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Child Care Rockstar Radio

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Auteur(s): 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
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  • Episode 210 with Dominique Gill — When You Love Kids This Much, Success Comes Naturally

    Episode 210 with Dominique Gill — When You Love Kids This Much, Success Comes Naturally
    Sep 11 2025

    Kris welcomes Dominique Gill, heart-centered leader and owner of Unique Kids Childcare in Nashville and Smyrna, Tennessee, to share her journey to multi-site child care leader. Dominique opens up about starting as a young mother seeking affordable child care, working in exchange for tuition, and eventually moving from home-based care to two thriving centers. Dominique built her program around love, family, and celebrating every child’s uniqueness. She discusses the challenges of opening during the pandemic, shifting into leadership, raising tuition for the first time, and creating a supportive culture where both children and staff can thrive.

    Key Takeaways:

    [7:00] Dominique talks about her two centers, and more about her background, starting as a teen parent and transitioning to in-home child care due to financial constraints.

    [8:41] She describes the evolution of her business, eventually expanding to a licensed center during the pandemic.

    [12:28] Dominique is a busy woman! She has a large, beautiful family, including four foster children.

    [14:02] Dominique explains the origin of her center’s name, “Unique Kids,” and its significance in embracing diversity among students.

    [15:21] She describes the family-oriented atmosphere at her centers, with herself and her mother actively involved daily.

    [15:25] Building a family-centered culture that supports both staff and parents.

    [19:37] Dominique’s struggle shifting from home-based provider to confident leader of a team.

    [19:52] A game changer from joining the Academy — surveys! Dominique talks about how the surveys conducted with parents and staff revealed areas for improvement, particularly in management and fairness.

    [20:18] Dominique reflects on the importance of setting clear expectations and contracts to maintain order and respect within the organization.

    [21:33] How parent and staff surveys humbled her, revealed blind spots, and strengthened her leadership.

    [24:36] Going from people-pleasing to people leading.

    [26:37] The hardest challenge she faced was raising prices, and how accountability helped her push through.

    [30:23] Dominique explores additional revenue streams, such as hosting birthday parties, offering in-house field trips, and partnering with external providers.

    [32:33] Dominique’s fun fact: she’s shy and introverted, even though she’s often on the dance floor at Academy events!

    [34:42] How an accountability partner from the Academy kept her on track and boosted her confidence.

    [37:34] Dominique’s vision: building legacies for her children and creating lasting impact through her centers.

    Quotes:

    “Find your uniqueness in a world of differences. Our kids are from different areas of the world, the city, and situations, but they’re still unique in some type of way.” — Dominique [14:39]

    “Treat people fairly, but not the same.” — Academy Coach Tamina [24:55]

    “Having accountability partners was just amazing.” — Dominique [27:38]

    “Everywhere I’m going is where I need to be, so I appreciate where I’m going and how I’m getting there, and all the obstacles that are putting me through. So I’m grateful for the company and everybody around, because without anybody here, I don’t know how I would be able to just get up and keep going, but we are headed to creating legacies for my kids, and that’s my biggest thing.” — Dominique [37:50]

    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

    Unique Kids Child Care Center
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    40 min
  • Episode 209 with Tea Shong and Trina Romanowski - A Family Affair! Tales of a Multi-Generational ECE Company

    Episode 209 with Tea Shong and Trina Romanowski - A Family Affair! Tales of a Multi-Generational ECE Company
    Aug 28 2025
    Kris sits down with Tea Shong and Trina Romanowski, the powerhouse mother-daughter duo behind a thriving, multi-site early childhood business in Michigan. Winners of the Partnership of the Year Award at the Child Care Success Summit, Tea and Trina share how they scaled from an in-home daycare to three high-quality centers, all rooted in purpose and shared vision. They discuss navigating family dynamics, leading with clarity, embedding nature-based learning, and using creative systems like coaching calls and color-coded lanyards, to keep their team culture strong across every location. Key Takeaways: [3:26] Kris starts to shift to all things Summit prep! [7:03] Tea and Trina talk about their family’s involvement in education and coaching, blending their expertise in both fields. [9:03] The business has grown from a small in-home center to a high-quality program with three locations, serving approximately 250 children. [11:24] Tea and Trina talk about winning the Partnership of the Year award at the Childcare Success Summit, and what that meant to them. [12:49] Tea and Trina share their impressive fun facts! [15:55] Their family dynamics and the challenges and rewards of working together in a family-owned business. [17:08] How they incorporate natural elements into their centers, including outdoor nature trails and using natural materials. [20:02] Their coaching structure, including weekly Zoom meetings and collective coaching calls. [21:19] Having a VA to help them with administrative tasks. [22:13] How joining the Academy helped them. [27:57] Using a color-coded lanyard system to reinforce core values, and other techniques that have become culture drivers. [31:52] Running a business that empowers both the staff and the children and their families. [33:24] Investing in a CRM system. [34:05] ECE owners are very sometimes reluctant and shy about telling their story, and it’s important to know and share yours! [39:44] Tips for moving away from a fear-based mindset and being able to separate from people that aren’t a fit for your business. [41:27] The importance and beauty of self-love. [44:08] What’s next for Tea and Trina? Quotes: “Sharing your vision with your team sets the course, and it gets everybody excited and enthused and energized and in a positive mindset around where you're headed, and that can reduce fear, anxiety and that questioning that goes on in people's minds.” - Kris [2:44] “From being a small in-home center to just basically keeping everyone alive and healthy and learning basic stuff to now a company that's doing all of this curriculum just being that next notch of a childcare center, that’s where we're at now.” - Trina [10:09] “Our mission is to ignite the spark. So if that speaks on the passion and all that goes with it, I think that's what truly sets us apart from other programs, and then just really valuing nature as an aspect of our program as well.” - Trina [17:08] “I think we need to give shout outs to this organization. If Tea hadn’t talked me into joining here, I would still be the director and drowning and trying. I could never be in the position where I am coaching and inspiring people.” - Trina [19:10] “Be patient with yourself. Do little by little, and keep reaching for those higher goals.” - Trina [21:05] “I think if there's one thing that I can say made a huge difference, the biggest difference would just be investing in a CRM system.” - Tea [33:40] “Knowing that whatever happens to me is happening for me, not to me.” - Tea [44:08] 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 Birth Toddlers & Beyond
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    47 min
  • Episode 208 with Rachel Supalla — Creating Leadership Magic In Her Ruby Slippers

    Episode 208 with Rachel Supalla — Creating Leadership Magic In Her Ruby Slippers
    Aug 14 2025
    Kris is joined by longtime friend, business visionary, and rockstar early childhood leader Rachel Supalla. Rachel is the founder of Vision Tree, a TEDx speaker, and the author of The Playful Leader’s Toolkit, a book packed with wisdom on leading with joy, grounding, and energy. With 10 schools across Montana and Utah, Rachel shares how she’s scaled her business while embracing what she calls “ruby slipper leadership.” They talk about managing energy instead of time, why remote teams need tight leadership structures, and how playfulness is more than just dress-up — it’s a strategy for productivity. Rachel also opens up about living with ADHD and how it shapes her leadership style, creativity, and drive. Key Takeaways: [5:26] Rachel shares her evolution from center owner to coach and consultant, and how joining the Child Care Success Academy changed her career path.[6:36] She talks about scaling rapidly across three regions and how Vision Tree emerged as her consulting and leadership training brand.[9:05] Rachel loves lake life and is a proud mom of four kids and grandma to baby Zeke. [10:39] Fun fact: Rachel’s trip with her grandma (who some thought was her sister) to Ireland at age 13, including a spontaneous solo in a pub, was an early clue that she’d someday take the stage.[12:46] Rachel explains how The Playful Leader’s Toolkit came out of her ADHD-fueled trial-and-error experiences, and why she believes burnout is not a badge of honor. [14:12] Ruby slippers became a metaphor for grounding, confidence, and leadership clarity, especially in high-pressure seasons. Once you’ve got the right shoes on, you can do anything! [16:41] Managing energy (not just time) helps Rachel structure her day and lead effectively, especially as a neurodivergent leader. [20:24] She breaks down the “max of 10” rule for direct reports and why it protects leadership bandwidth across large teams.[24:34] Rachel gives a deep dive into her favorite systems: Playground, JotForm Enterprise, Teachable, and Zapier.[27:16] Playfulness isn’t fluff — it’s a mindset that supports innovation, brain-based leadership, and mental reset when teams are stressed.[32:03] Rachel walks through her M.A.G.I.C. framework, the five pillars of playful leadership. [35:40] Doing a TEDx Talk was terrifying and transformational; the unexpected outcome was a deeper conversation about ADHD and leadership. [39:15] Rachel shares her seasonal schedule, non-negotiables like football and summer in Montana, and the power of team infrastructure. [41:48] She teases her upcoming course, focused on helping women scale their culture without losing their soul. Quotes: “I think that’s probably where I learned the most about how to run a remote team, was being an employee for the Child Care Success Academy.” — Rachel [7:46] “You go up the ladder in life when you’re succeeding and you’re accomplishing, and you get to this level of contribution, and that’s the level that I feel like I’m at. And I want to give back. I want to help people do it faster, the right way, from my mistakes. So that’s what inspired me to write my book.” — Rachel [13:46] “That’s when I’m most productive, when my energy is managed. It doesn’t have anything to do with time. You can have time blocked. You can have all the time in the world. But if your energy sucks, you’re not going to get anything done.” — Rachel [17:46] “I think that’s been the biggest thing, learning to manage my energy.” — Rachel [18:29] “From the beginning, we have learned to automate, delegate, eliminate.” — Rachel [21:10] “Play is not just, let’s dress up and have a potluck. It’s a mindset.”— Rachel [26:15] “I am very passionate about this playful leadership concept. It’s an idea. It’s silly to some, it’s weird to others, and it’s powerful to others. And I really do think that if you embrace it, it’s going to change the way we teach children, it’s going to change the way we lead our companies, and it’s going to make the world a more happy, innovative, creative place, which is what we’re lacking right now, and so I am very passionate about that.” — Rachel [36:48] 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 The Playful Leader’s Toolkit A Quest of Creative Culture Building with Rachel Supalla The power of play for better leadership | Rachel Supalla | TEDxParkland Vision Tree
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    47 min
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