By Jessica O. Swink
Editor, Small Business Insight
Photo by Paul Chin, Jr.
Hazel Mariano’s background as a pediatric nurse practitioner played a large role in her opening Rainbow Station at Virginia Beach. This preschool and child care facility is equipped with a Get Well Place, where mildly ill children can receive care and supervision while parents can continue with their daily routines.
“This really hooked me,” Mariano says. “There are a lot of things you can’t send children to school for, and this helps in that.”
Since opening the school in 2007, enrollment has increased each year, and the length of stay of each family is also a strength of business. Twenty percent of the total population of families who attend the school have been there since its opening.
Her definition of success comes in the form of a question: “Do you ever know (what success means)?”
“Success means you are always striving for a goal, and I’m a work in progress,” she explains. “I am always striving.”
Much time and energy has been poured into marketing the Get Well Place in local news outlets and even in Parents Magazine. Mariano has also signed a contract with Geico for their employee usage.
When asked what qualities women business owners bring to running a business, Mariano says that women may have a more nurturing approach.
“It’s not always black and white,” Mariano explains. “We bring more empathy to staff issues.”
She also says that by being a woman and a mother, parents have an easy time discussing their children and any issues that may come up.
To Mariano, every day is a testament to hard work and being confident in her skills and the dedication of her staff.
“You have to believe that your business is what you want to do,” Mariano says. “When you believe in it strongly, go for it.”
- Who were the other 2011 SBI Minerva Award Honorees? Click here to find out!
