How This Franchisee Left the Corporate World Behind and Found Financial Freedom with Children's Lighthouse

Hubert Vaz-Nayak has been a Children’s Lighthouse franchise owner for over a decade. 

Before joining the family-focused early education and child care franchise, the Houston-based entrepreneur had a long career in the corporate world. Initially, he worked as a management consultant, advising C-suite executives of Fortune 50 companies. Following that, he held roles in large corporations such as AT&T, Motorola, KPMG and Accenture, and was involved in tech startups, working with both VC-backed and private equity-backed companies. 

The decision to switch careers came when Vaz-Nayak found himself frustrated by the culture of the corporate world. Even though he knew he wanted to start something of his own, he initially had no desire to go into franchising. However, a few phone calls from Children’s Lighthouse eventually changed his mind.

“I kept getting called by Children’s Lighthouse, and I slammed the phone down three times,” Vaz-Nayak said. “The fourth time, the VP of franchising said, ’Listen, give me two minutes.’  He explained the business and introduced me to franchisees. And I thought ‘You know, this isn’t a bad idea.’” 

Why Children’s Lighthouse? 

Vaz-Nayak was drawn in by the fact that he could work locally. 

“My kids were small and I had been working in jobs that required me to travel all the time — it was a rough lifestyle,” he said. “It was attractive to be able to be my own boss — not have to travel, get to spend time with my family.”

Having never been in this industry before, Vaz-Nayak took on business partners. Together, the team opened its first location and went from a standing start to cash flow breakeven in under 10 weeks. 

“You never hear of that in a business,” he said. “I soon realized that this business was making enough profits that, if I owned a couple of these, I could make more than a senior vice president in a Fortune 500 company. So why would I want to work for ‘the Man’ when I could do this myself?”

How Children’s Lighthouse Sets Franchisees Up for Success

Children’s Lighthouse stands out in the franchise industry because of its supportive and collaborative approach. Unlike some other daycare franchises that take a top-down style, Vaz-Nayak feels that Children’s Lighthouse fosters a true working relationship with its franchisees.

“The relationship with Children’s Lighthouse headquarters is a partnership,” he said. “They trust us to understand our local markets better, and they listen when we suggest changes to fit local needs. It’s not adversarial — it’s collaborative."

This partnership means franchisees are encouraged to adapt corporate strategies to suit their local markets. Successful local ideas are often adopted company-wide, demonstrating the value headquarters places on franchisee input. 

“Our intranet is so robust; there’s training for staff on our curriculum and other resources,” Vaz-Nayak said. “Competitors often provide only a guideline, leaving local franchisees to figure out the details. But at Children’s Lighthouse, Ph.D.-level experts develop the content, which is readily available for us to download and use.” This comprehensive support allows staff to focus on effectively teaching high-quality content rather than figuring out what to deliver. 

Looking ahead, Vaz-Nayak is hopeful about the future of his business and thankful that Children’s Lighthouse has set him up in a positive place for his next stage of life. 

“I’m at an age where I just think about retiring, but Children’s Lighthouse has financially been good enough that I can think about that in the next few years,” he said. “In around six years, I’ll be looking to exit from the business and have done well enough that I can afford to retire early.”

For more information on franchising with Children’s Lighthouse, visit: https://1851franchise.com/childrens-lighthouse/info.