Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Childcare that Feels Like Home: Laura Hair's Recipe for Preschool Success | Childcare Series

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Childcare that Feels Like Home: Laura Hair's Recipe for Preschool Success | Childcare Series · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of Inspired Stories, where leaders
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share their experiences so we can learn from their successes,
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how they've overcome adversity, and explore current challenges
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they're facing. Welcome to another edition of
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the Inspired Stories podcast where leaders share their
0:21
experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired
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by how they've overcome adversity.
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My name is Anthony Cotispodi and today's guest is Laura Hare,
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founder of Laura's Barn Preschool and Childcare Center,
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a daycare with three locations, one in Seaside, CA and two
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locations in Salinas, a state subsidized location and another
0:42
private location. They have been helping families
0:45
raise amazing children for over 3 decades.
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They offer a comprehensive curriculum and sign language
0:51
instruction and put a big emphasis on continuity of care
0:54
to support infant development. They believe in the important of
0:57
consistent routines to help with self regulation, cleanliness to
1:01
lower the chance of illnesses, proper nutrition to help with
1:04
your children's development, and a healthy dose of outdoor play
1:08
to foster sensory exploration, motor skills, physical strength
1:12
and a positive connection with nature.
1:14
And they have a weekly gymnastics instructor who
1:16
visits, which the kids love. And before we get into all that
1:20
good stuff, today's episode is brought to you by my company,
1:23
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To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at
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Add Back benefitsagency.com. Now back to our guest today, the
1:50
CEO of Laura's Barn Preschool and Child Care Center.
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Laura, I appreciate you making the time to Share your story.
1:55
Today, Good morning, Anthony. Nice to be here.
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Thank you for having us. Absolutely.
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So, Laura, tell me, what was the inspiration behind starting your
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first daycare center? How did that all come about?
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There's a really bad back. I mean, a interesting back
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story. I, I, I was working, I was
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doing, I was actually kind of working for a company that
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started online retailing way back when.
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And then my husband and I decided to split up and I was
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left with two, very two children struggling really hard with the
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divorce. And I didn't really know how to
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support them properly. I just knew I I needed to be
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close and with and available to them.
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Well, the lady that had was babysitting my daughter while I
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was working said you should just open a child care center so you
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could be home with the kids you seem to enjoy.
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You know, every time I come there, I was always playing with
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the kids and stuff. She's like, you seem to enjoy
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that you could be home and available even when they're at
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school and those kinds of things.
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So that's kind of how it happened.
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And it started on this property my parents owned that had a barn
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and that's how the whole name kind of came around.
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So, and then and it just, I have my original client, he comes and
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sees me off and he's at Alabama studying kinesiology and he's
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going to be, he's working on his masters at Alabama football
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team. So he's very excited.
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So I these clients that I started with, I still know them.
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They still come back and visit with me.
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That's kind of how I started Laura's barn.
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I didn't think that was a career for me because I was always
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supposed least likely to have children.
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Went to a all girls school like they were like she there's no
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way she didn't even babysit. So but it it changes when you
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have children. There's there, there's such
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sponges for information and there's so many, so many things
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that you can do to teach them and engage them and just kind
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of, it doesn't have to all be ABCDEFGS.
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You know, we used to go set up habitats for lizards in our
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giant sandbox and those kinds of things.
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So it was just, it was just a kind of niche that I fell into
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and it just kept building on itself.
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And so you started in your home to begin with, and how many
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students, how many children were you able to accommodate there?
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At that time and so, and it was varying ages from infancy up to
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age. Well, some of them stayed with
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me to like 6th grade because they could ride the bus to my
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house and they would come in and do homework and have a snack.
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And they became part of our family too.
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My, my son. Well, they, my son used to call
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them my brother's from another mother.
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So it was you. Know it was.
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Just it was very, we just, I don't know, I really enjoyed the
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teaching part. I I missed that part, that
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component. But watching my new staff and
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new teachers and the team do what they're amazing.
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They're holding a graduation today for our preschoolers and
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they just are phenomenal at developing that community
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feeling. And that was because I always
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thought centers were very cold and I like the home base.
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And so that was my goal. My goal was this is not going to
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be center based. It's going to be home.
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These kids, these kids walk and they're like, they know where
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their snacks are. They know all the teachers in
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the program. I mean, it's just they're
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family. So that's how we kind of.
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And so how did it evolve then from being run out of your home
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for a long time to then moving into some separate physical
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centers? So I met my husband and we got,
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I got married and I opened another, another house place
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when we moved to Toro, which is this really nice area.
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Very, we call it the old 50s type of neighborhood where kids
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are, you know, running around, kids are playing.
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So I brought the center, my house business to that place I
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developed or I had my garage built out for the, the child
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care center. I served the eight kids and it
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that was started in 2002 is when I opened.
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And then in 2017, a child care business had gone out of
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business, which is probably like 5 miles from my house.
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And so I had families showing up at my door begging me to go and
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open this center because they were without care that they had
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signed up for. And this lady just shut down.
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It's a small community. So we kind of everybody knows
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everybody. It's just the way Salinas is.
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So from there we went my, I knew I could do the center, but I
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needed support. So I, my sister and I, I brought
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my sister in as a partner. So we're 5050 partners.
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She came in, helped with the style, the design work, the
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things that that's not what I'm good at.
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And that's what she's really good at.
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Like you looked at our centers, you'd be like, Oh my God.
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I mean, just, they're beautiful. And we make it a house, like a
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house style so that children appreciate the things that
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they're that their environment is.
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And I think that's important to teach children that too.
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So from that location we ended up moving to, it was had a very
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open like 12 foot ceiling. So it was very loud and very
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difficult to have those classroom sessions because it
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was so loud. So we decided after a year being
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there schlepping propane tanks that we were going to move to
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something that was a little bit better for our program.
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And we moved into about a 6500 square foot building on the
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Monterey County Office of Education campus.
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We've actually taken over some of the other rooms.
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It's a. It's kind of.
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And so why were you schlepping? Because he wouldn't provide us
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heat. Why?
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Why were you schlepping? Yeah, so we just decided the
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whole I maybe that's why she left, I don't know.
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But it was just not a real, you know, your landlord's important,
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but they also need to be just as reciprocating to you as you are
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to them. And we did a lot of
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improvements, made it a very a much nicer place.
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But when when asked to have some bigger propane tank, a permanent
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one, it wasn't received. He was like, no, I'm not, you
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can do that, but I'm not. I'm like, he's kind of a basic
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thing, you know? So we decided that when we went
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to MCOE, it was such a different experience.
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They were so welcoming. They, they know how important
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the need is for childcare in this area.
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So they even put in like a porn play playground for us.
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They really helped us because we were, you know, we were just
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kind of starting out, but they really helped get our facility
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set up. They put new floors in.
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They put, you know, just kind of added a kitchen because we
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needed a kitchen to serve food. So it was all part of the, I
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mean, granted we're paying for it, but it was still the, it was
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a totally different experience. I'm like, oh, is this what it's
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supposed to be like? Like you're fighting for
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everything. Could we have a hose to water
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some grass and that kind of stuff?
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Just so from there, then I decided that, you know, I've
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been doing this a long time. I wanted to actually go into
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helping the lower income, which really is subsidized should be
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for everybody because anybody that's making a living wage now
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it, it's hard. I mean, I know I charge about
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$2000 a month for care. San Francisco is like $2900 for
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care, but it's the fact we have to pay these teachers a living
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wage and so that they can stay and stay with these children.
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So that was how I segwayed out of that.
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But the state subsidized program is great because it does help
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facilitate those things. So it pays for the staff and it
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pays for the supplies and all the furnishings and things that
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we need to run a program that these kids are entitled to.
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So again, we have a very lovely center on it's on Hitchcock Rd.
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It's out in the middle of the country.
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So you look out, you're looking across at beautiful fields of
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lettuce and that's our community, you know, or, or it
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could be strawberries. It just depends on the season.
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And then we found another program that was for sale in
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Seaside. And so we just bought that last
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year. So we're kind of in the process
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of working on that. We got a grant from the state to
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help because it's it's needs a lot of work.
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It needs a roof, it needs a playground, it needs we're we've
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kind of band aided it, painted it, cleaned it up, put new
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flooring in. But there's some real need for
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some real modifications for that program.
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That's going to be our big baby this year and that will be our
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main focus is getting that one done.
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But. So the I'm curious about the
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state subsidized location, how did that actually come about?
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And is that, is that something that's accessible to other
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daycare owners to open a location that gets the state
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subsidy? So if they're a center, yes, you
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can. But there's family childcare
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networks which work with California, loves acronyms.
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They're like, you know, you can, I can go, I have a CCTR
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contract, but I don't have ACSP contract.
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I mean, it's like everything's an acronym with them.
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But they're, they call them a, a AAPPS, which is an alternative
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payment program. So there's a company that family
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childcare can go to and say, I'm looking for kids and they'll be
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subsidized by the by those programs just as a center
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acquires the money, the APP programs acquire their money and
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then distribute it out to the providers.
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So it is something it's just family child cares providers
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can't, there's a lot of back work that that's why I'm
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actually now in an office because there's so much
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paperwork and tasks like they task everything.
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So I've kind of just moved into that, you know, with budgets and
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writing for grants and writing applications to expand my child
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care and get more, more students enrolled, those kinds of things.
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So it's, and then there's assessments that you have to
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have done for children, which are called DRD.
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PS:. It's a developmental.
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So they're following the children from infancy up to 3rd
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grade and those those have to be done twice a year.
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So there's a lot of stuff that I think they feel like the family
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child care providers might be overwhelmed with all of those
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details. Knowing how I ran my program, I
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don't think it would be a problem.
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I just think that it might be problematic for some to do those
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things. So that's why they have these
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support. They have a program called MAOF,
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which is the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation.
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They're big in LA and they have an office here and they do the
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same thing. So they people call look for
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subsidized care and they have a list of providers that they can
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send somebody to to see if they like the the program as a family
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child care provider. So tell me about your curriculum
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and your overall approach to early childhood education.
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I've personally at 1st when I was learning about the
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California State DRDPS and then the Eckers, which is an
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environmental look at where children are and then the
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curriculum. And the curriculum has to follow
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those two components. But you can also tailor your
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program to also do other things. So we do science.
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I like kids to experience science and we used to have, we
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had a teacher named Beaker Beatrice, and she would go up
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and we're always going. She's booming something up in
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the yard. So, you know, the Mentos and the
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coke and the, you know, the volcanoes and sinking your, you
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know, sinking your floating items.
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So those kinds of things kids love because it's very tactile
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and it's very, they get to experience those things and they
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all wear their little goggles and there's science outfits and
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we have a, you know, we have a few scientists that actually
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work for us and they just love it.
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They think it's great. So we do we, it's child LED.
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It's not teacher directed, but it's child LED.
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So we want them. They have, you know, specific
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daytime tasks that they do. They're they're, they're, you
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know, we do a, a circle time and we do the calendar, we do the AB
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CS, the things that you have to kind of repeat on a daily basis.
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And we're open, you know, all year round.
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So these kids are getting those things daily.
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We had a student go to take a test for one of the actually, it
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was the school I went to, all girls school I went to, but it's
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Coed. And I guess he went in and took
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the test and he looked at the teacher and he was like, is that
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all just It makes me laugh because these kids, if you feed
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them the information, they're just going to keep taking it and
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start reading. We try to teach them about, you
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know, the United States. We try to teach them about
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artists and how to look through a painting and see the history
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behind the painting and talking to children about the Mona Lisa
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and saying, you know, back then they didn't have lights in their
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house. They didn't have targets.
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Where do you think they're getting their cup painting you?
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You know, they're like, don't they have paint brushes?
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There was no. And so they would come back the
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next day and the parents were like, OK, they were telling us
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about how back in the day there was no carpets in the house.
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There was no lights and it's just giving them just
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introductions to different things that sparks an interest
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is kind of how we like to do things along with the the
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regular components that are necessary holding pencils
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correctly so that they can write their names and but also giving
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them that. And then we're trying to get
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this grant for the US from the USDA, which is going to do, it's
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going to have a 'cause we are in the heart of the AG belt.
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We are the green curtain is what Salinas is, where we grow
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everything, lettuce, tomatoes, everything.
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So we're getting a grant to build a, a greenhouse.
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And within that greenhouse, we're actually going to do
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vertical grilling. So we're going to get some
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vertical so we can, we're going to teach the kids about vertical
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growing and then getting them involved in the planting and
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getting them involved in the harvest and then also doing
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maybe a sale of their harvest to the families.
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And, and then whatever's, you know, of course, if the family
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can't afford it, we're going to be donating whatever we grow in
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these particular vertical gardens.
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And actually they're hydroponic vertical gardens.
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So when I first said that we're growing hydroponically,
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everybody was laughing at me and they're like, what are you going
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to grow in there? Tomatoes.
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And I'm like, no, you can grow all kinds of things.
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So that's like our next big project that we're going to do.
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And that will involve parents, children, the staff.
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We'll all kind of be, it's just, it's about community.
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And this is how you kind of build your community around your
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program is by getting things. And we have a lot of support
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with the AG, you know, companies here I've already talked to are
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there's a where our garbage goes.
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They also do the soil and the dirt.
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It's not dirt, sorry, it's soil. And they, I've talked to them
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and they're going to donate a bunch of their ready mix
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planting things for us too. So for our ground plants, but
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we're also doing the hydroponics, right?
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So it should be interesting to see how this is because, you
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know, kids love to be participants.
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And I think parents sometimes don't give their children
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opportunities to do things because there's really capable
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of doing a lot more than some parents may think they can do.
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You know, I don't know. I just I I really.
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So Laura, I want to go back, I want to go back a little bit
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because you, you started, you were, you were voted most likely
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to not have AIDS, right? And then you start a daycare
20:00
center in your home. That's a that's a big jump.
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And then you move on to opening, you know, physical centers.
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I'm curious particularly as you went from the home based center
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to, you know, a stand alone center.
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Who you were able to lean on to sort of help you with that
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transition? Because I'm going to guess it's
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it's a different set of organization, it's a different
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set of skills, it's a different set of needs, a different set
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of, you know, managerial aspects that need to come into place.
20:33
Like how did you kind of level up in that process?
20:36
So that is where the partnership with my sister came in.
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Additionally, we have a really good team of staff that's I
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would say within the last five years has really taken a run and
20:53
made us definitely better. And their support and their
20:59
ideas are always very focused on the family and whatever it also
21:07
focuses on the business. They have ownership in the
21:10
business because they, it's important to them.
21:13
And if you can find employees like that, it's, it's wonderful
21:17
because they are also vested in what we're doing and they know
21:22
the process. But the, I had an accounting
21:25
background because that was kind of what my, I went to school
21:29
for. And then my sister, like I said,
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she really handles the aesthetics.
21:35
She handles, I'm not allowed to handle HR.
21:38
OK. The joke is, is if you go in and
21:41
talk to Laura, you're going to cut and you're supposed to get
21:43
fired. You would get a raise and a
21:45
probably a promotion. So my sister's like, you're done
21:51
with that. And I'm like, thank you.
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I don't like that part. So having people that can take
21:57
pieces that you're not good at is really important.
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So yeah, I, I lean on them. I, you know, and I, my dad was
22:09
in self-employed, my mom worked for him.
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And so we have a lot of that self-employed Dr. and background
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just from what we've done, my sister and I, and like I said,
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she just, we work really well to balance, you know, talking about
22:32
ideas and like she's going to, I already told her, I said, you're
22:35
the project manager today or you're HR today.
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I just, you know, and then I kind of do the budgets and the
22:44
audits and the, the documentation that needs to be
22:48
done and keeping up with licensing expectations as well
22:51
as the contract expectations, because there every day there's
22:54
something coming out and I'm like, what now?
22:59
So but it you know it. It's a lot, you know, and this
23:03
next question might be better for your sister because you said
23:07
that she handles more the HR stuff.
23:09
But you know, you've touched on the importance of finding, you
23:13
know, good staff, good employees and kind of getting them bought
23:16
in and, you know, wanting to, you know, play an active role in
23:20
making the center better. I'm, I'm curious, especially,
23:23
you know, with it being such a, a hard labor market, what kinds
23:27
of things have you guys tried and seen, have worked to recruit
23:33
and then retain good talent, good staff?
23:36
So teachers shortage is very difficult and California, the
23:39
regulations are very high. So anybody coming in to work
23:43
with an infant has to have a class.
23:46
It's a infant development class that you have to take through
23:49
college. 15 years ago was a part of the I wasn't part of this
23:55
this state funded program so I could bring in kind of anybody
23:59
that seemed to be interested in working with children.
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And as a matter of fact, one of the ladies that I hired over at
24:09
our first location is still with us and now she's a director at
24:13
the Center for us, but she didn't have any education.
24:18
So how you know that was you have to kind of get them started
24:23
and support them and trying to provide them information on
24:29
classes that are either paid for, which we've done in the
24:33
past or have grants that they'll reimburse them for in for
24:38
college courses. We also purchased a slot of from
24:43
theoretical college was like $10,000 and they would get all
24:50
of our staff that infant toddler class that we just because we, I
24:56
just said everybody needs to take that class.
24:58
It's not an option. Everybody from the bookkeeper to
25:00
whatever, because if you need to be in that classroom with a
25:03
child, you can't be in there unless you have that class.
25:07
So they have some very big rules about things like that.
25:11
So you have to kind of think, OK, how's that going to affect
25:16
our program and what should we do to make sure that that is a
25:20
smooth, like I said, think anybody could go into the infant
25:24
class. So also we try to do fun things
25:29
with our staff and I have a really good site supervisor who
25:32
they actually want to work for, meaning they like to do the
25:38
right things for her. She just has a way about her
25:41
that and that's that's what you need.
25:44
You know, she motivates them. She doesn't make them feel bad
25:50
if they've made a mistake or what can we do to to change
25:53
those things. So providing the support,
25:58
providing the education, getting them the classes.
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And so we try to look at Hartnell College, NBC College,
26:08
even the high schools, because we don't have our O PS anymore.
26:10
We're trying to that's kind of our goal this year is to work
26:13
with some of the high schools to see if there's any kids that are
26:16
maybe interested in this type of work, like they're babysitting
26:20
already. So maybe they would like to come
26:22
in and actually get see what it's like to work in a center.
26:26
And we like, you know, they can take classes in high school, in
26:32
college if they would like to. And finding programs that are
26:37
like 8 weeks. That was a big or what do you?
26:43
Yeah. I'm I'm curious what are what
26:45
are some of the biggest things you think set you apart from
26:49
other daycare centers? I think it's just our
26:52
environment. I think we've really good team
27:00
and they make people feel important.
27:05
They make them feel their child's importance.
27:09
You know, they care. It's, it's one thing to sit on
27:13
like a bench like that behind me and, and try to monitor children
27:18
versus being actually on the ground playing with the kids.
27:22
These kids parents will tell me they're saying prayers for so
27:25
and so at night or, you know, they talk about so and so all
27:30
night long or on the weekends. So they run in the door.
27:33
We want them to run in the door and and not take some very
27:40
special people very empathetic and just conscientious about
27:50
their children. We, you know, kids don't go home
27:53
filthy. That was one of my things.
27:56
I was like, you know, I've seen in the past where kids are just
27:58
like filthy mostly. Like I'm like, did you would you
28:01
want to sit in that wet shirt all day long and you have the
28:04
babies that are drooling all the time?
28:06
No, you wouldn't, you know, or you know, they've got paint is
28:10
something different because that has to come off about that.
28:13
But I'm just saying like the runny nose or the their hair's
28:17
not brushed. So our girls will actually take
28:19
the time and, and, and, and show them, you know, this is how we
28:24
clean our face. Let's brush our hair and you
28:27
know, those are important. That was what I would, I wanted
28:30
for my children. I wanted my kids to love to go
28:33
to, to where they, wherever they went, whether it was school or,
28:38
you know, whatever activity they were involved in.
28:40
Because if you feel like they're being cared for, that that takes
28:44
that pressure off you. We also have an app that parents
28:47
are able to see what they're doing.
28:50
So every time they have a, something for lunch, they take a
28:53
picture of them. They tell them how much they've
28:55
eaten. They get pictures throughout the
28:58
day. And this is the generation too.
29:01
So you've got your, you know, instant feedback is, is
29:05
important to this generation that's coming up and for their
29:09
children. So I think that helps a lot of
29:13
the families feel connected. Oh, sure, Yeah.
29:18
I mean, as a parent who, you know, just a few years ago had
29:21
kids in daycare, you know, you, you drop them off, you go to
29:24
work and all day long you're just wondering how are they
29:26
doing? Like, you know, maybe they were
29:28
having a hard time this morning when, when during the drop off
29:31
and like, are they OK? You know, they've gotten past
29:34
that. And so, yeah, anytime we would
29:36
get, you know, some sort of an update and you see a picture and
29:39
they're smiling and they're playing with something.
29:42
And it just put your mind and your heart at ease at the same.
29:45
Time. It is important.
29:47
I'm curious, Laura, what you know, what are some of the most
29:51
common concerns that parents have when starting their kids in
29:57
a new school like yours? And what?
29:59
What can you tell them to help put their minds at ease?
30:02
I believe the app is huge because they're getting
30:06
information all day long, not just once.
30:09
So like if you said your son had a hard time dropping off the,
30:13
the mom or the dad can message the teacher how, how are they
30:17
doing? And then the teacher can say,
30:19
you know, oh, they're still, you know, struggling.
30:21
But we're, you know, we're working on it.
30:23
We're getting some breakfast in him and maybe he's hungry.
30:26
And then they also let them know, oh, they're doing great.
30:29
Now they're feeling much better and, and sitting and talking to
30:32
him. Transitions are really hard for
30:34
kids, especially the COVID children that were, you know,
30:37
brought into the system. We were open during COVID.
30:40
So those kids did fine. But the kids that were
30:43
sheltered, you know, for two years in their home, it was a
30:48
huge change for them to come into these big wide open spaces
30:53
with teachers and kids. And they're not used to.
30:56
So it's it you those kids. We do gradually, but I always
31:01
tell the parents we do. We call it the tryout for the
31:03
team because we wanted to be a good fit.
31:07
I don't want a child to feel terrorized to be dropped off
31:11
everyday. That's not what we're about.
31:15
So you know, we'll do just kind of get to know the child, let
31:19
the child have a slower introduction where they come for
31:22
a couple hours and then a couple hours more.
31:24
And then we try to get them to nap time.
31:27
And then once they hit nap time, they're usually good.
31:29
And the parents are happy infants.
31:32
There's a lot of parents with brand new babies and that breaks
31:37
my heart because I know how they feel.
31:40
You know, some moms will leave and they're crying and I'm like,
31:42
we're here for you, but your baby is going to be fine.
31:46
You know, she's six weeks old, but she's going to be fine.
31:50
We're really here for you to support you.
31:52
How can we make you feel more comfortable?
31:55
And that's really important, I think, for any program to this
32:00
is, you know, and then having that schedule so they know
32:03
what's happening. You know, usually with infants,
32:05
though, at that age, that kind of pick their schedule.
32:08
So we follow their schedule. But yeah, it's it breaks my
32:13
heart when the new moms come and have to leave their kids off
32:16
because they're a mess. And new dads too.
32:20
And new dads too. I, I dropped my son off the
32:24
first day at daycare. And it surprised me as I walked
32:28
out that door, tears just coming down my face.
32:31
I thought I was looking forward to this, like, OK, like we can
32:34
get back to, you know, you know, fully focused on work for the
32:37
day. And it was like, I'm going to
32:38
miss that little dude. And this is the first time I'm
32:41
putting him in a, you know, stranger's hands.
32:44
Now, fortunately for us, the the daycare that, you know, we chose
32:48
was, you know, it's very close in our neighborhood.
32:51
It come highly recommended. Friends of ours had had taken
32:55
their kids there. We'd done it to her and met the
32:57
owner. And so we felt, you know, really
32:59
good about it. I'm curious though, you know,
33:02
you probably get a lot of families that they're looking at
33:05
multiple centers and trying to figure out like what's which one
33:08
is the best fit for us? How can you sort of coach a
33:12
parent through making that decision and what what should
33:15
they think of? I tell a parent we call it mommy
33:20
Dar, like radar mommy dar and go with your gut.
33:25
If your guts telling you something, you're probably
33:28
right. So you know when you're visiting
33:32
at places you know, and I'll give them a list of like these
33:35
are things you want to make sure they're licensed, they've got
33:37
their CPR you you know, and then get reference checks and things
33:41
like that. We always, you know, my, the,
33:44
the families that are there will always offer to, to give a
33:48
reference for our program, but it is a very personal choice for
33:54
families and some families, you know, we aren't the right Center
33:58
for them and that's totally OK. I, you know, there's some
34:01
families who need more of a family childcare setting or
34:04
smaller environment. It's kind of that personal
34:09
choice is the way I look at it. So I don't take offense to
34:12
someone that doesn't want to attend our program.
34:15
That's totally fine. I want them to be happy because
34:18
that makes their life easy. It's more about, you know, the
34:21
kids are going to do great where you know, in in any program, but
34:26
the parent needs to be just as satisfied and happy too, to know
34:31
their child is cared for and safe and nurtured and loved and
34:37
they are a family. And the little kids in the
34:39
classroom are, they're funny. I'm marrying her.
34:45
OK, so. And I mean, I have kids.
34:52
That's great. That went.
34:53
To my program that went to high school together and are still
34:56
friends like it's really funny to to watch that and it's always
35:01
Miss Laura. Miss Laura.
35:05
Yeah. So that's that's kind of our.
35:07
That's great. Feel on it.
35:10
Our you know our staff is the same way.
35:12
When they do tours, they want the parents to feel very
35:15
comfortable. Can you maybe think of one or
35:21
two particular success stories of a child who, I don't know,
35:26
maybe they were having a little bit of a hard time at first and
35:28
then came to thrive under your care?
35:31
So we had a little girl and we've had several, but they
35:34
would come in and she would just just be so sad.
35:38
And it like that kind of sadness makes us too because it's,
35:43
there's a, there's different patterns to a child's sadness.
35:47
It's I'm mad or, you know, I'm not liking this or, or just a
35:51
generalized sadness from being separated from mom.
35:55
And I think most of us understand that.
35:57
And so we try to really work with a parent.
36:00
Like could you bring us a picture?
36:01
So when she's feeling sad, we can look at the picture or we
36:05
can, you know, write notes to mom and then give them to her.
36:09
At the end of the day, we could take pictures.
36:13
We'll take a picture of you and send it to mom.
36:15
So she that child's feeling like, OK, a lot of it is, is she
36:19
coming back to get me and those kinds of things.
36:22
And so we would try to give them a time frame that they could
36:26
relate to. So we would say, OK, after nap
36:29
and after snack, that's when pickup time starts.
36:33
So a lot of kids will wake up and they'll go, it's nap, I'm
36:38
going to have a snack and then it's pickup time.
36:40
And so trying to reiterate that so the children understand the
36:45
day and having visual cards on what we're doing next.
36:50
So we're having breakfast and there's a table and their kids
36:52
are sitting at the table and reflecting back to those things
36:56
that they can understand, I think helps a lot.
36:59
And so she cried, probably, she cried probably about two weeks.
37:05
And we were like, oh, it was maybe cut her back to half a
37:08
day. And and then one day she walked
37:11
in and was like, good morning. It's like we're all like, what
37:17
happened? It's like they make that turn.
37:22
She suddenly became, yeah, it's, it's just we've had a lot of
37:25
them do that where you're like, they walk in and they're like,
37:28
good morning, I'm ready for breakfast.
37:32
We're like, OK, I have to recover from that now, so.
37:41
You know, and I like what you were saying about the sort of
37:44
helping them with the schedule. I know, you know, in times when
37:47
we've had our kids at home and especially when they were
37:50
younger, My wife, she's a speech therapist with with young
37:55
children. And so her, her brains kind of
37:57
wired to think this way, but she came up with like a Velcro chart
38:01
with like visual elements on it. So we could, you know, show our
38:05
youngest son, like, OK, we're going to have breakfast in the
38:08
morning. You get a little TV time, then
38:10
we're going to go to the park and, and kind of make it like a
38:13
little bit interactive too. So like, you know, maybe they
38:16
wanted to add something else in there, right?
38:20
They knew what was coming next and they had a little bit of
38:22
input. And so it gave them a sense of
38:25
understanding and maybe a little bit of a sense of, of control
38:27
too. And I think that was really
38:29
helpful for them. I always tell parents that.
38:32
There's three things that you can.
38:33
Control potty, eating and sleeping, that's the only things
38:38
that they can literally control. And so when you're faced with
38:42
those, you know, when you're seeing that you're like, OK, we
38:45
need to give them some, you know, control over what they,
38:49
you know, having choices for them to make.
38:52
Even though they're your choices, you put it in a, you
38:55
frame it and to help them make those choices.
39:04
So we talked a little bit about, you know, some of the challenges
39:06
that kids go through and daycare.
39:08
I'd like to maybe explore either a personal or professional
39:12
challenge, Laura, that you have gone through and maybe some of
39:15
the lessons that you learn coming through the other side of
39:18
that. Growth is always difficult
39:26
because you kind of think, am I making the right choice for this
39:30
to grow the business? And then at a certain point you
39:35
reflect, OK, well, I'm this old, should I?
39:38
And, and it's like I found my niche in my 50s.
39:42
Like I, I realized some of it because we just started a
39:45
nonprofit and, and I, I found these things that I'm like, oh,
39:50
I'm so excited about and I want to do these things.
39:52
And so things that were hard, I would say, you know, it's always
40:00
going to be about finances. You know, when you're, you're,
40:04
you're finding you're stretched thin and you're like, OK, how
40:07
are we going to accomplish this task and get over this hump?
40:12
That's probably a hard part, but that's most businesses.
40:15
And you know, self-employment is not for the fainted heart at
40:19
all, because it just, it is difficult.
40:23
You know, banks are looking at you like, oh, you're
40:25
self-employed. Well, no, you can't have
40:27
funding. And so you have to get very
40:29
creative and figure out ways to do certain things.
40:35
Audit was my my audit was my first time this year because we
40:38
have a state contract, we get audited.
40:41
So we actually had audited financials.
40:43
So that took about six months to kind of get figured out,
40:49
changing our GLS and changing the way we categorize things and
40:55
becoming more. I told my surgeon we're more
40:57
professional now. We have audited financials.
41:01
We're professional. But it's like I said, it's not
41:06
the faint of heart. It's very, very hard.
41:08
You're all. Yeah.
41:10
So it's just you have to be very.
41:14
You you mentioned that you started a non profit.
41:17
What was that like? What was, what was behind that?
41:20
So we want to provide services for families.
41:23
We want to not just daycare, but finding them housing, finding
41:29
them jobs, finding growing our our program with maybe some
41:35
behavioral therapist and some occupational therapist because
41:40
there's a need for that it within the program.
41:43
We also want to have like a parent committee that's paid,
41:46
one persons paid and they run a parent committee that is
41:49
involved in our programs to tell us how to be better.
41:54
So this is just we've just started it.
41:57
And so we all sit there and we're white boarding all of our
42:00
ideas, but we've kind of tailored it down to what two
42:04
things right now, and that's going to be a behavioral
42:06
therapist or an occupational therapist and finding someone
42:09
that could go into programs and help not just the student, but
42:14
the parents and the teacher, because the teachers often need
42:17
that support. They don't, you know, they're
42:19
trying to figure out why is this child kicking and hitting and
42:23
those kinds of behaviors, behaviors.
42:25
And so those are the hard days, you know, the, the easy days are
42:29
you don't remember, but the hard days you remember for the staff.
42:33
So we're trying to make sure that they're, they have tools
42:37
and families have tools because if you don't know about it, then
42:42
you're never, you won't be able to like I never knew about
42:45
subsidized childcare when I got divorced.
42:48
I probably qualified for all kinds of things, but you know,
42:52
not knowing those things kind of makes it hard for families.
42:57
And so are we really want to get information out that there's
43:00
services, there's ways to find help.
43:05
So that's kind of that component.
43:08
We had a little tech IT issues there folks, but we're back now
43:13
and we were just kind of highlighting, you know, what a
43:16
big deal it is for small businesses and, you know, sort
43:21
of the struggles that they go through behind the scenes that a
43:23
lot of people don't see. You know, you've got these
43:25
beautiful daycare centers, three of them now.
43:28
You know, you got lots of people working for you, lots of lots of
43:30
customers, lots of happy little kids running around people, you
43:33
know, probably think it's just easy.
43:34
You know, the money just flows in and they don't see those
43:37
struggles and the challenges and everything that goes on behind
43:40
closed doors to keep that engine moving, you know, to keep people
43:44
happy, to keep the doors open to, you know, fix the furnace
43:47
that blew out and, and all that stuff.
43:50
And so I, you know, I think it, it's, it's a moment to sort of,
43:53
you know, take a step back and, you know, pat yourself on the
43:56
back for being able to, you know, for so many years now.
43:59
How, how many years have you had your centers, including the, the
44:02
home based? So since 2008, 2002, I can't a
44:07
long time. Yeah, OK, we'll say about 20
44:10
years, you know, all the, all the, you know, the, the
44:13
sacrifices that you've had to, to endure to make it work up to
44:17
this point. Yeah, I would say that, you
44:21
know, the hard part is of self-employment that a lot of
44:24
people don't realize it's hard to buy a house, it's hard to buy
44:27
a car. They don't like self-employed
44:31
people, Banks don't, you know, So you, you have to really
44:39
registering with, you know, the, the government, the SOS, what we
44:45
call it SOS state where you're certified as like a woman's own
44:49
business. And you think that you could be
44:53
generating all this cash. But I can honestly say half of
44:56
it, if not a little more than half goes directly back to the
44:59
employees. It's and then the rest of it,
45:03
you know, you're paying your rent, your your finances and
45:06
you're trying to take care of making sure you've got diapers
45:09
on site and, you know, food on site.
45:12
So it's, it's definitely not. But the faint of heart.
45:16
I don't think any small business, you know, is anybody
45:20
that's just rolling in it, it, you're all, everybody struggles.
45:25
And we were fortunate during COVID, we stayed open because we
45:29
were supporting all the, the first response, not first
45:34
responders, but the doctors and the police officers, the
45:37
firemen, anybody that had to be at work, we were providing
45:40
childcare for. So yeah, it's, it's, it takes a
45:45
long time before you feel like you can breathe.
45:48
But even then, you're still not going to be able to breathe
45:50
because there's something comes up.
45:52
Oh, we need a playground, you know, and the costs of, you
45:55
know, child furnishings is astronomical, so.
46:03
You know, as a business owner, obviously a lot of what we're
46:06
trying to do, we're always looking at that bottom line,
46:09
right? You know, and how do we grow?
46:11
How do we keep the doors open? You know, and there's two big
46:14
levers that we can pull. You can put them in two
46:15
different buckets, right? It's like, how do we increase
46:17
sales and, and how do we, you know, decrease expenses?
46:20
As you think about those two levers, what are some creative
46:24
things that you've tried and found success with?
46:28
So we used to send people to the store to go to Costco and get
46:32
our supplies, but then we were, you know, we would be down that
46:35
staff person because it takes a lot of time to do that.
46:38
So we found Instacart, we loved Instacart.
46:42
We could order 10, you know, cases of diapers, 20, you know,
46:46
20 cases of diapers. Problem was is the person that
46:48
was going to deliver it and sometimes make 2 trips because
46:52
Blanco we order 20 cases a month that go through them that fast.
46:57
So finding supply chains that will deliver that helped quite a
47:03
bit because it took away from me having to go or Evelyn having to
47:08
go or a staff person having to go and then it would be brought
47:12
to us. So that was one thing.
47:15
The software programs that we use help, you know, from
47:19
bookkeeping, QuickBooks to Pro care, those are two platforms
47:24
that, you know, it helped kind of streamline things for us as
47:27
well. It's just finding AI.
47:33
We're just starting to use AI for a lot of things for our like
47:36
answering services so that we can keep track of who's calling
47:40
and, and needing care. And then they drop into like a,
47:44
their, an application or set up a time to come in and tour.
47:50
Excuse me, shifting the shift work was kind of hard to do
47:55
manage because you always need a closer and you need an opener
47:59
and that opener you're like, are they going to come in on time?
48:04
You know, is the closer going to make sure that, you know,
48:07
everything's closed up and locked up?
48:09
So it sounds like a small problem, but it's a big problem
48:14
in that you want to make sure that's that's really running
48:17
smoothly. There's just keeping your team
48:22
happy that, you know, keeping employees happy.
48:25
I think that's that's where I kind of come in as, OK, my job
48:31
is to not see what you're doing, but rather support what you're
48:36
doing. So what things do you need to
48:38
make to be able to do your job? I don't like micromanagement.
48:43
That's not who we are. Would never be like that.
48:46
But we do expect you to hurt. And actually it's not even me so
48:50
much as the team. They're like that person's lazy.
48:53
They're not going to, they can't.
48:55
No, they're like, they know what the expectations are and they
49:02
expect that from each other, so. That's tremendous.
49:05
I mean that says a lot about the culture that you built there is
49:09
that there's so much buy in from some of the employees to where
49:13
they're going to call out the other ones who are not getting
49:15
that standard. Yeah, and, and it's an important
49:19
job, so we want that, you know, these kids are important to us.
49:26
You mentioned a couple of new things that you're going to be
49:28
offering. You're going to have a
49:29
behavioral therapist and an occupational therapist come in.
49:33
You know, and I don't think people realize the margins in a
49:36
daycare center are pretty tight. You know how how are you able to
49:40
to make that? We're going to get a grant,
49:41
we're going to write some grants for that to be able to do that.
49:45
But it's, it's just, I think it's so needed, not just for the
49:50
I mean, I think I need it for the staff because that grows
49:54
their abilities as well. So they're gonna learn from a
49:57
professional. This is just normal behavior.
50:01
This is how you can work with it or providing some guidance even
50:06
to the parents who like my child won't sleep at night.
50:09
My child, every time I try to do something, they won't do these
50:13
things. And having some just some
50:17
suggestions and and some people with experience in that area, in
50:22
those fields, I think can really make the difference between just
50:26
a simple shift to, you know, even doing a larger shift.
50:30
But it makes a difference for the families.
50:32
And again, it's about the families and, you know, getting
50:38
them, you know, they have expectations of us too.
50:42
So the, especially our private program, it's, it's, there's a
50:46
lot of professional people that work and, and have their
50:50
children with us, doctors, nurses, all, you know, and so,
50:54
and they want their children to be on that advanced end of
51:00
learning and not because when you go to kindergarten, if
51:04
you've got the basics from opening a lunch box and eating
51:07
out of it, people don't even think about those things, You
51:09
know, putting on a sweater when you're cold or taking it off
51:12
when you're hot. Those are all things that we try
51:15
to really coach these children on before they go to those
51:18
programs. They'll academically they're all
51:21
fine. So really they're adjusting to
51:23
the bigger class size, you know, 25 kids in a classroom versus 8
51:27
to 12. Those are adjustments, but those
51:30
are a little bit smaller than having to do everything, you
51:34
know, and changing schools and all these kids and, you know,
51:38
not your buddies going to school with and.
51:42
Laura, what's a fun fact that most people wouldn't know about
51:45
you? That.
51:49
We're an interesting fact. An interesting fact I don't
51:53
know. You're just an open book, right?
51:55
I am. I am that.
51:57
Person We laugh and my sister's the opposite.
52:00
So I'm like, Oh no, here it all is.
52:04
It's just all out there. OK, well then let me do a
52:06
different one then. Are there specific, maybe
52:09
mentors or books that have helped you in your personal
52:14
development or your professional career?
52:18
I think therapy is important, mental health and therapy is
52:22
important, whatever it is, if it's just to go and talk to
52:26
somebody and go, am I losing my mind?
52:30
You know, I have a really great husband.
52:33
I'm, I'm very blessed by that. And he, I always tell him, you
52:37
just make me be better. I don't know why, but I always
52:40
feel like I'm, I'm going to be better because of you.
52:44
And we have kids in our family that are doing phenomenal
52:48
things. And I'm just like, you know, I
52:51
look at them and they're growing up to be coaches, You know, like
52:55
my sister's kids, they're definitely going to be coaches.
52:58
They are, they just have that I have my kids are more of that
53:03
entrepreneur side. So yeah, it's just, I think you
53:08
pull from the resources that are closest to you that you feel
53:11
like have strived and done really well.
53:14
And you know, those that's going to support you too as well,
53:19
because they've got great ideas. I mean, we've had Jeffrey do,
53:22
which is my my nephew. He writes up our question and
53:26
answer quizzes for the teachers and it's it's great.
53:30
Like I'm like, Oh my God, she's got a sociology major.
53:33
Maybe that's, but he just he thinks like a coach.
53:36
You know, he's been playing football through college and
53:39
he's his last year's this year. And I can just see him, you
53:44
know, he's going to be that person.
53:46
He motivates people. And that's really what you got
53:49
to do too, is be able to motivate people that, you know,
53:53
at times it's hard to motivate people when they're, you know,
53:55
but you have to be there for them too when they're feeling
53:58
sad or they need the support or, you know, that's my job.
54:04
Well, I think you paid the ultimate compliment to your
54:06
husband. I how did you put it?
54:08
You. You make me want to be better or
54:09
you help me be better. That's that's a really nice
54:13
thing to say. And the fact that your your
54:15
kids, your your you know, your your sister's kids are, are
54:19
growing up to, you know, position themselves so well for
54:22
success, I think says a lot about how they were raised.
54:25
So yeah, but as to you. Yeah.
54:28
Laura, I've just got one more question for you, but before I
54:31
ask it, I want to do 2 things. If you're listening today and
54:34
you like today's content, please hit the like, subscribe or share
54:37
button on your favorite podcast app.
54:39
I also want to tell people the best way to get in touch with
54:42
you. Laura, how would that be?
54:45
Usually e-mail is the easiest and it's just Laura's
54:48
barn@outlook.com. We have a website.
54:53
You can also connect through laurasbarn.com on our website.
54:58
So those are, you know, texting me is always good because I
55:02
don't hear. We get so many spam phone calls
55:04
that I don't even look anymore. I'm just like, I'll check and I
55:08
know who's supposed to be calling me.
55:10
So I always say text me if you need to get in touch with me
55:13
because that's always the best way.
55:14
It's most efficient anyways. OK, great.
55:17
Well, last question for you, Laura.
55:19
I'm curious, how do you see your industry evolving in the next
55:24
five years? What are some of the big changes
55:26
that are coming? There's some big changes and a
55:30
lot of it have to do with TK universal pre-K.
55:35
Some of the schools weren't really prepared to have this
55:38
younger set of children. And really they're not my
55:42
opinion. They are so not ready to go into
55:45
a kindergarten classroom. You know, we have 3 year olds, 4
55:48
year olds that are could now be accepted to these universal pre
55:51
KS or TK programs, but some of them are still in diapers.
55:55
Well, you know, teachers aren't going to have want to do that.
55:58
Their class sizes are 24, you know, students per teacher where
56:03
we have that smaller ratio. And we laugh as child care
56:08
providers when they're like, Oh yeah, the teacher just has them
56:11
walk out of the classroom and go across the way and go to the
56:14
bathroom by themselves. And we're all like, oh, we would
56:16
be fined. That doesn't happen in a
56:21
childcare setting. It's very controlled.
56:23
And, and they're little, you know, and there's a big age
56:28
difference between a four year old and a six year old that's
56:32
out on the playground. And I don't know, I just, I,
56:36
this is, that's going to be the, the, the upcoming, at least in
56:41
California. I don't know what that's going
56:44
on in other states, but schools aren't really set up for that.
56:48
They're not set up to have all bathrooms inside their
56:51
classrooms because that's what's needed when you've got a younger
56:54
child or smaller group sizes, you know, they prefer those big
56:59
group sizes, which it's smaller group size, you're going to get
57:02
a lot more education for the children too.
57:06
And they're still, they need to play, you know, play to learn.
57:10
It's not a bad word, as was it, Mr. Rogers said.
57:14
Play is not a bad word. It's a good word.
57:17
You know, that's how they learn is through experiences.
57:22
Do you see having to alter your business plan or business
57:26
structure at all? Do you think that you're going
57:27
to be losing more kids to those you know, free?
57:33
We've seen that, but then there's parents who want 365
57:37
days a year coverage, basically a year of coverage, not have
57:41
summers off and having to deal with that.
57:44
And we've seen a lot that end up pulling out for preschool and go
57:50
off to other schools. But the infants is also been
57:54
kind of our niche for our business.
57:57
So I would say we probably have more infant care than we do
58:01
preschool care just because it's just slowly kind of.
58:04
But then there's parents that just want that.
58:06
I have parents this year that don't want their kids in TK and
58:10
so they'll stay with us. So they can actually stay till
58:14
13 as part of that CCTR contract, not that they would,
58:19
but but the lady said, you know, I've got an infant coming, I've
58:24
got another infant and then my daughter's in pre-K and I just,
58:28
it's so much easier if I just can go one place to pick up and
58:31
she's a single parent, you know, and I understand that, you know,
58:36
it's the convenience part to the whole thing too.
58:40
And, and just as much as keeping your children young while you
58:44
can, because once they enter that big wide world of school,
58:48
things change. There's not a lot of controls.
58:51
And you know, I think giving them a good foundation is really
58:56
important. It's.
58:58
Terrific. Hey, Laura, I want to be the
59:00
first one to thank you for sharing both your time and your
59:02
story with us today. I really appreciate.
59:04
It Anthony, I appreciate being here.
59:06
It was nice surprise. Folks, that's a wrap on another
59:10
episode of the Inspired Stories podcast.
59:12
Thanks for learning with us today.