It's solo episode time! Kris shares insights from her new book, The Antidote to Fear, and outlines three practical ways to trust yourself and the process. She talks about embracing fear and self-doubt, including her "yoga mat" moment that changed her career direction. Kris discusses manifestation as a giving process and highlights the importance of creating quiet spaces for intuition and growth. She also gives an update on her recent women's retreat in Maui.

Key Takeaways:

[2:22] Kris explains the concept of "trust the process" from the Success Academy's guiding principles.

[11:11] How fear can come in and stop us from taking action on following our intuition and going towards our calling.

[14:28] The yoga mat moment that came from a moment of stillness and changed Kris's life.

[15:00] Hug your fear? Why going towards your fear is actually one of the best things you can do to alchemize it.

[17:25] The importance of tapping into gratitude.

[18:08] Overcoming self-doubt.

[21:24] Calling out the "B.S." in your life, and why having a coach or mentor to help you through the process is great.

[22:04] Manifestation as a giving process.

[33:26] Kris talks about manifesting a fun book club where she is surrounded by sisterhood, and her beautiful partnership.

Quotes:

"When you feel fear, the ultimate strategy, the ultimate antidote to fear, is to move towards it. It's to actually embrace it and to feel it and hug it." — Kris [15:24]

"The opposite of fear is actually love. So the way to alchemize the fear is to love it, and to tap into gratitude." — Kris [17:25]

"Manifest from the giving energy, the loving energy, and everything in your world can change." — Kris [33:26]

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

Mana Awakening

The Antidote to Fear

Kris welcomes Vance Morris, former security guard turned Disney leader and successful entrepreneur, for a trip to the happiest place on earth — great customer service! Vance helps business owners get, serve, and keep clients for life through creating experiences and response-required marketing. He shares real-world strategies to delight customers, build community buzz, and drive word-of-mouth referrals.

In this episode, Vance breaks down Disney's hiring and training magic and the "why" behind it, how it transforms the customer experience, the role of linertainment, and how to make operational consistency actually fun, all with a lens on how these lessons can translate to the early education business. He also walks through the steps to Disney-fy your business and opens up about how to navigate loneliness in leadership.

Key Takeaways:

[2:53] Kris and Vance agree — no cell phones out in the water, unless you are playing music!

[7:11] Vance talks about the changes at Disney, including the increase in employees and the impact on customer service.

[15:22] The importance of addressing leaky holes in the business process and improving customer experience through small changes.

[15:30] Gifting and reciprocity in building customer loyalty and trust.

[16:57] Disney's "linertainment" or the entertainment that helps people stay energized and happy while they wait in line.

[19:09] The "what, how, and why" at Disney and the importance of running things on a system and process.

[20:07] Systems give you freedom, and the importance of consistency and efficiency.

[26:43] What we can learn from the hamburgers at McDonald's!

[27:07] Having an engaged team and empowering people.

[32:23] Building trust and reciprocity through gifting and special "thank you" treats.

[37:03] Vance Morris introduces his coaching program and the concept of systematic magic, which helps businesses map out the customer journey.

[39:50] Finding your community when you are an entrepreneur, and the downside to isolation.

[41:50] Vance's Disney event business and the unique experiences he offers, including a nine-course wine pairing dinner.

[50:06] What's next for Vance in the future?

Quotes:

"I much prefer to work with the mom and pop, Main Street business, where we can have an immediate, noticeable impact, not only on the experience, but on the finances and how profitable customer experience can be." — Vance [10:55]

"What is the company doing to entertain you during that wait period and make it not feel so bad?" — Vance [18:08]

"The secret sauce behind all of the experience stuff at Disney is that Disney runs on systems. And literally runs on three words: what to do, how to do it, and why do we do it that way? And everything has a what, how, why behind it, and the reason for this." — Vance [18:39]

"Systems give you freedom. You're not locking down creativity." — Vance [20:07]

"The boss doesn't always have the answers, and asking your employee, well, what would you do? And you'll be surprised a lot of times, because, you know, they're pretty smart." — Vance [25:57]

"Isolation kills entrepreneurs." — Vance [39:18]

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

Vance Morris

52 Ways to Wow Your Customer Without Breaking the Bank

Deliver Service Now Institute

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

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

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