Julie Roy joins Kris today to share her experience of how she started as an educator in Canada and went on to own nine centers of the Montessori Educational Centers in Omaha, Nebraska. They talk about concrete strategies for how to grow your business, as Julie’s now has a waiting list and is looking to expand into even more locations in the upcoming years. Kris and Julie also share how to structure your corporate office to give you support to grow, how often you really need to be in your location, mindset traps to be careful to avoid, and getting everyone on board with your vision and mission. Julie truly leads by example and empowers those around her while maintaining a presence as the personal face of her brand.
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Here Are the Key Takeaways From This Episode:
- It is possible to both grow your business and also feel as though you have personal freedom.
- Our guest today is Julie Roy. Julie owns nine centers — all part of her Montessori Educational Centers brand in Omaha, Nebraska.
- Julie was going to school for law, but took a job in childcare and fell in love with the Montessori classroom model and philosophy and the education industry. She grew a school in Canada and loved it so much she was up for the challenge of growing a school on her own. After owning and selling six schools in Canada she decided she couldn’t live without doing her passion for owning and directing a Montessori and ended up moving herself and her family to Omaha, Nebraska.
- Julie attributes her strong drive to growing up with a single mom and seeing that she needed to work hard to get anything she wanted.
- Her vision is to touch the lives of 1,000 kids every day with the Montessori philosophy.
- Julie explains the different roles inside her teams and the structure of leadership as it relates to day-to-day communication internally and with parents.
- Julie is sure from the beginning that she clearly communicates her values, vision, and mission so her directors know how to react and manage certain situations that arise. She shows her personality from an ownership level from the beginning; she has empowered her employees to be responsible yet is there to coach them and give them guidance when needed.
- When Julie bought the schools, they were at about 50% of their current enrollment. The insights she gained at the Summit shifted her to a mindset of enrollment and adding unique quality and exceptional experiences in their marketplace.
- Julie has her eye on building a school where they can have a corporate office out of, implement a childcare staffing solutions agency, and grow to 15 locations.
- Finding the available resources and cash flow to start and grow in the first years were the biggest challenges Julie and her husband had when first starting.
- Every hurdle we face as a business owner is an opportunity to grow and change our model.
