Jameela Allen is the CEO and founder of Themba Creative Learning Center. Her excitement comes from helping other childcare owners enjoy the fruits of their labor. With her industry knowledge, successes, and failures, she offers crucial guidance. She teaches others how to build financially thriving operations while creating freedom and options.
BLACK ENTERPRISE recently caught up with Allen to discuss her remarkable journey. She has achieved success as a seven-figure income earner in the childcare industry. Her story demonstrates how dedication, strategic thinking, and proper leadership transform small businesses into empires. Allen now uses her platform to empower other childcare entrepreneurs nationwide.
College Experience Ignites Passion for Childcare Industry
From a young age, Allen had a profound vision of making transformative impact. Owning her own childcare center became the ultimate aspiration. Her experience as a childcare assistant at a top-notch child development center changed everything. This happened during her freshman year at West Virginia State University.
“My experience ignited an unrelenting passion within me,” Allen recalled. Working directly with children and observing quality early childhood education sparked something deep. She recognized that childcare represented more than just supervision. It offered opportunities to shape young lives and support working families fundamentally.
Teaching Career and Nonprofit Work Provide Foundation
After a decade of dedication as a public-school teacher, Allen gained invaluable experience. She also founded a nonprofit organization providing free enrichment activities to low-income youth. These experiences taught her about education, community needs, and organizational management. However, she realized her true calling lay elsewhere.
“I realized my true calling was to create my own nurturing early learning environment,” she explained. Children could thrive in spaces designed with intention and excellence. She embarked on a journey to pursue her vision of owning a childcare center. An insatiable desire to learn and grow drove her forward relentlessly.
Master’s Degree and Strategic Education Build Expertise
While teaching and running her nonprofit, Allen earned a Master’s in Public Administration. She supplemented this knowledge with early childhood courses strategically. This combination empowered herself with expertise to excel in every business aspect. She understood that success required both business acumen and educational knowledge.
“I was empowering myself with the expertise to excel in every aspect of my future business,” Allen said. She invested time and money into her own education before launching her enterprise. This preparation proved crucial when facing the inevitable challenges of entrepreneurship. Her strategic learning laid groundwork for long-term success.
Themba Creative Learning Center Opens in 2007
With unwavering determination, Allen transformed her vision into reality in 2007. Themba Creative Learning Center was born through courage, resilience, and strategic risk-taking. She leveraged her financial acumen and invested in her dream boldly. The decision to open her own center required both faith and calculation.
“Eighteen years later, I proudly reflect on this pivotal decision,” Allen shared. The center has become a testament to what’s possible with proper planning. She created a vibrant community that has flourished for nearly two decades. This accomplishment inspires a sense of pride and fulfillment that continues propelling her forward.
Dream Team of 30 Staff Members Drives Success
Allen works alongside her extraordinary Dream Team, who embody excellence. Her staff of 30 dedicated individuals forms the driving force behind her success. “I am truly humbled and grateful,” she said about her team. Mrs. Rashadah, her remarkable director, is fondly called “my angel.”
Three exceptional members of her Admin Team provide crucial support for operations. Allen credits her Dream Team for helping receive many awards and local recognition. They earned the title of best small business in Prince George’s County. The Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce bestowed this honor upon them.
Overcoming Scarcity Mindset and Health Challenges
Early in her entrepreneurial journey, Allen identified her primary obstacle. “I realized that the primary obstacle to success was my own mindset,” she admitted. She had to shift from a mentality of scarcity to one of abundance. This internal transformation proved essential for external business growth.
Initially, she ran her childcare business with a “Mom & Pop shop” mentality. She lacked effective leadership and systems during this period. “I faced immense stress and anxiety, which led to repeated emergency room visits,” Allen revealed. She thought she might be experiencing panic attacks and heart attacks simultaneously.
Poor Systems and Hiring Practices Limit Growth
Poor hiring practices and inadequate tools hindered productivity and profitability significantly. Many people told Allen there was no money to be made in childcare. This discouraging feedback reinforced her scarcity mindset temporarily. She struggled to see the bigger picture and industry potential.
However, a visit with her mentor, Mr. Turner, became a turning point. He encouraged her to read the IBIS report on the industry. This report revealed that childcare was a $60 billion industry nationwide. “This newfound understanding prompted me to reevaluate my approach,” Allen explained.
Investing in Leadership Development Changes Everything
Allen recognized that everything rises and falls on leadership. She made the pivotal decision to invest heavily in herself. “I started dressing professionally, wearing a suit to work, to reflect the success I aspired to achieve,” she said. This external change reinforced internal shifts in her mindset and approach.
She also invested in her team by providing matching uniforms. This promoted a sense of professionalism throughout the organization. To further develop her leadership skills, she hired a coach. She attended business conferences and listened to motivational speakers like Les Brown and Zig Ziglar.
Comprehensive Onboarding Process Ensures Quality Staff
Allen prioritized continuing education for her director and staff members. She created a comprehensive 90-day onboarding process to ensure quality hiring. This system helped them hire and retain top talent consistently. The investment in people proved crucial for long-term stability and growth.
The onboarding process includes accountability measures and continuous learning from mistakes. These processes enable them to refine operations and maintain exceptional standards. Allen understands that her staff quality directly impacts children’s experiences and parent satisfaction. Therefore, she invests significant resources in recruitment, training, and development.
Three Ps Framework: People, Product, and Processes
To unlock full potential as a leader, Allen emphasizes recognizing leadership’s importance. Cultivating key characteristics like perseverance, tenacity, grit, and passion proves essential. These qualities empower leaders to inspire teams and propel them to new heights. Allen teaches other childcare owners to develop these traits intentionally.
Implementing the 3 Ps—people, product, and processes—is also vital for success. “You’ll want to surround yourself with People who possess the ideal blend of temperament, attitude, and passion,” Allen advises. Working with young children requires specific personality traits and genuine care. To achieve greatness, owners must be resilient and motivated to push through challenges.
Superior Product Sets Themba Apart From Competition
Offering a superior product is crucial in the competitive childcare market. Allen’s aspiration is providing cutting-edge early childhood development programs. “We achieve this by offering unique programs like foreign language classes, dance, yoga, science, PE, STEM education, chess, and organic gardening,” she explained.
By encouraging team members to pursue teaching certifications, quality remains consistently high. Parents can trust Themba with their children’s education and well-being. This comprehensive approach to early childhood education justifies premium pricing. The superior product becomes the foundation for achieving seven-figure revenue.
Mentorship Relationships Provide Guidance and Inspiration
Allen has been truly blessed with incredible mentors throughout her life. She firmly believes that having a mentor is a game-changer. Mentorship can catapult entrepreneurs to unprecedented heights of success. Her parents served as amazing mentors, teaching valuable life lessons and sharing wisdom.
On a professional level, Sandra Yancey, Les Brown, and John Maxwell inspired her greatly. The late Earl Nightingale also served as a mentor and role model. “Learning from them has been a truly uplifting experience that has inspired me to reach for greatness,” Allen said. These relationships showed her what living with purpose, passion, and integrity means.
Helping Other Childcare Owners Achieve Financial Freedom
Today, Allen’s excitement comes from helping other childcare owners succeed. She offers guidance on building financially thriving operations based on her experience. Her industry knowledge, successes, and failures provide valuable lessons for others. She teaches owners how to create lives that provide freedom and options.
Allen understands the unique challenges facing childcare entrepreneurs firsthand. She knows the stress of limited systems and financial constraints intimately. Now she works to prevent others from making the same costly mistakes. Her coaching and guidance accelerate other owners’ paths to profitability and sustainability.
Six and Seven-Figure Success Requires Strategic Thinking
When asked what it takes for childcare owners to achieve six and seven-figure success, Allen emphasizes fundamentals. Leadership development comes first, followed by implementing the 3 Ps framework. Owners must shift from scarcity to abundance mindsets consciously. They need to invest in themselves, their teams, and their systems intentionally.
Superior products, comprehensive processes, and quality people create the foundation for scaling. Allen proves that childcare businesses can generate substantial revenue when managed properly. The industry’s $60 billion size offers enormous opportunity for those willing to think strategically. Her success demonstrates what’s possible when entrepreneurship meets excellent early childhood education.
Award-Winning Business Demonstrates Excellence Impact
Themba Creative Learning Center’s recognition as best small business validates Allen’s approach. The award from Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce represents community acknowledgment. Local families and business leaders recognize the center’s exceptional quality and impact. These accolades attract more families and strengthen the center’s reputation.
The awards also inspire Allen’s team to maintain their high standards consistently. Recognition motivates staff members and validates their hard work and dedication. Allen uses these achievements to demonstrate to other childcare owners what’s achievable. Excellence in childcare can be both financially rewarding and personally fulfilling simultaneously.
