Child Care Business Coach & Multi-Site Owner
Chantel Pettengill scaled from a 12-child home program to three centers with a capacity of 484 children, learning under pressure how to trade hustle for structure. Today she coaches owners stuck between survival and scale to build the systems, enrollment, and leadership that make growth sustainable.
Chantel Pettengill started young. At 14 she was babysitting with her own business cards, and from there she taught karate, worked in daycare, studied elementary education with a math concentration, and served as a summer camp director, a JV softball coach, and a public school teacher. When the public school system no longer matched her teaching philosophy, she walked away and opened a home center with her family, licensed for 12 children.
Then growth happened fast. She expanded to a 144-child center, and eventually to three centers serving 484. But she grew too fast without infrastructure. Despite strong enrollment, there was constant payroll stress, severe anxiety and burnout, and a stretch where she considered quitting entirely. The turning point was hard-won: she could not do everything herself, and the right people in the right seats changed everything.
Today Chantel operates largely hands-off, with a team that proactively flags issues and clean licensing inspections to show for it. She helps owners build intentional enrollment, hiring and training structure, and the leadership mindset that raises a business ceiling. She works best with operators who are open to partnership, communicate clearly, and respect structure. Her promise is grounded in one truth: enrollment fuels the business, but systems and leadership sustain it.