Resilience and Growth: Our Unlikely Path

The honest story of how two first-generation entrepreneurs launched, sold, lost, and rebuilt a thriving childcare business — and what they learned along the way.

Most childcare business origin stories leave out the hard parts — the late nights, the painting walls nine months pregnant, the manager who quit and took the staff morale with her. This is not that kind of story.

This is the real thing. On Episode 1 of the Child Care Business Owners Podcast, hosts Reason and Christy walk through the full arc of their entrepreneurial journey: from selling ice cream sandwiches at age eight, to operating three childcare centers — including one running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you are thinking about opening a childcare center, trying to grow an existing one, or just want to know what it actually takes — this story is for you.

The Origin Story: Born to Hustle

Reason's entrepreneurial instincts showed up early. At eight or nine years old, he was buying half-gallons of vanilla ice cream, spooning it onto vanilla wafers, wrapping them in saran wrap, freezing them overnight, and selling them to the neighborhood kids the next morning. No business plan. No startup capital. Just a kid who couldn't wait for birthdays and Christmas to earn money.

Christy's path started in youth ministry — eight years as a youth director, leading mission trips, running VBS programs, pouring into kids and teenagers. When she stepped into the business world, it was messy and imperfect. She sold glow-in-the-dark products at music festivals, ran out of inventory mid-event, overnighted product to hotel rooms for more than it was worth, and ended the season not sure if she had made any money at all.

"I never kept good records. I know I paid a lot of taxes. But I got the bug. I was interested in business."

Together, they were two people with big hearts, raw drive, and almost no business infrastructure. That would change — slowly, and through a lot of painful lessons.

How They Stumbled Into Childcare

After returning to Ohio from a failed real estate venture in Illinois (they arrived just before the 2008 market collapse), the couple found themselves jobless, pregnant with their first child, and living with Reason's parents. Within a single Sunday church service, Reason was offered a position at a local insurance agency and Christy was asked to become the executive director of the church's childcare facility — even though she had zero formal childcare experience.

She had ministry experience. She had a heart for children. That was enough for them to say yes.

Christy ran the center for several years, turning around staff issues, paying off previous tax debts, and building real momentum. Then the church decided they wanted out of the childcare business entirely. Rather than let it shut down, Reason and Christy made an offer.

They had no money. They negotiated to stay in the church's building, collect tuition, make payments on the equipment and client value, and use that cash flow to eventually find their own space. This is what Reason calls creative real estate — getting to your goal when you have nothing by finding a path nobody else thought to try.

Building the First Real Center (While Nine Months Pregnant)

When a local property owner offered to build them a custom facility, Reason and Christy were terrified. He wanted a 5,000 square foot building, a $10,000 deposit, and a 10-year commitment. They negotiated him down to 3,500 square feet, scraped together $5,000, signed the lease, and got to work.

There were no contractors. They painted the walls themselves. They waxed the floors themselves. Parents who owed tuition worked off their balances by building shelves. Teachers helped set up classrooms in exchange for early paychecks. Their chiropractor showed up to help move furniture.

The state inspection was on a Friday. Christy gave birth on Monday. The daycare opened on Tuesday.

"If it wasn't for the daycare, we would have been in trouble. It paid for diapers, formula, and food while we were there."

For the first few years, they did not pay themselves a salary. They wore every hat. They were in ratio when all the teachers called off sick. They fielded difficult parents and collected overdue tuition. They were building something real — but they were exhausted.

The Sale That Went Wrong (Twice)

After six-plus years of running the business together, the couple felt burned out and ready for something new. They had a calling toward mission work. They decided to sell.

Their first attempt: offering to sell the center on a land contract to a young, talented employee who had said in her interview that she wanted to own a childcare center someday. No money down. Five years of payments. Training and support included. They thought they were giving her the opportunity of a lifetime.

She cried — and not from gratitude. She felt abandoned. She resigned within a week. And on her way out, she undermined the couple's reputation with the rest of the staff, telling people the center was shutting down rather than being handed off. The couple returned to fix the damage.

Their second attempt: selling to the neighboring church, whose pastor had a background in childcare administration. They sold at half the appraised value. They gave the buyers a funded bank account to start with. They paid the incoming administrator's salary during the transition out of their own pocket. It still ended badly. There were integrity issues. Christy describes it as a nightmare.

Generosity in a business transaction does not guarantee a good outcome. Protect yourself with clear contracts, proper due diligence, and honest conversations — even when you trust the people involved.

The Second Chapter: Coming Back Stronger

After years of other ventures — a riding animal business in Tucson, flood relief work in Louisiana, oil and gas, and four years running an insurance agency they both grew to dislike — childcare came calling again.

In late 2020, the church that had purchased their center shut it down overnight. Parents were stranded. The administrator resigned in defeat. Reason and Christy got the call. They said yes within hours.

Over the next seven weeks, they funded and outfitted an entirely new center from scratch, navigated a state licensing process complicated by the previous owner's unrevoked license, and reopened in the same building they had originally designed years earlier. The landlord welcomed them back with open arms.

This time, they came in with something they did not have the first time: real business knowledge. They implemented SOPs. They installed modern childcare management software. They moved to digital enrollment and automatic payments. They built a marketing engine that paid back their full investment within the first year.

Then they opened a second location — a school-age-only program for before and after care and summer camp. Then a third: a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week childcare center in Barnesville, Ohio.

7 Lessons Every Childcare Business Owner Needs to Hear

1. Creative financing is real. You do not need cash to get started — you need creativity, tenacity, and the willingness to ask.

2. Know your numbers. Childcare is a high-labor-cost industry. If you are not watching your financials constantly, you will not see the wall coming.

3. Build SOPs from day one. The second time around, systems and software changed everything.

4. Marketing is not optional. A full center does not happen by accident. It happens because you show up in the community.

5. Selling a business is its own skill. Price it properly, use an attorney, and do not let generosity substitute for due diligence.

6. When you work with your spouse, the job comes home. Set boundaries early or the business will eat your marriage.

7. Passion, talent, and purpose together create sustainability. When those three align, burnout becomes manageable.

What This Podcast Is About

Reason and Christy built the Child Care Business Owners Podcast for the childcare owner who is doing it alone — the one who cannot afford a $10,000 coaching program but still needs real answers to real questions. They have invested heavily in their own education and intend to give back what they have learned.

Topics coming up on the show include: how to start a childcare business from scratch, childcare marketing strategies, financial management for high-labor industries, staffing and training, curriculum, handling difficult parents, technology and software, health and safety compliance, business growth and expansion, and how to eventually exit or sell your childcare business the right way.

They will also feature guest speakers, take listener questions through a dedicated listener line, and bring in childcare owners from around the country to share what has worked for them.

Subscribe to the Child Care Business Owners Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a question or topic you want covered? The listener line is coming soon.

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