Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/meet-cover-directors-butch-and-pat-cronon-hand-n-hand-child-care-enrichment-center-orlando-florida/5010215/
Pat and Butch Cronon tell their story with warmth and humor and a heavy dose of wonder:"What a joy it is for us to have this business; but what an adventure, what a struggle it has been! Hand n' Hand provides care for 211 children in 1995; but we opened five and a half years ago with only 17. Like most entrepreneurs, we operate on hope and a prayer. "
It began as a dream. Pat was interested in child care issues even though their own children (now in college, then in middle school) were cared for in ways other than formal group care during all the years that Pat worked. And she wanted to make a difference, to have an impact on children's lives, so she went back to school. The idea that evolved was to open a program for young children near a worksite so that parents could be involved in their child's care. Pat started writing a business plan.
Meanwhile, Butch left AT&T and joined a small telephone company as a way to keep their family in Florida and prepare for a new venture. From a managerial perspective, Butch was intrigued by ...