Amber Lane is the Founder of The Loving Start Way and this week’s Featured Interview on Woman of Wisdom

Tell us about your business? 

I’m the founder of Loving Start Learning Centers where we offer care to infants through kindergarten. We’ve been operating since 2001 in Northern California with multiple centers. The Loving Start Way was born out of a desire to help others who are struggling in the childcare center world by coaching and guiding them to open their own preschools around the country. My target audience is moms who may want to open a preschool in their home or a commercial center. We also offer monthly curriculum for early childhood educators who want to save time each month by letting us plan their curriculum for them.

Please tell us what being a business owner means to you and why you became an entrepreneur in the first place? 

I never imagined myself as a business owner. I didn’t even really know what the word entrepreneur meant when I first started my preschool in my home at age 23. But now, it’s been my life’s work, besides my kids, and one of my greatest achievements. I love providing jobs that others love to be part of. I also love serving communities and families. Being a business owner means you wear that hat 24 hours a day and it sometimes consumes your thoughts. You always want to be better, do better and to be successful for the long haul. I think you have to always be flexible and be ready to change it up if something isn’t working.

What or who has been your greatest influence in business and why? 

All the great early childhood educators before me. Maria Montessori, Reggio Amelia, etc. I’ve taken all the philosophies in early childhood education and woven them into one program. I believe that all kids learn differently, and they should be offered all sorts of modalities of learning. I’ve also been a huge self-help guru – always reading and trying to learn from others in leadership roles.

What would you say is your greatest professional accomplishment to date? 

I’m proud to still be thriving even after 24 years! With no college degree or business background, I just dug my heel in and learned every aspect of business ownership. I’ve failed many times, but I’ve picked myself back up and have always been determined to dream big and go after those dreams by putting in the hard work.

What’s the best advice you have received in business that you wish to pass on to our readers? 

I think a great leader leads by example. I think our team is so valuable, and any successful business always has an amazing team working it. Make sure to celebrate your team often and recognize that without them, you will not have a thriving business.

What is your relationship with social media? 

It’s a love hate relationship. I know you need a social media presence; you just can’t skip that these days. But sometimes I long for the days when it wasn’t really a thing. There is so much pressure to post often and stay relevant which takes a lot of work. However, I recognize its part of business in the same way your phone number and website are.

What is your favorite app? 

I am loving the AI apps. I thought I wouldn’t, but ChatGPT saves so much time especially when posting for socials or drafting something quickly. I believe it’s here to stay so I’m embracing the robots.

What has been the most effective marketing initiatives or programs you have used to promote your business? 

Giving my clients tuition credit for referring friends and family to our schools. It’s always worked so well, so if we have an opening, we usually let all of our clients know and if they bring a friend or family in then they get the money we would have spent on advertising.

What one thing have you learned as a small business owner that has served you well over the years? 

Listen well and have a lot of patience. I am empathetic, and I give a lot of grace to others. I’ve never been one to be my way or the highway. I respect others’ opinions and ideas and want to always provide a real open-door policy where anyone can say anything and I can handle it, no matter how hard it is to hear. Giving others that space allows them to shine and feel like they have a voice. It’s a very powerful thing.

How has your routine changed since covid? 

Thankfully at our centers and in our preschools not too much has changed. Things are just like they were before covid or maybe even a little busier. I think in my field people realized that preschool isn’t taught very well at home and a big part of learning in preschool is the socialization with other little ones. So now we are bigger than ever after covid.

What productivity tools do you use? 

We use a few different software tools in our business for tuition management, lead capture, and to capture reviews.

Are there any other resources/tools that have helped you run your business? 

I’ve created a lot of the tools to run my business such as training handbooks, videos, and procedures for everything which helps things run really smoothly.

Do you have any new projects coming up 

Yes, after 24 years we are now going nationwide! This has been a huge dream of mine. We are franchising but not like any other childcare franchise out there. We will be offering a home-based model as well as a commercial. I ran successfully as a preschool out of my home for nine years and I’m thrilled to be able to allow others to take our name, our years in business and stand behind them and train them to run their own preschool with all the tools and resources we’ve used to be successful since 2001.

How do you prepare for the next day?

I usually keep a master yearly calendar, and I always start my morning with a walk, journal, praying or meditating then write a to do list and get going.

What is the number one meeting you never miss (and why)? 

If a staff member asked to talk to me, I would jump through hoops to do that. I also have a director manager weekly meeting that is always good because today I have an amazing team that runs my schools, so we do weekly check ins.

What do you do for fun/relaxation? 

I travel a lot! My kids are all adults now so if I’m not doing family dinners, I may be traveling with my husband or with the whole family. My husband is a pilot so we can travel anywhere practically for free, so while I’m young “ish” and healthy, I travel and love it. I’m lucky and I don’t take it for granted,

How would you describe yourself in a single sentence? 

I’m a wish it, dream it and go get it kind of girl! Always have and always will be this way.

What is Number One Business Goal you plan to accomplish over the next year? 

I want to help ten other people open their own preschools and cheer them on and watch them thrive in early childhood education.

You want to write a book on …

Well, I always wanted to write down my trade secrets and failures of owning and operating childcare centers, and I finally did that this past January. It’s available now on Amazon titled, The ABC’s of Preschool.

What is the number one book you recommend to our readers? And why? 

I love the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It really helped me slow down and realize this very moment is all we have.. right now… learning how to sit in the moment helps us to be present and in return there is happiness in joy in the now.

What practices or boundaries have you implemented in your personal life to create more work/life balance? 

I’ve stopped working a ton honestly. Five years ago, I began to work on my business not in it. It finally taught me that home life is valuable and too much stress causes illness. Believe me, it took me years to set healthy boundaries. I’ve had cancer, heart issues, random weird illness and two years ago brain surgery. Today, I only work a few hours a week and I know how to turn work off and on. I also prioritize my health like never before. Let’s face it if we aren’t healthy, we aren’t really good at much. So, I walk, I eat pretty good, I rest, etc. I love the blue zone lifestyle. Look it up if you haven’t heard about it.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Always believe in yourself and never give up on your dreams!

What’s the best way for the readers of WE Magazine for Women to connect with you? 

Go to my website www.thelovingstartway.com or follow me on social media @thelovingstartway. Instagram: 6,792 followers, Facebook: 3.5k followers, YouTube: 2.17k subscribers


By continuing to use the WE Magazine for women website, you will be agreeing to Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and use of cookies while using this website.