Intro · 3X Freedom

Sep '25 (edited) • Intros & Wins

Intro

Yes, I have 30+ years of experience in the Montessori realm. But that's just the tip of the iceberg and not why I'm here.

When my boys were young, I discovered Montessori, through them. I couldn't believe how much they learned through just doing--no teaching, just exploring and finding out what was possible. I HAD to become a teacher--no big family, so I needed more kids in my life. And that only happened because I had amazing family to help me. (If you have family around you, be sure to love on them every minute you can!) Such a gift! I loved teaching--anything--but three and four year olds? That's my passion!!

But when we moved to Phoenix, there wasn't a school where I felt good about working. So my husband said, "Then open your own school and do it better." I'd had great mentors, he had a decent job, so what the heck, right? But 5 months after we opened with a mortgage, one employee and 4 students, he lost his job. Major reset. I kept going, got a second job. And learned how to run a company on air and prayer.

Technically, I was supposed to be teaching and selling, and my unemployed husband was supposed to run the company--his Harvard MBA was supposed to come in handy! Three years in, he decided that running a school was boring and he "opted out" and told me to run it. I cried. I didn't want to have two jobs (teaching and running the business), but I didn't have a choice. So I dug in and just did it. I learned through the school of hard knocks what worked and what didn't. I followed my instincts to always be transparent and trust that people would want that more than a sugar-coated lie. And it worked. We were successful. That's the first thing I tell new school owners. Share more than you think is wise in the most sincere way possible. Tell them your dreams for the school and let them buy in. Trust is your number one friend in keeping clients.

24 years go by. My now ex-husband wants out. And frankly, I want more free time. Running a school is 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. I have 6 grandkids--and want time with them. I've tried promoting someone from within. I've tried giving the school to another teacher. For 8 years I tried and no one was willing to take it on--I made it look like too much work. In the end, I sold it for the price of the real estate (not shabby, but not what you would hope, right?). And the school closed. The legacy I had created was gone. Wow!

But when one door closes, another opens--at least in my life. Within weeks I had gotten over the loss and figured out where I wanted to go--thanks in great part to Kasim. We are part of an incubator and he challenged me to think of ways a Montessori school could actually make money. It took two weeks to figure out my next play: ensure that no Montessori owner would ever have to go through what I did. And through discussion, we came up with a plan that involves optimizing business practices, potentially buying the real estate and allowing the school owner to exit as they wanted, with a retirement plan in place. We've yet to do our first deal, but there are several in the works. So many "silver-haired" people wanting to find their way out and having no idea how to go about it.

From all of that, what's my advice? Plan your exit. Start your business with the end in mind. Standardize your procedures so anyone can do it. Hire offshore for those things you don't need to do on site. And care for the people who care for you--because in the end, they are all that matter. I have a plan now (and an amazing job, thanks to Kasim!). And it's all about helping others. Humans were sent to serve. Kasim is a shining example of how that works. Learn from him and live a great life!

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