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 ]

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