We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lexi Young a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lexi , appreciate you joining us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

My business started and never stopped growing. I am an entrepreneur at heart and have somewhat of an addiction to business and growth. I started in March of 2018 as a standard sized family child care home with myself and 8 children. I was 7 months pregnant at the time and had just graduated college in the winter of 2017. I fell in love with the children and the energy that they fueled into my life. I felt like I had such a great community in their families and getting the opportunity to chat with them each day at pick up and drop off. I am the type of person who cannot stop thinking about something until I’ve executed my plan or completely exhausted all possibilities if it is something that might not be the best business choice.

Soon after opening, I realized the importance of being able to step out of the classroom more if I truly wanted to grow the business and reach more families. There was an incredible demand in my area for child care and school for young children. I immediately began to become licensed to have a large family child care home which would allow us to accommodate 12 children as opposed to 8 and we would have the ability to run more like a center than an in home child care business. This was a lengthy, unfamiliar, costly, and intensive process that was met with a lot of negativity from staff in county offices. We would be the only large family child care home in all of Howard County. So many people told me how difficult it would be and all of the challenges I would face as opposed to answering the questions I was asking. I am not afraid of difficult things and I believe positivity is the first and most important element to accomplishing any goal. At that point, I truly learned that I have to be my own biggest fan and not allow myself to feed into unwarranted negativity. Pessimism does not solve anything. Worrying does not solve anything. I had to stay extremely focused and find solutions as opposed to feeling overwhelmed and defeated by the problems. I went through a 9-12 month process and got approved for my large family license. I had an assistant named Ms. Minnie who I loved, trusted, and who set the bar for all future employees.

Ms. Minnie taught me the importance of the workplace feeling like family. I wanted to be an amazing boss and treat her with love, respect, kindness, and teach her how I wanted the children to be taught. In turn, this fed into our program and the parents felt comfortable and didn’t miss a beat if I was ever not present.

Around the same time, I began looking for commercial space and was able to find a stand alone building that I signed a lease for at the beginning of the pandemic. We did construction all through spring and summer 2020 and opened in the fall. My gears have never stopped turning since then and our school will continue to grow in the area ! My home has since closed, but I have a box full of pictures that remind me of where I’ve come from and the children who have inspired me to never stop learning. Our school and community grows and grows. One project I am really excited about is a school we will be opening in which we will have preschool during the day, but also evening and weekend gymnastics and dance classes for children and adults. I also have a brand new business that will come to fruition in the spring of 2023 and will provide more opportunities for families to simplify their lives with children and create more opportunities for enjoyment.

How I’ve scaled up is never ceasing to want more for myself, my family, and the children in my schools. I might have a bad night but don’t allow myself to wake up to a bad morning. I know who I am and I am proud of who I am. I know what our school stands for and means to me and I will never stop being a fan. I am not an email person. I like phone calls and talks with families. I know what it means to love a child with your whole entire being and I know what parents deserve in a school. Myself and my teachers need to be people who never stop self reflection and who never stop looking for ways to add value to the children’s daily experiences with us. I have been able to meet such genuine people and I am so excited for where the lives of each of these children will take them as they go on their journey through life.

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?

I have always been an entrepreneur. I currently own a child care and preschool business in which we offer a wide range of services to support families with children of all ages. Our business is expanding to include, gymnastics, dance, children’s event rentals and planning, and who knows what else ! I have actually never worked in a position in which I was not self-employed. knew I didn’t want anyone but myself to be able to set limits as to how successful I could be. I studied to go to medical school as a backup and while I was in college, my business itch and workaholism was full fledge. I was working 90 hour weeks with a full course load. Taking 15 minute naps after an 8 hour shift just to head out for class. It was a challenge that was exhilarating and rewarding. I also felt like I was able to help the families that I worked with and felt appreciated and knowledgable. Before I graduated, I laid all the groundwork to start my business and have a safe place for my first child who was born 3 months after I opened. I am proud because I know without a doubt how hard we work for the families who come to our school. I know as a parent that I would want a school where my family meant so much to the staff and owner.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We built our reputation by having families leave reviews on their experience at our school and sharing their stories with the people in their lives. We have really gotten to know each of the children and the parents notice that. We are not babysitters, we are educators and want children to be excited about all the world has to offer. Any parent would want that for their child especially when its a combo deal with the hugs, snuggles, and effective communication.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Even more than brand loyalty, I like to think of school pride and community as better words. I love when our families get together to do activities. We have had many family meetups and school events that allow the families to see their children interact with their peers and allows the parents to form a community of their own. Many of these children will continue to go to the same schools and grow up together. It is so sweet to watch parents and children grow together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yourjourneydoula.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourjourneychildcare/

Image Credits
Helen Don Photography