384: What Most Preschool Owners Miss When Choosing a Franchise Model With Amber Stravlo

What happens when you find a preschool franchise that actually fits your educational philosophy and business goals? Amber Stravlo shares how choosing Ivybrook Academy helped her grow enrollment from 40 to 162 children in one year while building a school centered on individualized learning, strong relationships, and family trust.

Kate Woodward Young talks with Amber about preschool franchising, childcare business growth, enrollment strategies, curriculum, community building, and franchise support. From evaluating franchise models to using local Facebook groups, Google visibility, events, and relationship-based tours, Amber shares practical lessons for childcare owners, directors, and aspiring franchisees who want a proven business model without losing their mission.

Listen to learn more about making the right decisions for your center!

www.ivybrookacademy.com/lubbock
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/amber-stravlo-b658691b4
Email: amber.stravlo@ivybrookacademy.com

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Transcript

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Childcare Conversations 0:03

Welcome to Childcare Conversations, a growing community of early childhood leaders asking better questions and finding real solutions together. The conversations shaping early childhood happen here. This episode is presented by North Star School Supply, the one-stop shop for all things school. Furniture, dramatic play, steam, changing tables, playgrounds, and more. All at amazing savings for your center. We're proud to partner with a team that's as committed to your success as we are. Visit NorthstarschoolSupply.com to learn more. Now let's get into today's conversation, one we think you're really going to enjoy.

Kate Woodward Young 0:46

Welcome to today's conversation, and I am excited to bring on today's guest all the way from Lubbock, Texas. Gotta love a red raider, and we gotta love that we're keeping it in the Texas family. So Amber Stravlo, Stravelo, see, I thought about it too hard. That's what that was. You got it right. We got it right on the first one. That's what I'd like anyway. All right. Well, we are so great to have Amber, great to have Amber join us today. And we are gonna talk about franchising, expanding programs, things to think about, and why maybe that might be the right option for you. So, Amber, tell us a little bit about how you got into the industry, and then we'll talk a little bit about why you chose a franchise and why the specific one you chose.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Sure. So I had been teaching for 20 years. Um, I had done second and third grade. I started doing dyslexia therapy. So I have a pretty strong education background. When I started um having children, then I started looking a little bit more at the early child care type centers and education components that I was seeing in my own kids. And what did I want to bring to them? Like what did I want them to learn about? And so it was really important to me for them to have um instead of a daycare setting, an actual school setting. I wanted them in a school setting. And so that was just something that my husband and I prioritized, and we thought, you know what? I think let's open a school. Like, and so we really started digging in on what does that look like? During that time, my daughter came to Ivy Brook Academy and she was a COVID baby, she did not like anybody, she only liked mommy, not even daddy. And when my son started kindergarten, she wanted to go to school to be like her brother, and we were like, that is a bad idea. Like, she is not like anybody. And we picked Ivy Brooke because it was a true school for her, and we toured it. Um, it's not oversized, it's small teacher-student ratio. We met the teachers. I looked at the curriculum with my education background, and I was like, this is the only place I felt safe for her to be at. And so we sent her here, and then it just kind of everything fell in place while we were trying to decide what kind of school we want to open up. I was looking at writing curriculum, we were looking at where we wanted it to be, and we left Ivybrook one day and we're like, we wish we could just buy Ivybrook. Like, that's what we're wanting to create for our community. And weird. Five days later, we were at her preschool graduation and we got an email. It was for sell, and we called from the parking lot. It always makes me cry. I always get emotional when I talk about it because it was just so the timing, everything just felt right. And so I my husband was sitting in the car and I was like, listen to this email I just got. And I forwarded it to him and I started reading it to him, and he was like, Well, do you want to do it? And I was like, Yep. I was like, that's it. And we called and we jumped in, and here we are.

Kate Woodward Young 4:00

So this was not um, so like you said, this was definitely a personal connection. This wasn't one of those deliberated, we're gonna do all the research and go find um which type of program. But there was obviously a reason why you chose to come with an established program and maybe even a franchise versus going, oh, I'm gonna do it myself. Because you did say that you guys were kind of toying with doing it.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

Yes, we did, and we looked at a bunch of different schools. And so I think since I mean we looked at probably 10 different schools, we looked at schools that were for sale in Lubbock, we looked at different franchises. My husband is in the franchise business, so we already knew kind of the support system that we were going to get-ish, because he's not in the education franchise. And so that is really kind of where we dove in on like, let's really start talking about this. And so that day at her graduation, we scheduled a call with Ivy Brooke to really get like into all the details of what support do you offer? Because what we were finding, especially in building a preschool, is you know, you have to know exactly the square footage of every room and how many children can be in there. And then, like, you need the FFE of you know, what furniture should we buy? All of the things. And so the nice thing was that the franchise had that wrapped in a beautiful bow for us. Like we got a catalog, we got the support. Um, even from like the financial side of it, there was support. They came and helped us set up the school. Um, because our school had actually closed for two months before we opened it and went between owners. And so when we got it back going, they came. Um, we meet with them. I meet with my um my mentor, my ivy rick mentor, Linda, once a week on Tuesdays. They will meet with my staff, they meet with Miss Mirinda to help plan curriculum. But that was one of the things too that was so engaging to me is I was knee deep in writing curriculum. And I knew that there was a school that I already valued their curriculum because my biggest thing in our staying at our school this year is meet them where they are. And that's what Ivy Burton did. That's what I needed for my daughter. That's what I wanted to bring to our community, and not just for students, but for parents and teachers. Um, and so that's what I saw that the curriculum met every student individually where they were. And so, and we go up to a third grade level, and so we can work with everybody. It's a safe place for everybody. And if their child is safe and the parents feel safe as well, and the teachers have the curriculum for them to feel safe, but also have work-life balance, which isn't always there in education.

Kate Woodward Young 6:48

Absolutely. So, so you you kind of come at this from a different angle than a lot of folks who are in early learning, mostly because you and your husband came at this together and he comes with it from a from a business lens. And I think that that is um kind of a unique combination for folks in the industry. A lot of times we don't necessarily have uh teams, husband-wife teams that come into the industry. And it sounds like you guys have kind of come at this, at least the initial part as a team. Talk to me about what it was like to bring. So, for those of you who don't know, we're gonna drop Ivy Brook Academy's link in the website because they are kind of a different type of program. So they are not your traditional um early learning program. And so, because of that, there probably had to be some education when you were coming into the community, um, especially because you ended up buying a program that for whatever reason had had sold or closed its doors. And so uh how do you how how what how did that work for y'all? Like what did that look like? To educate the community or myself, the the community specifically on your type of program, because your program is like I said, it's kind of a non-traditional model.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Yes. And so I really wanted to be creative there. One, Ivy Brooke did have, even though they closed their doors, they did it, they did have a good reputation. But since we did close our doors, I had to do a lot of rebuilding because there were families that were affected by that that felt that oh, they're closing in May. We're we couldn't tell them that we were buying it because we didn't sell the deal until July. And everybody panics because places are full that you want to go to. And so we did lose about half of our enrollment um when that happened. And so, in looking at the community, I became very active on Facebook and Instagram and mom groups. That was a huge thing. We did partner with a marketing company, and so with the marketing company, they also partnered with the brand. And we did to where we made sure we were on Google. If you were searched, we did Facebook. We told our story. That was the biggest thing that got clicks on Facebook was it was a picture of my whole family. I have three kids, my daughter that I talked about earlier is in there, and my husband. And we did a like they sped it up version of the story that I kind of told you about this is personal to us, and we want to bring this to your family. Um, in Lubbock, Texas, we shared it, our friends shared it. I had our teachers sharing it. Um, but really like those Lubbock mom groups, like that, that was, I feel like my like key thing is every single day, somebody was what preschool, what daycare? And if they're asking what daycare is it, I was like, hey, you know, we're not necessarily a daycare, but we are a preschool. But I didn't just leave it there. I had to tell them why. Like if you just drop in the name, that gives them no reason to go look at you. So I would tell them we have an individualized curriculum for your child. We also have discovery where they're gonna get re- they're gonna get art and yoga and music and gardening and all of the different things. We have small teacher to student ratios and a completely loving staff you will love. And so dropping the little bit of tidbits about what is so special about our school pretty much resulted in me getting more than one or two calls every single time that I posted that. And we were able to go, we had 40 enrollments last September, and we're at 162 in a year. And so it's been good, but it is you got to be mom on those Facebook groups for sure.

Kate Woodward Young 10:42

Absolutely. So you so basically you tripled your enrollment in a year, and as a result, you got some additional support from Ivy Brook and you got some recognition. So when that happened, was there, did you guys take it upon yourself to do some PR and work that into? Because one of the things that I know is so you were able to identify your unique selling proposition, right? So from a business standpoint, your USP, what makes your program different? And it sounds like you made sure that every time you were talking about it, you made sure to tell people what made you unique. And we also know that your growth is what kind of got the attention of the franchise. So Ivy Brook as a whole. So you guys are the franchisee, but as a whole, the organization kind of went, ooh, they know what they're doing or they're doing it right. How did that work for you and where are you going with that now? So what are your next plans?

SPEAKER_02 11:39

Um, and to add on to this, and the last thing, we also did community events, farmers markets, pizza nights, just to make sure that we got ourselves visual and out there. We go to the corn maze, um, and we always make sure we have our tent that says Ivy Brooke Academy. We have the mascot out there. So that gave us community recognition as well. Um, but what I have learned, and this is kind of what I shared with the brand, it is a relationship business, period. And so from the second somebody walks in the door before I have a tour, we have a sign that, like if it was us, it my son's name is Baylor, it would say, Welcome, Baylor and family to Ivy Brook Academy. I have a smell spray, and so I spray the smell. I have diffusers in the room to create one, a nice scent. Um, but it also is a very calming environment. And that is one of the things that the parents tell me this is so calming, it smells nice. Every single tour always tells me that they're amazed that it smells nice. And so I even go the step above that we do not put, you know, dirty diapers in a diaper genie. We put them in a bag and we take them out to the dumpster. So there's never dirty diapers in our school. But that again is that relationship building aspect of creating that safe place. So when they walk in, I get down on the child's level, I talk to them, I introduce myself to the children before the parents. And then I introduce myself to the parents. And then I let them know we're gonna go take a trip around the school. If you have any questions, you too, Baylor, let me know. I want to answer anything you have while I'm sharing all of the things about the curriculum. I'm asking them about themselves. Where are they from? What is it that they're looking for so that I can make sure I cater my answers to what it is that they're needing. Um, and then one thing that I have found is it is very nerve-wracking leaving your baby with somebody. And so what I let them know is they are gonna cry. But that first couple weeks, we are not focused on curriculum. We are focused on relationships. So if your child needs to bring a stuffed animal or a blanket, have them bring it. If we need to make a necklace with mom's picture on it, we can do that to have them wear at school. If they love playing with the blocks, the teacher's going to be doing that with them until they're comfortable. If we need to go feed the fish or leave the room for a little bit, that is okay because as soon as they feel safe, the routine will follow, the procedures will follow. And I always tell them the second they stop crying, I am sending you a picture of them and I will let you know, and you will see how it does get less and less and less, and you will receive pictures throughout the day of your child. And when you take that apprehension away, then the trust is already starting to form in the tour.

Kate Woodward Young 14:28

I love that you start that at the tour because I think that the no-like and trust, and even talking about community events, you know, nobody comes to your program just because they saw your sign. You know, more people come to your program because of somebody who referred them to your program, whether it's your teachers, whether it's other families, or they've connected with you on a personal level. And your community stories are just such a great example for that. So, what is next for y'all? I mean, it how how many more families can you support? Are you looking to do other things in the community? What is next?

SPEAKER_02 15:04

I am um, so next, yes, we're still trying to grow our afternoon enrollment because we are a um part-time. We do part-time, extended day, or full day. And so we're 100% full in the morning, and our 100% capacity is 82 students. And so when I tell you we had 186 like enrollments, that's really spot. So like two-year-old can come Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday, Friday. So that's not necessarily indicative of us being 100% full. So I have about 40 students right now in the afternoon. And so I obviously went to grow to hit that 82 mark in the afternoon as well. Um, we are actively in conversations and talking about adding a second campus in Midland, Texas, is kind of what we are looking at. Um, I am talking to the brand about possibly doing some corporate things with them and like what would that look like with them. And we are partnering with different places in the community. Um, we have partnered with different therapy places, so Green Apple Therapy for speech, behavioral, and OT. And we've also partnered with another counseling service if there's any kind of behavior, things where they can come in-house and the children can receive those services from interns under, you know, a doctor's supervision for free. And so that was a big deal for parents that one, if they get it while they're here, but they're also getting it for free. And they would be paying $50 to $100 an hour to get that somewhere else. So it's really creating more community partnerships, um, doing more things for the brand to hopefully grow our awareness as a brand, because obviously I do think that this brand is something very special, and I would like to continue to see it grow because I really do think that it brings something to families that is not just amazing education, but it is like a foundation for their learning and how they're gonna look at learning throughout the rest of their little education career.

Kate Woodward Young 17:14

I love that. So if somebody was listening and they're thinking about maybe starting their own program, so maybe they're a director right now and they're in a state where they're like, yeah, we could probably definitely use more programs. Oh, I love the concept of um definitely mixed delivery as far as full-time, part-time, extended day, um, and they're they're kind of resonating. What would be something that you would tell them to look at when they're looking at any franchise or whether or not they're trying to decide, is the investment in a franchise worth it? Because we all met the um early learning program that bootstrapped its beginning. And with franchises, it's different, right? So in franchises, there's actually an investment up front, you get the loans, you have somebody who helps you with curriculum, uh, with materials and supplies, and even uh now in y'all's case, you guys didn't have to go through the building pain. Right. Um, but if you were building it from scratch, which I rem, if I recall right, most Ivy Brooks are green built. Yes. Uh, which means that so if I say a green build for anybody who's listening, that means that they are built from the ground up. They are not a rehab or what is also referred to as a brown build. So it's not like finding a, you know, uh, oh, I don't know, a building on a strip center. So maybe it could even just be empty, but you know, doing the whole build out. But in this case, you guys were built from the ground up, so you didn't have to do that. Yay, you so right? Uh so you didn't have to go through that piece. But um, what might be some reasons or what might be something that somebody might look at or make sure to ask if they're exploring franchises? Because it sounds like you guys kind of tiptoed around and looked at some different things. What were the pieces that really resonated with you with this particular franchise as far as the support that they were going to give uh to the owners or have continued? Like they've maybe they've lived above and beyond what you thought you were going to get. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

I think that the first step is what are your core values? Like, what is it that you're wanting to bring? Um, what is it like? Do you love Montessori? Do you love more technology? Like there, you have to decide what is what is it that you're wanting to bring to your community that you're truly passionate about and that you're truly invested in? That's where I would start. Because you can go to any franchise, but if it's not what you're passionate about, you're not going to be able to sell it. You're going to be able to sell it when it's what you're truly passionate about. So figure your core values, what you're wanting to bring out. Um, and then I would go try to find the franchise that fits what your values are. Yes, Ivy Brooke has been amazing for us because, like I said earlier, it gives you that individualized learning. And since, I mean, just like I go back to the values, when we went to the conference this summer, it was very easy to fall in line with every single other other owner there because we all value the same thing in children's education. And that was such a blessing, and it was so amazing for us that it has felt like family from day one. Like we've never had, you know, any issues. Um, one thing that I would really tell you is in talking to the owners of the franchise, I would get like, what does your gut feel? Like we talk to them, they listen to us. I am allowed to bring ideas. Uh, it is not have to be a this is what I said, and you're gonna have to do it kind of world. It is okay, you have seen that something worked or you want to try something a little bit different. Let's have a conversation about it. And so that really gives you some autonomy in your business yourself. Like, yes, I am part of a franchise, but they're open to having conversations and letting me try things my way because when you're throughout the United States, locations are different, cultures are different. And so there are things that I maybe need to provide here that in North Carolina they don't, or it's not a need, and vice versa. And so it has been amazing just having a team to where I can have those conversations. Um, I'm applauded for having those conversations, and I feel that it is a very open and honest community to where we all want to grow, we all want to help each other succeed, but we truly are a family type business. And that's why Ivy Brooke was the right place for us. And I think any franchise that you go into, you need to have the same emotions about it and ask those questions. Oh, I love that, Amber.

Kate Woodward Young 21:59

That is just such a great Great kind of reflection piece for somebody to think about. I mean, if you are a director or even an owner, because we know that sometimes owners will be like, hey, I love doing this, but I'd love to open a second location, but maybe the next one I want to actually open as a franchise versus doing what I've been doing myself again. And they want that additional support. I think what's really unique about working in franchise organizations is that from the get-go, you aren't on your own. And I love that kind of you bringing that back and even just, you know, nailing it, you know, a little bit harder that y'all are one family. And I know that not every franchise feels that way. And um, but I think you brought up a great point is have you matched your business with your personal, you call them values? I would even say your personal educational philosophy, right? I'd take it that step further, um, which is a lot of the same stuff, right? Exactly. And so I just am so excited to um, I think Midland absolutely could use uh uh use an Ivy Brook. I love that idea of continuing to expand Ivy Brook across the state of Texas and to see more and more locations pop up because I do believe that it's the unique model definitely has a place in most communities. But I think the fact that you brought up that there's gonna be things in your community that might be needed that may not be needed in others is also a great question to ask anybody you're working with, whether or not you're doing your own thing and you're just opening another location or you're like you're at a conference and you meet another owner and you guys chat and you hear them talk about something and you're like, I never thought about that. I wonder if that would be something that my community could use. And uh uh if you aren't familiar with the geography of Texas, uh there are definitely some major metros that things are going to be done very differently than they would be done out in Lubbock, which is a university town out in the what would be considered west to Texas, but not East New Mexico. Uh so not all the way out to El Paso, but um, but being a university town definitely has its own um pluses and minuses, but you did have a very strong community connection to that community even before you opened your program. And I think that that makes all the difference in the world as well. So, Amber, if somebody is listening right now and you're like, okay, I want to give you one piece of advice, what would that one piece of advice be?

SPEAKER_02 24:32

My one piece of advice, it goes back to where we were to pick a franchise that matches your educational philosophy, your values, that it's gonna feel like a family to you, um, that you're gonna match your personal investment with them would be my one piece of advice is really do your research. Really ask the questions about what they are bringing to you. Um, make sure that you pick the right franchise for you, for your family, and for your community. Because, like what we just said, what's needed in Texas isn't necessarily needed in another state or even the town over. Um, and so really think about what it is that you're wanting to bring and find the franchise that matches that. I love that.

Kate Woodward Young 25:18

Well, Amber, thank you so much for taking the time for joining us. If you do not already subscribe to the newsletter, go to childcareconversations.com, click on the button at the top that says newsletter. We do we drop two newsletters a week uh for each episode, and sometimes there's information in that newsletter that you don't always hear on the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us, and we will see you in a few days.

Childcare Conversations 25:48

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