From Finance to Childcare: Local Resident Embraces Passion for Kids with Lightbridge Academy Franchise in Greater Charlotte Area

After working in financial services for 15 years, Charlotte-resident Jonathan Padgett decided to combine his passion for business with his love for working with children, inspired by experiences with church mission trips, YMCA camp counseling, mentoring through Big Brother/Big Sisters and his own experience as the parent of a toddler. When Padgett discovered Lightbridge Academy*, he immediately connected with the brand’s Circle of Care philosophy, the mission of the leadership team and the overall goals of the brand. Additionally, Padgett was able to take advantage of the brand’s “land-banking” strategy, in which the team identifies and secures prime sites in advance for incoming franchisees. 

Now, with plans to open two Lightbridge Academy centers in the Lake Norman area, Padgett aims to create an environment where children can learn and grow at their own pace while providing parents with a comfortable and trustworthy space to leave them. As a parent of a toddler himself, Padgett understands how difficult it can be to find quality child care and is excited to support families in the community and be a positive presence in their lives.

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Padgett: After working in the financial services industry for 15 years, I was looking to do something that I was more passionate about. I’ve always loved working with kids, whether that be through church mission trips, YMCA camp counseling or the Big Brother/Big Sisters program. 

In what I do for my corporate job, I have also come across several clients who own and operate child care centers, and I’ve seen that it is treating them well. So, I combined that business mindset with my own passion, and I decided to start researching some business opportunities within the child care industry.

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Padgett: I never considered starting a child care center from scratch — I knew that dealing with state regulations, the curriculum requirements and the details that go into running a child care center would be tough to do on my own. That’s why I chose franchising. I wanted to connect with a franchisor that had all of that already figured out. I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. All the pieces were in place, which made it much easier.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Padgett: We were looking at multiple child care brands, but we wanted to lease a building. Several brands require ownership of the building and the land, and we are not in a place where we can do that easily. Lightbridge Academy already owned the building and could retrofit it for us, which made a lot of sense. 

Lightbridge was also more of an up-and-coming brand that wasn’t already saturated in our market. There are a lot of child care franchises in our area, but we wanted to stand out and be different. When we learned about the Circle of Care philosophy, met the leadership team and came for discovery day, we just connected with everybody and the mission. 

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Padgett: Our overall mission is to create an environment where kids can come learn age-appropriate lessons and grow at their own pace. We also want to make it a place where parents can feel comfortable dropping their kids off. They can trust the teachers to take care of their kids for 8 to 10 hours a day. We really just want to be a light to these families who need some support. 

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Padgett: My wife and I currently have a toddler in child care, so we have seen first-hand what works and what doesn’t. We have a lot of friends who also have kids, and they share their stories. We are going to be taking that experience and applying it to the type of culture we create with Lightbridge, taking those personal experiences and incorporating them into our business. 

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

Padgett: Take your time, ask a lot of questions and make sure you are comfortable with everybody on the team. You should have as many conversations with current franchise owners as possible. Their experiences were very valuable information for me and my wife. 

About Lightbridge Academy: 

Established in 1997, the company was founded as a family business based on core values and a Circle of Care philosophy that places equal importance on the needs of children, their families, teachers, center owners and the community. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Lightbridge Academy provides quality early education and child care programs to children aged six weeks through kindergarten. The company currently has over 140 child care centers either open or in development throughout Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. In response to COVID-19, Lightbridge Academy launched The Lightbridge Promise as the Gold Standard for health & safety in the child care industry. In 2020, the company was featured on the Inc. 5000 ranking, Franchise Times Top 200+ awards, and on Newsweek’s 2021 list of America’s Best Customer Service. For the 2nd year in a row, Lightbridge Academy was on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies. In 2023, Lightbridge Academy was featured for the 9th year on Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500.