By William E. Gibson

 

WASHINGTON — Each month from January to May, 40 child-care providers huddled with leaders of some of South Florida's most powerful companies to learn how to run successful businesses that teach young children while their parents are at work.

 

On Monday, the Hollywood consultant who spearheaded the training experience shared the results at a White House-sponsored Summit on Working Families, broadcast live on the Internet. Her goal: Help high-quality early learning centers survive.

 

Robyn Perlman, who once helped distribute child-care subsidies though the Early Learning Coalition of Broward County, said many preschool owners are struggling to make ends meet while sacrificing their own personal income.

 

"The main problem was that these small businesses are being run by wonderfully well-intentioned people who take great care of their children but don't have the skill set or background to understand the business of being in business," she said in an interview.

 

Determined to help, Perlman recruited volunteers from Wells Fargo, Florida Power & Light and other companies. While meeting at Nova Southeastern University, the volunteers led sessions on how to write a business plan, reduce expenses, make efficient use of real estate and market their learning centers.

 

"In the first class, we were in there sweating. 'Oh my God, how are we going to do this?' " said Donna Fong, owner of Andover Academy in Plantation, who took part in the first round of training sessions a year ago and mentored a second round this year. "But they gave us an outline, and we did it. We developed a business plan on our own, and we could always call and ask for help."

 

Fong, who bought the academy 10 years ago, said she took no salary for the first four years while paying a staff that has grown to 27.

 

"Once you are in a business with children, you have to love it," she said. "It's not something you are going to make a lot of money on. We would just go with the flow and hope for the best."

 

But the business grew, helped most recently by the training sessions, she said, and parents have come to depend on it.

 

"A few years ago, when we had a hurricane and closed for a week, the parents were at the door stomping. `When are you going to open? They are driving us crazy,'" Fong said. "We have children here from 7 in the morning until 5 in the evening, because the parents have to work."

 

Most training participants are in Broward County, but Perlman plans to double the size of the program next year with sessions in Miami and triple it the following year while expanding into Palm Beach County.

 

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who regularly hosts small-business workshops, is promoting the child-care training program in South Florida and beyond. It was her idea to bring Perlman to the White House-sponsored summit, which is designed to advance President Barack Obama's agenda for working families. That includes making high-quality child care available and affordable.

 

"Every community across the country has a need for this," Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, said on Monday after joining Perlman on Monday's live-streaming broadcast. "You don't want people to have to choose whether to be a good parent or a good employee."

 

Wells Fargo, a major lender to small businesses, developed a curriculum, and its bankers reviewed the participants' business plans. Lessons include cash-flow management, staffing concerns, marketing plans and competitive analysis.

 

"I spoke with one woman who had home-based child care. She came to every session and wrote a business plan and just couldn't have been more grateful," said Jane Gilbert, community affairs officer for Wells Fargo. "She's now figuring how she can open a separate full center."

 

Gilbert said the company will help expand the volunteer program into Miami. "There's a lot of interest in Palm Beach County as well," she said, "and we're open to that."

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-child-care-white-house-20140623,0,5010700.story