We were lucky to catch up with Linda Shirley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Linda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

We differ from other daycares (early childhood education centres) and most other educational models because we believe that the arts play a huge role in successful learning.

We have a very large and unique facility in Richmond, B.C. Canada that provides licensed early learning/childcare programming for 200 children between the ages of 12 months and 5 years, and before/after school programming for 60 school aged children between 6-12 yrs.

The academic offerings in both programs are enhanced by strong arts related programming supported by our visual and performing arts school which provides dedicated arts spaces such as a stand-alone visual arts studio, multiple music studios and 3 dance studios.

In addition, our performing arts school supports hundreds of students from within the community as they develop their artistic endeavours through private music instruction, dance, visual arts and other enrichment classes.

The second thing that truly makes our centre unique is how we use fundraising to help our young students to grow into empathetic and caring future citizens. Unlike other privately owned schools where fundraising is usually directed towards supporting operating initiatives, our efforts are directed toward the broader community, both locally and internationally.

We believe that by engaging our young students in our fundraising projects through their direct involvement, they come to see that they can enhance the lives of those less fortunate, they learn that we can help others to survive and thrive despite hardships and adversity, and that their contribution…no matter the size…can make a difference.

Over the past number of years we have raised thousands of dollars for initiatives that include, but are not limited to the following:

– donating pajamas and cash annually to a non-profit organization which supports safe houses in BC for women and children fleeing domestic violence

– we bought land, built and furnished two homes for two poor families in Sri Lanka and sent 125 backpacks of art supplies to the local school

– we supported a family from Vernon, BC whose 5 year old was diagnosed with severe childhood cancer. Over a period of 3 years we provided them with close to $20,000 to assist them with travelling 400 miles each way to and from hospital weekly, since both parents had to give up their jobs to look after him and his siblings. He sadly passed away last summer.

– when massive floods hit the outlying regions of Vancouver two winters ago, we raised $7000 in two weeks that was send to families in the area who had lost their pets and farm animals or were having difficulty feeding them

– we donated a total of $12,000 just a few months ago to various animal rescue agencies including Adopt Korean Rescue, an independent Korean rescuer, and to an organization supporting animal rescue in war-torn Ukraine.

Through ticket sales at dance and music recitals, selling flowers on Valentines day, cookie and cupcake sales at Christmas and Easter, family photo day and a host of other activities, the children learn that their engagement and contributions helped to make so many lives better. We believe this is how we built productive and caring future citizens.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In 1975, my husband and I had our first child. I really didn’t want to return to my previous job (as a secretary for the Vancouver School Board) as I wanted to spend time with my child. The arts had always played a large role in my sister’s and my life. She studied violin and has supported herself for her entire life through teaching and performing. I had studied piano and decided that I would open a music studio in my home and teach, so that I could spend time with my growing family.

Over a period of 15 years(1975-1990) I built a large studio, with two other teachers helping me with my long waiting list. We had 100 students a week coming through my house for lessons. One day my piano technician walked in to do an emergency repair and, seeing, the number of people coming and going from the house, his comment was: “Good grief! You’re like an octopus in a 5 gallon aquarium tank!! You need to open a school!’

This comment planted a seed in my mind…perhaps I could take my administrative experience from my school board job, my entrepreneurial genes from my father who opened Vancouver’s first Greek restaurant in 1960 and my mother’s determination and hard work and make it all work together to open a school.

So in 1990 I opened a small 1200 sq ft school one mile from my house. I decided I didn’t want it to just be just a music school but rather a hub of arts related programming. So we decided to incorporate a small dance/multipurpose room in addition to 4 music studios. We did the renovations ourselves with the help of friends. My husband worked a second job several nights a week cleaning a dentist’s office and together we ran a small silk flower business from our house doing flowers for weddings and have ‘shows’ a couple of times a year. All of this was to help finance the ‘school project’.

Three years later, we had outgrown the space, with over 200 students…and then my husband announced that the large department store chain that he had worked at for 34 years was going bankrupt. He was a visual display artist and knew that at age 47 he’d have difficult finding a new career. So we decided to abandon the lease on that first little school, move to a larger space (3500 sq ft) across the street and use his severance from his job to renovate. I felt that if we could grow the school, we could survive and support our two girls and pay our mortgage. At that time, I decided to create the region’s first preschool that focused on arts programming. So we now had a music school, dance, drama and visual programs, and a finearts licensed preschool.

Moving into that second building turned into a nightmare when the City announced it was a heritage building and required extensive renovation. Far more than we had the money for. The banks would not loan me money because my husband was unemployed and I was opening up an arts school! I approached my widowed mother and asked her if she would mortgage the family home so that I could finish the renovation and re-open the school. She agreed as long as I committed to making the high interest mortgage payments….which I did for many years. For years, each time I needed to do something to make the business grow, I had to borrow from friends and relatives who believed in me and trusted me. We often mortgaged our house to support our growth as well.

The finearts preschool was so popular that people slept in tents outside on the street overnight to be first in line on registration day. After three years we outgrew the second space … and so to make a VERY long story short, over the period of 1997 – 2009 we kept that building but kept adding other smaller facilities in the neighborhood. However, this caused our program offerings to be very disconnected from one another and it was a struggle to move forward financially because we were constantly having to acquire new spaces and spend large amounts of money on renovations.

Finally, in 2010 I met someone from a local credit union who saw my vision of having all of our services at one location again and so they agreed to help me acquire federal government small business development loans to relocate everything to one location. By this time we had a second childcare facility at an industrial park and this location provided the opportunity for expansion. So in 2010 we added one more unit. Then in 2012 we abandoned all of the other locations and we took 3 more units at the industrial park. In 2014 we took another unit and in 2015 we took the final 2 units. All of this space was raw warehouse, where we added a second floor to most of the space. Currently we have over 25,000 sq feet of amazing space…warm, creative, inviting….a beehive of activity with hundreds of students coming and going daily. We have been in business for almost 34 years. Our youngest daughter has worked in the family business since she was 16 yrs old, managed one of our daycare facilities, taught piano and then married and moved away. She is 46 now, a single parent with a 7 yr old and works remotely from her home 400 miles away. She is currently in charge of our finance department and is prepared to keep the legacy going along with my operations manager who has been with me for 14 years. Together we are working with a team of professional advisors on a plan to expand by franchising.

We have a unique and un-replicated model that provides a complete hub of services for families: childcare, arts programming, an onsite therapist once a week who supports staff and children/families, birthday parties, community engagement, and a support group for families in the community experiencing trauma.  We also just completed the addition of a beautiful sensory room for children with sensory challenges thanks to a grant from the federal government.  I am almost 75, I still work full-time as CEO and Founder and I STILL teach piano…20 students a week….my greatest passion.

Last year we were selected by the YWCA as one of 11 finalists for Outstanding Workplace. There were over 200 applicants and we were honored to be one of the finalists, standing alongside large national corporations. We currently have approximately 150 employees and contractors.

We have also been awarded the Richmond Chamber of Commerce Business Leadership Award and the City of Richmond’s Arts Education Award.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe I built my reputation in this market (childcare and arts) by being on site daily, overseeing and supporting my team, with an open-door policy. By building a strong team who believed in my vision and philosophy, I was able to create quality programming. Referrals from satisfied families has played a huge role in our growth over the years.

I believe you need to run your business with integrity and honesty. I treat my employees and clients the way I would want to be treated. I’m direct, straight forward, honest but try to do it with empathy and kindness.

I have donated a large amount of time as a volunteer over the years.  I have served on the Board of the Community Arts Council of Richmond for almost 25 years and currently serve as Vice-President.  I was a member of the Childcare Development Advisory Committee for the City of Richmond, BC for 14 years and spent 12 of those years as Chairperson.

I also served as President of a music teachers association for many years. Through this association I inherited a Canadian legacy….a music program called “Kelly Kirby Introductory Piano” which was originally developed at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto post WW 2, and which focuses on teaching music fundamentals to young children. I inherited the copyright and publication rights for it and this program forms a huge component of our music program at my school and is taught by a network of teachers across Canada and the USA.

I try to teach the ‘whole’ child when I teach, realizing that family dynamics and life in general can affect their success or lack of it. I’ve built a strong reputation as a teacher by going that extra mile, supporting them through various challenges their family may be dealing with.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think my original LONG answer to the previous question explained this in detail. I’m the queen of resilience!! haha!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theartsconservatory.ca AND www.renaissanceacademy.ca