy Ottawa to talk about GYC, embracing your marketing message, creativity in all its forms, and the elements of great design. Isobel shares how she melded her background in business as a former yoga studio owner and entrepreneur...

I am so happy to kick off this holiday week by having Janaki Patel, owner of Kiddie Academy and Child Care Success Academy member, on the podcast! Janaki talks about how she went from one person at an open house and questioning what she was doing in child care...

Kris kicks off this week with a fun new announcement about a recent purchase she made and then welcomes Jerzell Pierre-Louis, Founder of Sprout Early Education Center and Bloom Early Education Center. Ever since Kris heard Jerzell talking next to her table in Las Vegas at this year’s past...

Today’s episode will get you all “shook” up! It is all about the power of becoming a published author. Becoming an author is one of the three things that has changed my life the most. I wrote my first book, The Ultimate Childcare Marketing Guide, in 2012 and it has...

The Child Care Success Summit 2021 in Las Vegas just wrapped up earlier this month, and there was so much love, support, and fun throughout those three days! On this week’s solo episode, Kris shares the three big takeaways that were shared during the Summit from leaders and keynote...

Kris welcomes back Vernon Mason to the show. Not only is he the first guest to return three times, but he is also a highly sought-after influential speaker and the Senior VP of Growth and Professional Development at the Nest Schools. Vernon and Kris discuss the importance of advocacy...

Author and speaker Mike Michalowicz brings his wisdom and expertise to the podcast this week. Mike talks with Kris about his bestseller, Profit First, and his latest book, Get Different, created to inspire small business owners to get out of the sea of sameness and stand out. He and...

In this incredibly powerful episode, Kris sits down with Shelley Smith, culture curator, author, speaker, and consultant. Shelley has a passion for making the lives of others easier and less stressful and has created a world of incredible tools that serve as absolute game-changers. She talks about why culture...

Today’s episode will inspire you to get out there and be the true badass that you are! My guest today, Karina Wyllie, is a motivated self-starter that owns two daycares in New York, Koala Park Daycare. While an incredibly accomplished entrepreneur, Karina is still committed to being a forever...

I am overjoyed and honored to bring you this episode today with one of the top entrepreneurial coaches in the world, best-selling author and speaker Cameron Herold. He has been coaching clients across the globe for 30 years to become multimillion-dollar businesses and is most notably behind the growth...

I am so excited to welcome our guest today who has over FOUR DECADES of experience in early childhood education. Alix Hall has seven centers in California, Discovery Tree and Arista Schools, and is also partnered with Child Care Business Coach Rachel Supalla on multiple Montana locations of Discovery...

We did it! We made it to Episode 100! For this milestone episode, I am ecstatic to welcome Ali Brown to the podcast. Ali is one of the top female entrepreneurs and coaches in the world and host of the very successful podcast “Glambition Radio.” Ali also founded the emerging...

IIn this episode, I am so happy to be joined by the wonderful Brittney Luther. Brittney is an early childhood education leader, owner of two Young Sprouts locations in Texas, and an Empire member in our Child Care Success Academy. During our time together, she shares so many valuable nuggets of...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by the incredible Lori Buxton — the managing director of the Association for Early Learning Leaders. Lori has been involved in early care and education in many different facets since 1995, and she is just so passionate about what she does. Lori is a...

I am thrilled to welcome Danielle Paige back to the podcast! She first appeared in Episode 60 and today she rejoins me to talk all about licensing. Danielle now owns two centers, Academic Explorers, in New York and she talks us through how she expanded to her second location. She...

In this new episode, I am joined by Jamarrion Tabor of Madalyn’s House Childcare in Georgia. I couldn’t think of a more heartfelt, fun, and creative thinker to speak to than Jamarrion. She is bringing her vision of high-quality early child care and education to inner-city, minority, and underserved...

Kris digs in this week to recap the crazy year of 2020 and reflect on her biggest accomplishments and challenges, both personally and professionally. She gives a roundup of the best moments of 2020, the top three insights from the year that we can take into 2021 and beyond,...

Mecca Johnson is an incredible and heartfelt speaker, trainer, and founder of the professional development consulting company My Joy Speaks. Her long and very successful career in early childhood education with Primrose Schools plus corporate experience led her to develop The Five Guardians of Life, which she shares in...

I am thrilled to have Bari Baumgardner on the podcast to share her truly inspiring journey. Bari is the founder of SAGE Event Management; a boutique event production company best known for creating a purpose-driven payday for speakers, authors, and influencers with her “Sales IS Service” approach. If you’re...

This week I am joined by rockstar Rachel Supalla. Rachel is a multi-site owner of Discovery Kidzone in Montana as well as one of the newest coaches here at The Child Care Success Company. She has shared her expertise as a national speaker at Association for Early Learning Leaders,...

This week I am joined by Chantel and Zack Pettengill; a husband-wife duo that owns the Pettengill Academy in Maine.  They placed second in our Child Care Rockstar 2020 contest and have managed to keep their center nearly full during the pandemic. We talk about overcoming the pitfalls they’ve...

In this episode, Kris is joined by the mother-daughter team and owners of Kids In Action, Heather Jensen and Diane Havens, located in Kingwood Texas. They share their stories of having a business survive two natural disasters, how they were able to still stay positive, and the importance of...

Child Care Rockstar Radio returns this week for the first time since the Child Care Reimagined: The Success Summit 2020 event that took place earlier this month. Kris is joined by Jim Dew, CEO of Dew Wealth Management and creator of the Functional Wealth Management process. Jim has 23...

This week, Kris is joined by Brian Duprey, Certified Child Care Coach and the Director of Business Development at The Child Care Success Company. He is a 20-year veteran who came to his first Child Care Success Summit in 2015 and became a coach in 2017. Last year, Brian...

Kris couldn’t think of a better time to bring in the wonderful Dr. Nefertiti Poyner, to talk about resilience and the right protective factors that will serve us through the storms of life. In this episode, Dr. Poyner shares her unique insights for staying resilient in times of crisis...

This week Kris is joined with Dave Vasen, founder and CEO of brightwheel, one of the leading parent management software platforms that features best-in-class parent communication. Dave shares his journey into developing and launching brightwheel and gives us an exclusive behind the scenes story of appearing on Shark Tank...

Tameenah Adams is a Child Care Business Coach for The Child Care Success Company and has over 18 years of experience in personnel management. She joins Kris for a conversation about gaining confidence through preparation and action and how she has continued to expand her empire and development centers...

Alyssa Campbell is an emotional development expert, podcaster, and founder of Seed and Sew. She joins the show to talk with Kris about the method of Collaborative Emotion Processing that she co-created, how developing emotional intelligence skills saved her life, and why this work is of the utmost importance...

Dr. Calvin Moore was recently named Interim CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition. He joins the show to talk about what first attending the Head Start Program as a student meant to him as he moved up the ranks into executive positions. He and Kris also discuss why...

Sarah Cudnik is the Executive Director and Owner of Kids’ Work in Chicago, with two very active and successful locations. Sarah shares her insight from growing up in an environment where child care was important, and what she learned from starting as a mother-daughter duo. She and Kris also...

Linda Hassapis is the owner of Magical Beginnings daycares and learning centers, with six locations around the Boston area. Linda shares her beginnings in the industry from opening up a child care facility in her home to now growing Magical Beginnings with a full staff and bustling capacity. Linda...

Pamela Piekarski is the President and CEO of Exploring Minds Academy, which has two programs in two different states: Colorado and Kansas. Pamela joins the show this week to discuss her journey into ECE as a Kindergarten teacher in 1978, and share a few amazing golden nuggets of advice...

As a previous licensing consultant herself and now part of the Child Care Success team, Ronnae Williams has some great insight into how child care leaders can make the best of licensing. She shares practical tips to get organized and in a positive mindset, both of which will set...

It’s a common feeling for business owners and directors to feel completely overwhelmed and unable to get to the core of their purpose because they are so busy putting out fires on the “hot mess express” every day. Kris takes this week’s episode to give a roadmap to get...

In this powerful and super fun episode, Jody Marquis joins Kris to take a deep dive into mind-blowing concepts such as important questions to ask both yourself and your team, tips for language and scripts when having difficult conversations, and shifts we can do to get out of the...

Alvin Ayusa is a true example of a Child Care Rockstar, immigrating from the Philippines and living separated from his family for ten years, to now owning two locations in California at 90% enrollment. Alvin shares how his background in systems and software automation helped him understand integral practices...

Tym the Trainer has been holding Early Childhood Education workshops and cruises for over ten years and leads his own school brand in Texas, with six locations. Tym joins the show to talk about innovation in school systems, conscious discipline, and navigating the new paradigm in our world to...

This week features a special working-happy-hour episode with beloved guest Vernon Mason. Vernon has been an early childhood administrator for over 20 years and also owned four centers with locations in North Carolina before selling them to a national buyer. Vernon and Kris talk about the future of early...

Ron Spreeuwenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of HiMama and host of The Preschool Podcast, joins Kris on the show this week. Ron talks about how HiMama is providing answers and support in the COVID-19 crisis, the surprising results from their survey, and what five things your school can do to...

This week, Kris talks with another international guest, Gary Peirce, who is the owner of Hopes & Dreams Nursery in the Isle of Man, a tiny island between Ireland and the UK. Gary gets opens up and gets vulnerable on what it’s really like to run the school together...

This week, Kris is joined by Ryan Hawk, author, speaker, thought leader, and host of The Learning Leader Show, a podcast that has millions of listeners and much industry acclaim. Ryan talks about his rising role as an NFL Quarterback, and how he pivoted to creating a show that...

The present state of the world is placing an emphasis on schools upping their game in many ways, with the quality of health and safety being at the forefront of importance. Martin Bing joins the show this week to talk about how his company, 1Place Childcare, provides a tool...

Bruce Spurr, Co-Founder of Grow Your Center, joins the show today. Kris and Bruce talk about what sets Grow Your Center apart as the only world-class digital marketing agency serving the early childhood industry exclusively. Bruce shares what advertising and marketing trends he is seeing that are working in...

This week, Kris is joined by friend and seasoned veteran of the early learning industry, Donna Thorton-Roberts. Donna shares some of her knowledge about being effective, prepared, and proactive during this time, along with some wisdom she personally has gained from going through some tough times in her career,...

Lori Semke is the Executive Director at Mis Amigos Spanish Immersion Preschool in Minnesota. She joins the show to share her game-changing strategies on weathering the storm as a team during tough times, why dedication and intention in enrollment really do make the difference, and what it is like...

Despite the challenging times we are currently in, Kris reminds us that there are ways we can use our time productively and even shift from feeling powerless to powerful. She uses this episode to share tips and strategies to create awareness about our financial situation and our mindset, and...

Ron McGuckin has gained a national reputation as the “Child Care Lawyer,” and trains thousands of child care professionals on a variety of issues including personal, administration, management, and legal issues. He joins the show to talk about how he got into child care and came to own Ronald...

Leslie Schreiber, Empire member of The Child Care Success Academy and owner of Small Wonders Discovery and Learning Center in Ohio, joins the show to talk about how they stand out from the competition in a rural area, finding freedom from the day-to-day of your business, and the strategies...

Veronica Nelson of Child Time, Inc. schools in Salt Lake City joins the show to talk about leading through example, what benefits she has experienced as a Child Care Success Academy Empire member, and what happens when owners have to step back in the day-to-day of their business. Veronica...

Karla McCurry and her husband Doug own Palm Beach Preschools in Florida, now with three bustling and successful locations. Karla joins the show to talk with Kris about the lessons she learned after deciding to become a preschool owner, and how their school focuses on social-emotional learning in a...

Danielle Paige opened Academic Explorers in Roosevelt, New York, and has built the business to a place where she is at 95% full capacity, and able to work remotely with an extremely capable and dedicated team. She joins the show to talk about the systems and leadership components she...

Neydary Zambrano won Owner of the Year at the 2019 Child Care Success Summit, and this week she shares her wisdom on growing enrollment, marketing, staff happiness, and culture. Neydary talks about the metamorphosis her school, Magic Memories, has gone through in 2019, now with nine locations throughout Pennsylvania....

Jane Hulbert of The Jane Group joins the show to talk about her crisis communication firm, and how she landed working in education. Jane shares her background working at large companies like McDonald’s, and how it prepared her for helping educational leaders put together a plan of action for...

Kris starts this week off with a big announcement — her new book, Rockstar Stories, is out and available! She then dives into the three important principles of one of the most important success strategy books out there today, Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. These three principles...

Lisa Giancarli is the Executive Director and Owner of Over the Rainbow Child Development Center, located in Bordentown, New Jersey. Lisa followed her passion to own her own business and fell in love with child care after acquiring her center in 2011. She talks about the improvements she and...

Eric Lofholm is President and CEO of Eric Lofholm International, an organization he founded to professionally train people on the art and science of selling. Eric has used his own successful sales background to help people dramatically improve their lives in all areas, including income and happiness. He joins...