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All parents want their children to be safe and happy—and to receive a good education. When Reyna Sibrian couldn’t find a day care that offered that kind of atmosphere for her kids, she decided to open her own.
With hopes of providing a home-like environment and a bilingual curriculum for children from infants through fifth grade, Reyna, her sister Blanca González, and their mother, Joaquina Rojas, opened Bambino’s Daycare, LLC, in South Sioux City, Nebraska, in February 2019.
“I’ve always had that desire to open my own day care, more than anything because I have my own kids, and I wanted them to go to a place where I knew they were being taken care of in the same way I would,” Reyna said.
With a small business loan and coaching from the Center for Rural Affairs, the three women were able to purchase the building where they run their day care. Veronica Reyes, Latino loan specialist with the Center, helped them with the loan process, and they received funding in late 2018.
“The three of them are fully dedicated to the business,” said Veronica. “They complement each other and work full time in the business. Their passion, drive, and hard work have made them grow into successful business owners.”
Reyna attended business and advertising workshops and got one-on-one business counseling through the Center.
“If I ever have trouble with anything, Center staff finds someone who knows about it to come help me,” said Reyna. “They always give good tips, and offer helpful information.”
Since opening, the women have expanded their business and occupy a second building—one housing children 6 weeks to 4 years, and the other with kids from kindergarten through fifth grade.
They own and operate the day care together—in equal parts. Joaquina takes care of all of the cooking, providing hearty, home-cooked meals for the children. Blanca works on staffing and scheduling, as well as filling open spots in the day care when they have them. Reyna handles the legal aspects of the business, as well as advertising, all while overseeing the older children.
“We try to make it as fun as possible for the kids, but also very homey, so when they walk in they feel at home,” said Reyna. “Everything is bilingual. All our curriculum is bilingual. Even babies have a curriculum here.”
Reyna, Blanca, Joaquina—and their eight full-time and three part-time employees—strive every day to make sure the children are as safe as possible and loved and treated like family. They offer special services to families to help ease any concerns they may have. Parents can download an app to check in with the day care employees, as well as receive pictures of their kids throughout the day, and they get daily reports on their behavior and activities.
To anyone else who is considering opening their own business, whatever it might be, Reyna suggests doing what you love.
“Whatever it is you’re going to do, make sure you have passion,” she said. “My passion is to keep the kids happy, well-educated, cared for, loved, and to give them a fun, safe environment. If I didn’t have that passion, I would have quit a long time ago. Recognize your ‘whys.’ Keep them in big print and remember why you started and why you’re doing it.”
The business owners have their eyes set on expansion, and hope to combine their different age groups into one building at some point. They know they can trust the Center to assist when that time comes.
“The Center really helped us out a lot,” said Reyna. “Everyone we’ve worked with has been super nice, super helpful, and anything we need help with, they’re there. I’m so glad we found the Center. We’d have been lost without them.”
Are you considering opening your own business and don’t know where to start? Visit cfra.org/lending-staff and contact the loan specialist in your region.
At a glance
Bambino’s Daycare, LLC
Reyna Sibrian, Joaquina Rojas, Blanca Gonzalez
813 B St.
South Sioux City, Nebraska
712.333.0114
Hours: Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
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Website
Feature photos: Bambino's Daycare is a family-run business. Shown in the third photo are owners Reyna Sibrian, her sister, Blanca Gonzalez, and their mother, Joaquina Rojas, along with the rest of their family. | Photos submitted by Reyna Sibrian
