We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angela Burkett a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Angela, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
After giving birth to my daughter in 2012, I took to task of finding a quality program rich with child centered experiences offering the feel of a home away from home. A learning environment which modeled a whole child approach to learning. I decided to launch Mustard Seed Daycare so that I may provide such services to not just my daughter Uchechi but to the children of other parents looking for such a program as well. With experience and background in education, my love of nurturing and giving back made the decision to leap out on faith the size of a mustard seed quite easy!
Angela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
“Such a relief knowing our babies are always in good hands ♥️ Thank you”, writes one parent whose child is a scholar at Mustard Seed. “I saw you all at the park the other day. You were so loving and sweet with your little guys…I was so impressed, and it warmed my heart to see such care and tenderness from a daycare provider” writes a parent in an email after seeing us during an outing at the park. It’s genuine the love and nurture that is poured into each child at Mustard Seed and it is felt and seen by parents in and out of the program – a program rooted in love of child.
The mission of Mustard Seed is to provide a nurturing and stimulating early learning and child care experience where love is our guiding principle to build the best foundation and promote the development of the whole child!
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Start where you are and with what you have was literally the mantra that catapulted my business!
Though I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with Graduate studies in Human Services, in order to become licensed as a childcare provider in the State of Maryland, one has to go through and meet the training and professional development requirements of the Maryland State Department of Education Office of Childcare.
After exhausting funds to complete mandatory trainings, I got really creative and diligent by searching and securing free workshops and online trainings that would satisfy some of the requirements.
Local consignment shops and parent forums also played a role in securing equipments and learning materials to prepare my business to pass the initial State inspection to revive a license.
I started my business in my single family home with two spaces – the living room and the dining room – and designated them as the preschool and infant rooms.
Creativity and tenacity helped me to think outside the box. To be successful in any field is to carve your own lane and perform to your full ability keeping in mind the clients you want to serve and the “why” you choose that business. What impact do you want to make? What is the driving factor? What is your WHY?! I kept my focus on the mission of providing the best quality preschool education in a play based environment where children would be nurtured to be their very best whole self. Activities included daily walks, field trips to the park & outings in the community. Learning doesn’t happen just inside the four walls of the classroom but minds are shaped when the environment is utilized as a teacher. We grow a garden each year with a variety of exotic fruits, veggies and grains. The Mustard Seed scholar ranging from eight weeks to five years of age are taught about farming with a hands on approach. They harvest and help prepare things from the garden. Each child learns where food comes from and the benefits of a healthy diet.
A business which began in just two rooms has grown exponentially over the years. Mustard Seed has moved into its very own space with an expansion into a Large Family Home Center for twelve scholars. Our newly renovated space has its own kitchen, bathroom and a huge play yard complete with all the fun childhood equipments for hours of entertainment and learning for the children!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Being an essential worker in the child care industry has not been easy over the past couple of years. With clients opting to withdraw kids to work from home to the lack of staff due to many reasons stemming from the pandemic, many owners had to close their doors. As the number of students dropped, the program relied on the support of our families who rallied in support of our program. With strategic partnerships and relationships built over the years, Mustard Seed was able to remain open and operational. Resources made available to licensed programs were also tremendous in helping keep our doors open to continue to provide a high quality program for our families.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mustardseeddaycare.com
- Instagram: @mustardseeddaycare
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mustardseeddaycare.us/