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Child Care Rockstar Radio

Child Care Rockstar Radio

By: Kris Murray
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 Early learning 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, tune in to top child care business guru Kris Murray on the Child Care Rockstar Radio podcast for interviews with early childhood leaders and experts that will leave you inspired to get to the next level of success, whatever that means for you. Kris Murray is President of Child Care Marketing Solutions, and the Founder of the Child Care Success Academy, the world's largest and most comprehensive business coaching program for early childhood entrepreneurs and leaders. She is the author of two top-rated books on early learning business, and the mom of two great kids. She and her team are based in the mountains of Colorado. Listeners are encouraged to visit https://www.childcaresuccess.com/podcast/ and leave a message for a chance to have your questions/thoughts featured on a future podcast episode!©2021 All Rights Reserved
Episodes
  • Episode 214 with Ashanti Ordone — Fixing a Broken Culture with Intentional Leadership

    Episode 214 with Ashanti Ordone — Fixing a Broken Culture with Intentional Leadership
    Nov 6 2025

    Kris welcomes Ashanti Ordone, the Founder and CEO of Gifted & Talented Academy, and the 2025/26 Child Care Rock Star Award winner! They talk about expanding from a home daycare to three locations, transforming her school's culture, and overcoming challenges in the early childhood education landscape. Ashanti shares her powerful story of building a thriving early learning center, detailing how she developed rock-solid core values and poured into her leadership team, implemented innovative leadership strategies, and turned her school's culture into a model of excellence.

    Key Takeaways:

    [6:02] Ashanti shares her background, starting Gifted and Talented Academy in Indiana with her mom in 2002. They are family-owned and family-focused.

    [6:21] Fun fact! They started with a home daycare and expanded to a center within three months due to high demand.

    [14:31] Ashanti discusses her transition from practicing law to early childhood education, driven by her passion for working with children.

    [17:07] How Ashanti's legal training and education background have been instrumental in her success in the child care industry.

    [18:21] Ashanti talks more about her family and personal life, along with her love of a good beach!

    [21:53] What led Ashanti to Kris and the Child Care Success family in 2018.

    [23:47] Ashanti implemented strategies from the academy, focusing on core values and culture, which led to significant improvements.

    [25:42] Ashanti explains how they crafted their core values: family, education, respect, excellence, and fun.

    [31:30] Teachers were involved in the interview process to ensure a good cultural fit, and core values were incorporated into interview questions.

    [36:19] They have a core value of the month award to recognize team members who exemplify each value.

    [38:21] Ashanti gets candid about the struggles that providers are facing, and the importance of staying focused on your mission and staying on the course.

    [42:30] The power of keeping a positive mindset and building with consistency and focus.

    Quotes:

    "I don't think there's anything more important as a cornerstone, a foundational element to your culture, than core values that you actually live and breathe." — Kris [4:55]

    "She is absolutely my why. She is the reason that family and education are so important to me." — Ashanti [10:13]

    "I think that that combination of just that core value of education, growing up with a mom who is an educator, and having a passion for young children, combined with the legal training, is what helps me to be successful in business." — Ashanti [17:33]

    "For me, I think the biggest game changer that first year was focusing on our core values and really starting to turn our culture around." — Ashanti [26:40]

    "If family is one of our core values, then you have to fit into this family." — Ashanti [35:26]

    "Excellence, again, means we're a culture of continuous improvement, so we don't settle for where we are right now. Our culture is amazing, but culture is living and breathing, and so we're always working on it, and we're always striving to make it better." — Ashanti [35:47]

    "When you feed yourself with a positive mindset and you really spend time working on your spirituality and your growth mindset, it helps you actually prepare for the challenges, be grateful for them, and work through them." — Ashanti [42:43]

    Sponsored By:

    ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI)

    Use code CCSC5 to claim a free course!

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    Kris Murray

    @iamkrismurray

    The Child Care Success Company

    The Child Care Success Academy

    The Child Care Success Summit

    Grow Your Center

    Childcare Education Institute: Use code CDARenewal22 to get $100 off your renewal

    Gifted & Talented Academy

    Ashanti Ordone LinkedIn
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • Episode 213 with Jami Hartmann - Getting Your Operational "Stuff" Together!

    Episode 213 with Jami Hartmann - Getting Your Operational "Stuff" Together!
    Oct 23 2025
    Want to stop the revolving door of teachers and create a rock-solid childcare team? Kris talks with Jami Hartmann from Trainual about how the right systems can transform your center's operations. They dig into practical strategies for finding great staff, training them effectively, and keeping them motivated. Jami shares some great insights on getting your whole team aligned, creating smooth onboarding, and using technology to make documentation easier. If you're struggling with staff turnover and want to build a more consistent, high-performing center, this episode is packed with real-world solutions that can help you level up your team. Key Takeaways: [5:00] Kris launches her new book, The Antidote to Fear! [9:02] Alignment is at the core of what Trainual offers, and to think of it as a digital version of your childcare center. [10:05] The need for operational consistency to deliver exceptional customer service and meet parent expectations. [10:35] Jami shares her professional journey, including her transition to Trainual, impacting the maternity leave policies, and the challenges of balancing work and motherhood. [12:35] The beauty of Trainual's supportive work environment. [17:33] Fun fact — Jami was on Wheel of Fortune as a teenager! [19:30] Jami explains how Trainual helps childcare centers by providing a centralized platform for documenting and training staff. [22:09] Graduating from Google Docs and how Trainual allows for the creation of standard operating procedures and having a well-documented and accessible playbook for childcare centers. [26:33] Successful documentation needs everyone on the leadership team to contribute and take ownership of their processes. [28:54] More about the AI component of Trainual, including the content creation piece. [33:31] Jami identifies the top challenges in the childcare industry, including finding and retaining staff and managing parent communication. [35:47] It can be a red flag when a center has constant turnover and a revolving door of staff. [41:55] Jami shares Trainual's plans for future product development, including enhancing AI capabilities and integrating with other tools. [44:33] The feature of a public share link that parents can always refer back to. Quotes: "At the core of what we do is really about alignment." — Jami [9:06] "The inconsistency, or consistency in operations based on how your staff knows the playbook, is the cornerstone for going towards great customer service and giving parents that exceptional experience. It's very difficult to do that if you aren't all on the same page together." — Kris [10:19] "At the core of that growth is that we genuinely care about our customers, and our success is dependent on our customers' success." — Jami [13:17] "Trainual works really well for any people-powered business." — Jami [30:42] Sponsored By: ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI) Use code CCSC5 to claim a free course! Mentioned in This Episode: Kris Murray @iamkrismurray The Child Care Success Company The Child Care Success Academy The Child Care Success Summit Grow Your Center Childcare Education Institute: Use code CDARenewal22 to get $100 off your renewal Trainual Jami Hartmann LinkedIn
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • Episode 212 with Josh and Pamela Hernandez — Leveraging Word of Mouth Marketing for Fast Growth

    Episode 212 with Josh and Pamela Hernandez — Leveraging Word of Mouth Marketing for Fast Growth
    Oct 9 2025

    Kris welcomes Josh and Pamela Hernandez, owners of Montessori Kids Universe Stone Oak. The duo talks about their path into early childhood education and opening up MKU, tips for starting out with cash flow out of the gate, and enrollment strategies that worked for them. They also chat with Kris about using referral rewards, how they balance family and business, marketing tools that help them build trust and stand out in their community, the need for the industry to collaborate more, and how they keep their staff happy and inspired.

    Key Takeaways:

    [5:04] Joshua and Pamela talk about the history of MKU of Stone Oak, and how they got into the ECE field.

    [8:58] They currently have 37 team members.

    [9:27] The wins and challenges of creating (and keeping) great employees.

    [14:50] Joshua and Pamela discuss their marketing strategies, including Google and Facebook ads, and their active presence on social media.

    [15:19] The importance of referrals in their business model, offering bonuses for both staff and families who refer new enrollments.

    [21:06] Working as a husband-wife team and the importance of dividing responsibilities based on their strengths.

    [26:04] Pamela shares her inspiration from her mother, who was a social worker and professor, and her own passion for education, while Joshua talks about his mother's influence and the importance of hard work and dedication.

    [30:03] Thinking long-term with employees and getting them in a mindset to stay with the company for years to come.

    [34:48] Will an expansion be in the future?

    [38:14] Remembering that building something new takes persistence, but it is one step at a time, so keep going!

    [40:24] The need for better collaboration.



    Quotes:

    "At this stage in both of our businesses, we're more firefighters right now. So wherever there's fire, that's where we go." — Joshua [5:11]

    "We have a beautiful culture that we've built, and we go above and beyond to show our teachers how much we care and love them, and want them to be a part of the team." — Pamela [10:40]

    "We both bring our strengths to the table, and we have created what I feel is a beautiful team of husband and wife." — Pamela [21:39]

    "Growth is a process, and sometimes the best lessons come from challenges." — Joshua [35:05]

    "Building something meaningful takes time, persistence, and a lot of heart, but it's worth every step." — Joshua [38:03]

    Sponsored By:

    ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI)

    Use code CCSC5 to claim a free course!

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    Kris Murray

    @iamkrismurray

    The Child Care Success Company

    The Child Care Success Academy

    The Child Care Success Summit

    Grow Your Center

    Childcare Education Institute: Use code CDARenewal22 to get $100 off your renewal

    Montessori Kids Universe Stone Oak
    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
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