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• Kris Murray (00:06):

  Welcome to Childcare Rockstar Radio. I am your host, Chris Murray. Childcare 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 [00:00:30] childcare rockstar. Now let’s go.

  Kris Murray (00:37):

  This is episode 2 0 7 of Childcare Rockstar Radio featuring Gigi Schweikert. Hey folks, welcome back to Childcare Rockstar Radio. I’m very excited to have you with me today. I am interviewing a powerhouse in our industry. She’s got 40 years of expertise, and she’s the CEO of LightBridge Academy. Gigi has graced [00:01:00] our stages at the Childcare Success Academy Mastermind meeting, as well as the Childcare Success Summit. Way back in 2014. She came to Vegas and brought the house down. 11 years later, she’s going to join us at this 2025 Childcare Success Summit in Atlanta here in just a few months. So I wanted to bring her on the podcast so that she could get to know her as the CEO of LightBridge, which has 85 centers around the United States. [00:01:30] She is a master of all things quality in the classroom and outside the classroom, running a large organization with thousands of employees.

  (01:42):

  And she really is so fulfilled by being a mentor to today’s young women and women of all ages and all colors. And we talk about mentoring women and being an author, being a speaker, being a [00:02:00] coach, being an extraordinary leader in this industry and what that means and all that entails. We also talk about industry trends and what’s going on. There’s a lot of stress right now in the childcare industry. A lot of markets have been overbuilt with too many centers for the number of children, and a lot of families are retrenching with the cost of raising kids and the cost of just being a human these days with the inflation in [00:02:30] the United States in particular, a lot of folks are making the decisions to have fewer kids, and that in certain pockets of our industry has really caused a lot of stress, business stress.

  (02:41):

  So we talk about that. We talk about great marketing and technology and scaling and a lot of things that you’re going to really wanted to tap into and dive into on this episode. Before we go there, I want to just share some personal news. I recently became engaged. [00:03:00] I talked about my boyfriend a couple times here on the podcast, not in a lot of detail, but he is a chef and he is a wonderful man, and he’s a father. He has a 24-year-old son, and then along with my 23-year-old son and my 20-year-old daughter, we’ll have three kids between the two of us all up and out pretty much. But we still relish the joys of being a parent and maybe one of these days we’ll become grandparents. Who knows? [00:03:30] But we are getting married and he asked me to marry him a few days ago.

  (03:35):

  I said yes, and we’re excited and we’re happy. So just wanted to share that news with you. Thanks for being along with me on this ride, this crazy ride called life here in the early learning industry. And no matter where you are and what you do, I’m just glad to be able to come in and share best practices and cool things and funny things and [00:04:00] heartwarming things with you and have a little slice of your heart in your head. So thank you for letting me play that role. I want you to meet Gigi. Let’s go. Let’s dive right into the meat of this episode, and you’re going to get a lot of writer downers, and you’re going to have a lot of fun on this episode because if there’s one thing that Gigi is that she brings the fun and she’s a good time and a smart lady and an amazing mentor. So let’s [00:04:30] dive in here at childcare. We’re rockstar. We radio. Let’s go. Welcome back, everybody. I’m very excited to introduce to you today my friend Gigi Schweikert. Gigi, how are you?

  Gigi Schweikert  (04:50):

  I am doing great, Kris. And what an honor. When I got the invitation to speak with you, I said Of course, yes. When, where? Tell me when and I’ll be there.

  Kris Murray (04:59):

  Yay. [00:05:00] Because we always have fun, you and I together. That is true. I can’t wait for this conversation. Where are you right now? Where are you seated?

  Gigi Schweikert  (05:07):

  I’m actually in New Jersey, which is where I live and where the headquarters for Lakebridge Academy is. But I travel frequently. My four children are now grown, and so there’s one in la, one in Seattle, and two in Denver. So I get out to the West coast quite a bit.

  Kris Murray (05:29):

  Great. [00:05:30] Well love that. They’re in Colorado. We’re having a beautiful summer here. Tell us a little bit about what you do. You do so many things. So this is a hugely loaded question and we’re going to dive into all the things, all the hats, but what is your main role in the world of ECE right now?

  Gigi Schweikert  (05:47):

  The main role in the world of ECE is helping my grandson Shiloh through a developmentally appropriate, achievable. No, I’m just kidding. But yeah, that really is my main role in life. That’s awesome. And I [00:06:00] will just say, and those who have indulged me in this Grand Parenthood, when you get there, I will indulge each one of you, but it is really spectacular and I really see ECE so much as that quality piece, that education piece, that opportunity to make sure that every child gets the best start from zero to three, zero to six, et cetera. And so I’ve always said that early childhood education is the trust business. And so ultimately, and I’ll go over a couple of my other hats [00:06:30] in a few minutes, but as CEO of LightBridge Academy, and we have about 85 childcare centers throughout 14 different states, is we’re always looking at how do we assess quality and we assess quality through quality assurance so that people are going out and they’re taking a look at things, whether that’s the facility where the design, the engagement of children, the safety, which is weighted more heavily.

  (06:56):

  We do it through secret shopping or mystery shop where [00:07:00] we send someone out who poses as a parent and people don’t know who it is. And so that way we’re looking at quality. We do it by having cameras in the classroom so that we can see what’s happening at all times by having regional managers and business coaches go out. But at the end of the day, when I am out in the field and looking at quality, my judge of quality is trust. Would I hand my baby to you? So would I give my child to you, Chris? And yes, I [00:07:30] would give them and run and go have a great weekend, but the new bar has been raised in my grandmother hat, and that is, would I give Shiloh to you? And I would give Shiloh to you. There are not many in that club, so just want to let you know. Thank you.

  Kris Murray (07:49):

  I’ll take very good care of Shyla.

  Gigi Schweikert  (07:51):

  And so it has been such a privilege to be able to watch this long distance love affair and [00:08:00] watching him grow and change. And so I’m currently doing that currently the CEO at LightBridge Academy, continuing to do speaking and writing. And really I think two of the things that are truly inspiring to me recently are being mentors for women, helping women at every level grow. I think there are so many of us who don’t see, and if people who are at other [00:08:30] genders or identify in other ways are listening, I just think that often minorities, people of color, women don’t always get the opportunities that they can get. And to be able to see someone see in something, in someone they don’t see in themselves and to encourage them is so significant. And I’ve had so many great mentors that it’s really a great season of life to be a mentor. And [00:09:00] the last thing that I’m doing is I have taken up on watercolor, and it’s not anything that’s ever going to go in a gallery. It’s just free expression of Gigi. I mean, I could literally hang it on the wall in one of our 4-year-old classrooms and they would be good job. So just making sure that I take some time for myself. So those are the long answer to a very short question.

  Kris Murray (09:27):

  No, I love it. Because you’ve encompassed, I was going to ask [00:09:30] you about your grandmotherhood, and I was going to ask you about a fun fact, and I did not know that you were doing painting. I’m actually learning how to play the ukulele.

  Gigi Schweikert  (09:39):

  Oh, I love that.

  Kris Murray (09:41):

  Interestingly, you and I are both looking at new creative pursuits to give our life color and meaning and all of that. And I love the mentorship piece. Being a coach, a mentor and a leader is one of my favorite roles, and I’m doing it more in different ways. And it sounds like you are as well. So [00:10:00] being a mentor for women is one of the most meaningful and fulfilling things that I do. And I would guess for you as well,

  Gigi Schweikert  (10:08):

  It really is for me personally, because I started out in a toddler classroom, and so I can really relate to what people are experiencing on a daily basis. And I just know the people along my journey, whether that was family and it was a parent, [00:10:30] or whether it was a public school teacher or whether it was someone in the professional world or whether it was a professor who encouraged me when I really did not see myself as a speaker or a writer or a mentor or any of those things. And so just want to make sure that I can create a safe space wherever I go, where people can feel like they can be themselves and talk about [00:11:00] their vulnerabilities and talk about their aspirations with equal enthusiasm to overcome whatever barriers and boundaries they might have.

  Kris Murray (11:09):

  Cool. I know that the role of CEO of LightBridge has to keep you very busy, and especially traveling out to see your kids and your grandbaby, 85 centers, that’s a lot of schools. Do you still have time to write? Are you still

  Gigi Schweikert  (11:24):

  Writing at all? So I haven’t been writing too much [00:11:30] to be honest with you. I’ve been writing a little some things that are more for myself than anything else, just kind of journal self-reflection, that kind of thing where I really need to just get it on paper or I need to dictate it or I need to see it on the computer, or I need chat GPT to summarize it somehow some way like that, that I’m writing. But this, the CEO job is a full-time job. And for me, I have now been in the role for four years, and [00:12:00] when I first entered the role, I felt very much like an imposter. And I think there are times where I still do feel like an imposter in that world. And so I feel like I’ve been in a graduate program for the last four years just on real grind, but learning so much and it’s really phenomenal.

  (12:25):

  And sometimes you might think, well, what could be more important than the [00:12:30] education and what’s happening in the classroom and the health and safety and probably nothing. But as I learned more about technology and how that supports the infrastructure of the business, and I learned more about how we cost out the business and what the true expenses are. And as I learn what goes into creating a budget and a forma and all those things that you do, not on just a unit center level basis, but for a whole portfolio is it’s really [00:13:00] taught me how I can be a true advocate on the state and the federal level to help people understand what goes into running a childcare business, what’s the true cost of care, what do teachers have to deal with and put up with, and what do we need the government to do to support us? And how can I be an ambassador for early childhood education through how I can articulate on a level that [00:13:30] I think the business world and I’m doing quotations for those who are just listening to me can relate to a little bit better? Does that make sense?

  Kris Murray (13:39):

  Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. There’s so much to learn and it’s always changing. I mean, just the introduction and role of AI is a game changer potentially for ECE and the world. And so a few episodes ago I interviewed a gentleman talking about gamification and AI and how it applies [00:14:00] to the world of ECE, and it’s just mind blowing how even our emails now have summaries that are provided by ai. So you don’t even have to read the email, you can just get the cliff notes. So anyways, it’s amazing. It’s

  Gigi Schweikert  (14:12):

  Amazing. Yeah, it’s absolutely amazing. So I have had a little bit of time to write, but mostly really focusing on this season, I tend to do these things where I decide what am I going to do for the next five years? What’s my goal? So when I decided [00:14:30] I wanted to publish a book, where do I want to be in five years? And so I’ll typically develop some habits and disciplinary things that I do on a regular basis to get me to that goal. And some of that discipline requires me giving up things. And this sounds so crazy, and people are going to think I’m a nutcase. But for example, for a long time I gave up fiction because I love to read. I mean, I will stay up till 2, 3, 4 [00:15:00] in the morning all night long to finish a book.

  Gigi Schweikert  (15:03):

  So

  Gigi Schweikert  (15:03):

  I recognized in order for me to conserve the energy that I needed in order to do what I needed to do, that there were just certain things that I wasn’t going to allow myself to do because I didn’t have the energy to do it. All

  Kris Murray (15:18):

  Right. No, I totally get that. LightBridge Academy is a combination of franchise owned centers and corporate owned, correct?

  Gigi Schweikert  (15:27):

  Correct. So it’s [00:15:30] 20% company centers and 80% franchise centers. So this is the first time in my 40 years of being in early childhood education that I’ve been involved in franchising. And I was a little concerned little myth about the whole franchising world when you first got in it.

  Kris Murray (15:51):

  And that’s why I wanted to ask you about it because I do looking out at the landscape of the types of early learning businesses that there [00:16:00] are and that we have all different flavors of folks listening to this podcast, from franchise owners to independent private owners, to directors and administrators, to corporate folks. And so now that you’re in the world of a franchise, well, I wanted to ask you, how is LightBridge different? How do you guys paint your world as being unique and different maybe from the other [00:16:30] franchises or how do you stand out in the marketplace? What makes LightBridge special? And what have you learned about being in the world of franchising now that you’re in there?

  Gigi Schweikert  (16:40):

  Yeah, so I’m going to probably answer with the answer that probably some of the people in my marketing firm aren’t going to love. So before I get there, I’m going to say that I have had the benefit and the honor and the privilege to work in a mom and pop or private, [00:17:00] as people would say when I was very young, I’ve had the chance to work in Head Start, early, head start, employee sponsored, corporate, so many different things at the United Nations now in franchising. And I will tell you that you can do quality care and any of those business models, and they all look a little bit [00:17:30] different on the outside and maybe the funding sources come in different ways and different sizes. But ultimately what I’m going to answer your question with, what is different? First is what is the same? What is the same as people who truly love and care, not just for children, but the people who are in that child’s world. So whatever their family looks like, their guardians or whoever supports them, not when they’re [00:18:00] not in your care. And beyond those five years and recognizing that it’s a play-based world, that’s how children learn

  Gigi Schweikert  (18:11):

  Best

  Gigi Schweikert  (18:13):

  And that empathy and love and direction and child guided and good ratios and group sizes and accreditation standards and programs, quality programs and QRIS [00:18:30] and all of those things are what goes into that quality. It’s just like a family. Families are about love and about reconciliation and about understanding and about getting through tough times together and about having each other’s back and all those things. And I think childcare centers are the same. So they just look different all over. And so my desire, my personal desire and passion is that every child has access to affordable [00:19:00] quality childcare. I just think it’s paramount. And with that said, it comes in different ways. So how is LightBridge different? It’s mostly private pay. We probably do 20% for children who are underserved. It is, we are also talking about whole child. One of the curriculum pieces that I’m most proud of that we recently adopted and rolled [00:19:30] out is called Serene Seedlings. And that’s our curriculum program. And we, it’s about children identifying how they feel and how to deal with those feelings. And it’s really the beginnings of mental health

  (19:48):

  And self-control and all that stuff. And so while I love kids knowing what the weather is and their ABCs and all that stuff, you really can’t master any of that without having some self-confidence. [00:20:00] And so helping children to understand it’s okay to be frustrated, it’s okay to be angry and it’s super fun when you’re happy and joyful, but how do you express those things in ways that are appropriate? So I will say that’s a differentiator for us on the curriculum side and recognizing that the majority of children who are learning typically will learn to read and write. But what’s more important is to have time for children to intentionally learn, to [00:20:30] interact with one another, to collaborate, as I said before, to compromise, to be a leader, to be a follower, to decide what role you need to play in whatever project and what we’re doing and to get back to the community. And if that’s global world, the global platform, then give back to wherever you have influence, how are you making it the best that you can? And I think that’s an intentional thing that we have to teach children. So [00:21:00] that’s one of the curriculum pieces I’m super proud of and hope everybody looks at that because that positive mental health starts day one.

  (21:12):

  And

  Kris Murray (21:12):

  I also believe that family childcare, home-based childcare, I’ve seen beautiful models of quality in that setting as well. So I just want

  Gigi Schweikert  (21:20):

  To don’t believe I didn’t see family childcare. Do you know my children went to family childcare first because I was all about the smell of laundry [00:21:30] and the stroller being underneath the tree outside where my child was sleeping. So I’m so sorry. All my family childcare people out there that I didn’t mention that have been involved in that and chose that as my first option for my first two children, I have four.

  Kris Murray (21:47):

  Yep.

  Gigi Schweikert  (21:47):

  I

  Kris Murray (21:48):

  Know it was not a slight intentionally, and I wanted to mention it. We have a lot of family childcare folks listening to this podcast, so

  Gigi Schweikert  (21:55):

  Thank you for sharing that. So thank you for reminding me. There are just so many ways

  (21:59):

  And so many [00:22:00] different things and so many good people doing good things that I appreciate that call out. And so I think the other thing that sets us apart, and it’s not for everyone, but technology. I’m real big on technology and I see technology as a way to bring people together. And so we do have cameras in all of our classrooms that parents have access to. We have the opportunity as many other programs [00:22:30] do for parents to interface with us through an e communication tool. That’s how they can pay their tuition. That’s how they learn about what their child is doing. That’s how they communicate with the teacher. That’s how they change their hot lunch program in the middle of the night when you want to do that and you’re a mom and you’re like, I’m going to sign up my kit for ballet and we’re not doing pizza anymore.

  (22:51):

  She never eats it. And so I think technology brings people closer together. And I think it is [00:23:00] something that’s so ingrained in our society and how we can make customer experience better. So obviously we want that human experience to be the best that it can be. We’re caring for children, but at the same time, what’s the infrastructure around that when we’re not open or when someone needs to fill out a form or those types of things, and how do we make those super easy for parents so that they can use their time in the most positive way [00:23:30] possible and they can learn to play the ukulele or they can do some watercolor painting.

  Kris Murray (23:35):

  Yes, I love that. And there’s nothing more frustrating for me now, and for me when I was a young parent to encounter an online form that difficult to fill out that is longer than it needs to be, that asks for all of this personal fricking information that takes me away from my child. And so yes, there’s a lot of new cool technology I just learned about Jot form, which uses AI [00:24:00] agents to help make it shorter and easier for people to fill out forms. That’s

  Gigi Schweikert  (24:03):

  One example. Oh, that’s great. I didn’t know about that. I love that.

  Kris Murray (24:06):

  Yeah, so just stuff like that, Gigi, I’m totally with you. Because we love our technology, but then when it’s frustrating, we don’t love our technology. No,

  Gigi Schweikert  (24:15):

  We don’t. We don’t. When it buffers and when I can’t get my things done. But that’s when you take out that piece of paper and you start counting like you used to and you do an attendance checklist and all the [00:24:30] things that you need to do when we make it work. I think people in ECE are extremely resilient and very innovative.

  Kris Murray (24:36):

  A hundred percent. So let’s transition to the topic of you being a speaker. You have spoken at early learning conferences and events all over the world, Malaysia, the New Zealand, you and I have that in common New Zealand. I love my New Zealand ECE folks. What has been an interesting, maybe unexpected or just fun experience that you’ve had globally [00:25:00] maybe attending or speaking at one of these events in your career?

  Gigi Schweikert  (25:05):

  So I will share, right before COVID, I had the opportunity to speak at what have been the equivalent of the N-A-E-Y-C National conference. And it was in China

  (25:22):

  In hai. So I came from New York to Shanghai and my [00:25:30] oldest daughter came from LA and met me there. And we had someone who went with us, I guess to an interpreter to help us. This is very, very, very different. And it was super, super exciting and I’ve met so many people that I’m still friends with, and what I expected was not what I saw. And I got to tour a bunch of childcare centers and it was just really, [00:26:00] really phenomenal. And I think what was most interesting to me is that, and this because seen me speak before Chris, is that I really like to make people

  Gigi Schweikert  (26:14):

  Laugh.

  Gigi Schweikert  (26:15):

  And so I feel like you’re more likely to take in information and comprehend information if you’re feeling comfortable and relaxed. So I would say something and pause, and then the person would say that [00:26:30] in Chinese,

  (26:31):

  Well, I was just banging off one after another and not a laugh in a crowd of 5,000. And I was like sweating, oh my gosh, I am crashing big time on a really big stage here and I am not doing a good job. And then I just kind of took a deep breath and I just kind of kept going and I kept watching my audience. Luckily it was live and [00:27:00] then started moving more into some of the things that again, are the similarities that draws together children and the passion for education and learning and those types of things. And then was able to finally get maybe one smile out of a couple people. So it was a different way for me to share information. I had to work a lot harder for it at the end of the day. It was extremely satisfying. And I [00:27:30] think that at least for me, that I have a lot of generalizations about countries. I have a lot of generalizations in my mind about people. I think I’m very progressive and guess I’m not really, I just have some of these generalizations. So I’m really working on some of that to be more.

  (27:58):

  And so that is kind of [00:28:00] what that taught me. So it was a really great experience.

  Kris Murray (28:03):

  Yeah. Culturally, when you visited those centers, was there anything that surprised you or stood out? How was the landscape of early childhood in China different than the states? I mean, obviously their sense of humor is different.

  Gigi Schweikert  (28:20):

  No, no. They just didn’t think I was funny. The humor was just a bar up. So [00:28:30] I’ll tell you what impressed me. So I didn’t get to see children in action. They would only take me on the weekend, which was fine. And I understand that with our own centers, people traipsing through and that kind of thing. I was amazed by all the plants. There were plants everywhere. There were huge gardens everywhere on rooftops and outside, and they were using those gardens. There was a lot of opportunity [00:29:00] for the children to participate in real life things and taking their shoes off on getting their coats on, brushing their teeth on, laying down on getting their food and washing their dishes. And so many of those things that was just absolutely amazing. There was a lot more technology than I thought where children even at a younger age were actively engaging.

  (29:27):

  And a lot of online technology [00:29:30] themselves, apps, two year olds, three year olds. I’m not put off by that at all as an author. I do think, and this makes many people sad, that eventually we’ll be reading everything from devices and we won’t have those pages to turn. And I think that will probably be the case for young children too. So I think it’s important for them to have their hands on that. So I was really amazed by that. [00:30:00] And I guess then again, it went back to the similarities. There was a circle time and there was a play area and there was the playground. And I think what I see more than anything though when I travel internationally, and you probably see this too Chris, is that there’s so much more tolerance for children who are barefoot, who are climbing trees and running around with sticks and using glass, whether they’re [00:30:30] using that for eating or easel painting, and so much more of an opportunity to explore the world and experience what I call the bumps and bruises of childhood. So I lament a bit for the freedom of climbing trees and making lots of big giant mud puddles and things like that.

  Kris Murray (30:53):

  Yeah, I agree with you. And I am concerned for the United States [00:31:00] children that are the parents. Today’s mostly Gen Z and millennial parents. I feel it is coming back around, I feel with Gen Z that there’s some really cool things that Gen Z stands for, but I just feel like the helicoptering of children and the not letting them go outside in bad weather is like there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. You just, all you have to do is dress right. Absolutely. Yeah. And so [00:31:30] that mentality of American culture being more sheltered and trying to overprotection of children, not letting them fall and fail, and that’s not good struggle. The strength is in the struggle, and we have to let our kids struggle. We have to allow them to fall so that they can learn how to pick themselves up. So

  Gigi Schweikert  (31:54):

  I agree with you, and I will tell you my first, [00:32:00] not my first, but second early childhood education experience out of college was at Steamboat Springs on the ski mountain, and we would take kids out unless it was below zero, they were going out. They were going outside.

  Kris Murray (32:16):

  That’s right.

  Gigi Schweikert  (32:17):

  And when we did field trips, and I am not an advocate for this, so I will say that I’m glad this safety has increased, but

  (32:24):

  I worked, after the ski season was over, I worked at an intergenerational program and I [00:32:30] was working with preschoolers. And in the late afternoons when I had maybe 6, 7, 8 kids, if I wanted to go to the creek or the small stream in my car with the kids, I just went to the director and said, Hey, I’m going down to the creek. And she’d be like, how many kids do you have? And I’m like, seven. And I had a teeny little car, my own car. There were no seat belts or anything, and I’m just getting ’em all in there [00:33:00] and taking ’em out and things like that. So I don’t think we need to go that far. I think there was a bit much, but I do think stomping around and feeling water and feeling mud and all those kinds of things were really cool. And I saw a lot of that internationally that I don’t see here.

  Kris Murray (33:20):

  Yes, I agree with you. I saw a lot more in New Zealand and Australia also has less rules and regulations and amazing quality. So it [00:33:30] comes in all flavors. Absolutely. Let’s transition to talk about the summit. So I’m so excited to be with you in a few months. Thank you. In October in Atlanta at the Childcare Success Summit, you’re going to be a speaker on main stage. Is there any little previews, tidbits, highlights you could give us for what you’re going to speak about or just anything you want to share about what you’re excited about in being with the crowd at the summit?

  Gigi Schweikert  (33:58):

  So I have [00:34:00] new material that I want to share, so there may be no laughing. I doubt that. But what I want to do, so much so is I want people to recognize that in so many ways when you think you can’t, you can. And I’ll give you a good example.

  (34:23):

  When people who go into early childhood education get promoted good with children and they’re working with adults, [00:34:30] they don’t always have the skillset and they don’t always think they have the skillset, especially in math. And when it comes to budgeting and how you’re doing your ratios in group sizes and how you’re managing your payroll and things of that nature. And the thing about it is, is that we were just taught somehow some way through our education system that girls can’t do math. Well, that’s not true. And I do believe in Home Goods, TJ Maxx Girl math. So I just want that to be clear. [00:35:00] If I’m taking something back that is free money. But beyond that, you can if someone sits down and teaches you about it, and especially when it’s meaningful to you. And I think that’s the piece that I really want to be able to stress is that you may have gone into this for curriculum and operations, but some of us are going [00:35:30] to be working on facilities and some of us are going to be working on budgets, and some of us are going to be working on marketing and lots of different pieces.

  (35:38):

  And all of those are good things to do because they lead parents to good quality programs where children have a wonderful experience. And so while those people who are interacting in the classrooms do have the frontline most difficult job, all those other pieces are necessary [00:36:00] so that they can do the work that they do. So I just hope that those people, somebody says that you see or I see, well, you would be great at doing this. And they’re like, oh God, that maybe they would say, alright, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll give it a try. And so more kind of a shift in how you think about things.

  Kris Murray (36:22):

  Yeah, I’m all about the mindset shift. I’ve had so many people that I’ve coached who think that they aren’t good at numbers and think that they can’t [00:36:30] do the math of their business. And so just helping them baby step into that resistance around,

  Gigi Schweikert  (36:38):

  Yeah, absolutely.

  Kris Murray (36:39):

  Math or numbers or data or metrics or KPIs, and these things are amazing to have because they give you clarity about where you should be leading next. If you didn’t have KPIs or data, you would just lead in a big vacuum of unknowing. And so

  Gigi Schweikert  (36:57):

  Absolutely, it would just be from your gut. And most [00:37:00] of us get to a certain point with our gut. But after that, if I’m trying to create a very supportive work environment, and I do a survey and I think that people are upset because they don’t have enough food in the lounge, but I learned from the survey that they don’t have enough of the resources they need in the classroom at their disposal. They’re having to buy a lot of that stuff themselves and then get reimbursed for it. Well, then I could see that only 25% are concerned about [00:37:30] our snacks, but 75% are concerned about the supplies in the classroom. Where’s the best place to put my money? 75%. But my gut told me something totally different.

  Kris Murray (37:43):

  Yep. And that’s the beauty of having that clarity from having a data-driven organization. So thanks for sharing that. That was a perfect example. Everybody can get that example. I love it. I cannot wait to see you [00:38:00] in a few months. Thank you. Is there anything else that you would like to share with the audience here at the podcast before we unfortunately are out of time and have to say goodbye to Gigi for the moment, but looking so much forward to spending time with you backstage and hanging, is there anything that you would like to

  Gigi Schweikert  (38:18):

  Share? I would just say that for anyone who has never been to one of Chris’s events should go. And if you have gone and you’re thinking about, oh, I’ve [00:38:30] gone before, you should go again because I have always learned something. I love the energy. I love what people are doing. I love all the different levels. You can find yourself a mentor, you can get yourself a mentor. And I go with the expectation that I’ll learn one great thing that I can apply. And when I go with that, I always do. And it feels great to get out of your building and out of what you do on a daily basis and interact [00:39:00] with other people doing the same thing.

  Kris Murray (39:02):

  Well, thank you for sharing that. And I will say that I am concerned right now we’re in potentially a little dip in the industry where historically people are having fewer kids and we have lots of increased competition out there in the space. And some centers are really hurting. A lot of centers are sitting at 50, 55, 60% full, and budgets are super tight. People are not making the money [00:39:30] that they probably were making certainly pre COVID when they were 80% full. And this is a time when you got to really stand out and be the best and figure out ways to stand above and apart and dive into your program and really figure out how to elevate it and potentially how to save it. So people are traveling less in our industry, they’re retrenching. And so if that’s you, and I’m speaking directly to you and that’s your situation, [00:40:00] this place to come and be with me and Gigi and a thousand other peeps is the place that could save your business. And I feel that. And I come from a place of passion of wanting, we’ve helped people not close their doors. And that’s really why I think I exist, why I was put on this planet to do this work. So I just wanted to say that it might be sound a little bit overly dramatic, but I do feel [00:40:30] that people are traveling less and they’re looking outside their world less when they really should be looking outside their world more because they need to

  Gigi Schweikert  (40:37):

  Absolutely get up, get out. Two things that I’ll say to my own team, while we want to manage expenses, you cannot save your way to success. It’s about enrollment. And the second thing that I will say is you have to spend money to make money. And so again, what is it? And whenever [00:41:00] I was talking to somebody yesterday about something that we were thinking about using for LightBridge, and when I asked about the pricing, I said, what’s the investment? Because I’m not going to engage in something that’s not going to bring me great value. And so if you’re going to go to a conference, get out there and pay for the value so that you can enjoy that because it will come back at you exponentially. And so get up and get [00:41:30] out.

  Kris Murray (41:30):

  Yes. Well, Gigi Schweikert, always a pleasure. Love spending time with you, and thank you so much for taking the time to be here on the podcast today.

  Gigi Schweikert  (41:39):

  Thanks, Chris, I really appreciate it.

  Kris Murray (41:42):

  Thanks everybody for tuning in. We’ll see you all next time. And thanks for spending the time with us today here on Child Care at Rockstar Radio. Take care and God bless us. I hope you liked this episode of Childcare Rockstar Radio. If you did, please leave a review and share it with [00:42:00] someone to help spread the word to friends in our industry and on social media. Childcare 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. To watch my new video, just go to www.fixmyschool.com. [00:42:30] That’s fix my school.com. Thanks. Take care. And God bless.