With Michelle Buckner, business is personal. After she and her husband decided to become foster parents, Michelle was inspired to turn her love of childcare into something more: a daycare service.
After a lackluster stint in the banking industry, Buckner decided she “might as well do what I love doing.” She began running Michelle’s Little Miracles Daycare out of her home under an umbrella organization, but she ultimately wanted to learn how to be her own boss. Cue Empowerment Group’s Entrepreneurship Training Course.
Buckner’s objectives in taking the course were to learn the many facets of running a business on her own: from finances to marketing. She came in with the ultimate goal of being an independent business owner, and the course brought valuable changes to her future plans.
When Buckner started the course, she thought opening an off-site location for her daycare would be the next logical step. During the course she realized that sticking with her current home location was best for her business and personal life. The course shaped her mindset and encouraged her to build on an already good thing. “Quality, not quantity,” says Buckner.
Once inside Buckner’s cozy home, it is quite apparent she has definitely created a great place for children. She says her main focus is creating a smooth transition between different environments for the young children she watches. This is an issue she noticed when first taking in foster children and something she is clearly dedicated to managing through carefully planned care.
Buckner’s emphasis on smooth transitions includes a daily schedule for the children. The schedule gives them some sense of structure, but also provides for fun and friendship building. Daily tasks include reading each other’s favorite books out loud and making crafts outside on nice days. In one activity, deemed “circle time,” the kids work on remembering facts about each other like name, age, and favorite colors, with a different fact added each day. Buckner has worked hard to create a place where parents know their children are having a great time, and being educated, as well.
The Entrepreneurship Training Course taught Buckner that owning her own off-site daycare may not be what’s best for her or her business. She states, “It’s better to grow with what you have right now, rather than complicate an already good thing.”
Her goals for the near future are to exceed her current 50% enrollment to full enrollment within the next six months. She has also enrolled in Early Childhood Education courses at Center City Proprietors to learn more about how to best care for children. One expansion she may consider in the future is to hire other employees, so she is taking the steps necessary to get all the proper licensing.
Buckner says the Entrepreneurship Training Course was important in moving forward with her business and has helped her become better prepared to be an independent entrepreneur. For Michelle, this business venture has not only been a gift she gives to children, but a gift to herself as well.