isabel taylor
bell’s school for people under six
asheville, nc

When I launched this business 25 years ago, I had no background in daycare—except caring for my own daughter. My degree was in philosophy and math. But my husband was working two jobs while I was a stay-at-home mom. I knew I needed to help financially, or watch my husband kill himself. So I began with a half-day program, buying the assets of an existing childcare center and borrowing against a $1,500 CD my grandmother had left me.

My goals and ideals for childcare have evolved over time. In the beginning, I was focused on academics. Later I became fascinated by child development, by children’s different learning styles and inclusion of special needs kids. Our goal now is to help children have a happy day! We make sure that there are few enough children in the classroom, that teachers have time away to get their feet on the ground, and that our expectations for the children are age-appropriate.

I nearly lost the businesses several times. Back in 1978, when I raised the price from $25 to $30 per week, half of our clients left! We had to move the school three times, and lost clients each time. There were times that my husband helped me make payroll and we could only pay half the phone bill. I needed business training! I took some other courses, but the information was too general. I felt so locked out of the business community. In the spring of 2000, I took the Foundations course. MMF was interested in a micro-business like mine—an advocate to help me find out what I needed to find out. The business planning process made sense to me.

Last January, I found out we needed a new site for the school. I was lost. After leasing space all these years, I knew it was time to own my own building. Other organizations told me I needed more capital. MMF helped me find a way, and that help was immediate and very fundamental. They gave me simple steps to go through to secure financing, as well as realistic expectations. We opened our new site in south Buncombe this fall!

Bell’s School has grown into a full-day program with ten 10 employees. Ours is one of only several nationally accredited day care centers in the county. We run on a really tight budget and still pay the staff very well for the hardest job in the world. They need to be patient, quick, smart, and have incredible focus. My association with MMF has allowed me to speak of childcare as a profession, instead of simply as a business. The business aspect of childcare can be ethical and can advocate for employees, as well as for children, without losing track of sound business practices. Thank you, MMF, for your expertise and for believing in me!

Isabel Taylor, Bell’s School for People Under 6, 43 N. Liberty St.,Asheville, NC 28801, 241-9414.