Why Being Present Beats Running Y...

Why Being Present Beats Running Your Schools From a Spreadsheet - Pietro F Ruvolo With Kevin Kilgore

Childcare Growth Podcast by Pietro FIlippo Ruvolo
E4
Aug 25, 2026
30:10

Episode notes

Most multi-site childcare owners believe the goal is to get out of the buildings, hire the right directors, build the right dashboard, and manage everything from a spreadsheet. But after opening his first Kids 'R' Kids in 2007 and growing to six locations across the Houston area, Kevin Kilgore found the opposite to be true: the numbers only tell you what already happened, and by then you're reacting instead of leading. In this episode, Kevin breaks down what he calls leading with a "dad heart," why his teams would rather have his presence than his presents, the four questions he asks every morning that give him the real heartbeat of a school, and how he identifies a "focus school" each week without micromanaging his directors. He also shares the stay interview, the conversation he has with team members before they ever think about leaving, how he pays out registration fees to teachers on their very next check instead of making them wait, and why promoting from within was the single move that kept him from burning out as he scaled from one school to six. Plus, the one thing he'd do differently if he could go back to the beginning: stop scrolling and start dialing.

Connect with Kevin Kilgore:

Phone: 281-798-7458

Email: krklakeshore@gmail.com

Websites:

https://kidsrkids.com/katy/

https://kidsrkids.com/cypress/

https://kidsrkids.com/woodsons-reserve/

https://kidsrkids.com/legends/

https://kidsrkids.com/kings-river/

https://kidsrkids.com/eagle-springs/

Keywords

childcare staff turnover
preschool hiring
childcare leadership
daycare retention
childcare growth
preschool growth
childcare enrollment growth
childcare
preschool marketing
childcare marketing

Where this episode is made