Contact a Child Care Business Broker

Key takeaways

Contact identity: Jason Taken · jason.taken@hedgestone.com · HedgeStone Business Advisors.
The first conversation is for defining the situation, fit, evidence needs, and next decision.
Sellers can begin with high-level operational facts; a complete data room is not required for the first call.
Buyers should describe a realistic buybox and management plan, not only a purchase-price range.
Do not email child names, birth dates, diagnoses, custody information, family contacts, background-check reports, or other sensitive records.

Which contact method should you use?

Use the short inquiry form above for an email follow-up about buying or selling. It asks for your name, email, timeline, and either your target geography as a buyer or your business’s city and state as a seller. Phone and a short message are optional. You can also use the calendar for a scheduled conversation or email Jason directly.

Contact path	Best use	What to include
Buyer or seller inquiry form above	A quick introduction and an email follow-up	Name, email, buyer or seller role, location or preferred geography, and approximate timeline
Introductory calendar call	A focused first discussion about a sale, acquisition, valuation question, or live opportunity	State, model, buyer or seller role, facility, timing, and the immediate decision
Email to jason.taken@hedgestone.com	A short written introduction or context before scheduling	The same high-level facts, with no sensitive child, family, employee, or account records

Jason Taken is a business broker, not a licensed child care director or educator. The introductory discussion is not legal, tax, licensing, lending, appraisal, insurance, or operating advice. Live decisions require current information from the appropriate agency and advisers.

Start with facts that establish the scope without identifying families or distributing a confidential file:

state and broad market area;
license and child care model;
single site or multi-site group;
leased facility, owned real estate, or both;
owner’s present job in the business;
approximate scale and enrollment context;
private-pay, subsidy, pre-K, employer, food-program, or other material revenue relationships;
reason for considering a sale and desired timing;
the most urgent concern, such as confidentiality, value, a lease, staffing, a license issue, or buyer readiness.

Do not email a parent roster or child-level report. Use de-identified IDs and minimum-necessary access for later analysis. Sensitive information should follow an NDA, controlled permissions, and counsel-approved procedures—not be attached to an introductory note.

A useful buyer introduction defines what you can own, operate, and finance. Include:

target states, metros, or travel radius;
center, preschool, Montessori, franchise, family child care home, school-age, infant/toddler, employer-sponsored, faith/nonprofit, or multi-site model;
preferred site count and scale;
whether you will work in the operation or rely on qualified management;
whether real estate is required, optional, or excluded;
approximate available capital and financing status;
prior operating, management, lending, or transaction experience;
timing and any center already under review.

Do not claim that you are “license ready” because you can hire a director. Ownership, controlling-person, director, background-check, application, and operating-authority requirements differ by state and license. Childcare.gov directs users to state and territory licensing systems because those agencies set and monitor the live requirements (Source: Childcare.gov, 2026).

If you expect SBA financing, remember that the U.S. Small Business Administration allows eligible 7(a) ownership-change and working-capital uses and publishes a $5 million maximum loan amount, but a participating lender must still approve the borrower and transaction (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 2026). Do not treat a program ceiling as your budget or assume a universal down payment.

What happens on the introductory call?

The call should clarify the exact business model, location, facility, owner role, stage, timeline, and decision. A seller may need to know whether the business is ready for a confidential marketing process. A buyer may need to define a buybox or determine whether a live opportunity justifies deeper diligence. Either party may need an evidence checklist or a map of the advisers and approvals involved.

The conversation may identify questions for a licensing agency, lender, attorney, CPA, landlord, franchisor, insurer, appraiser, inspector, or qualified child care operator. The broker’s job is to get the right questions to the right decision-maker in the right order.

What information helps after the first call?

If both sides decide to continue, organize records around the decision they support. Sellers can start with a monthly financial package, tax returns, a de-identified enrollment report, the staffing roster by role, the license and recent inspection history, and the lease or real-estate summary. Buyers can prepare liquidity evidence, a resume, an ownership chart, a management plan, target criteria, and financing contacts. Neither side should confuse a folder full of files with completed diligence.

Use consistent definitions. Label revenue by service month and payer. Separate enrollment headcount from paid full-time-equivalent enrollment, licensed capacity, staffed capacity, attendance, and the waitlist. Identify whether the owner serves as director, administrator, teacher, driver, cook, or billing contact. State whether the property is included, leased from the seller, or leased from a third party.

The next step may be a short evidence request rather than a full engagement. A seller could resolve an unexplained difference between billing and bank receipts. A buyer could ask the state agency about the exact ownership-change application. A landlord could clarify assignment consent. Addressing the controlling unknown first can save both parties time and protect confidential information that does not yet need to be shared.

What should you not send before a secure process exists?

Protect children, families, employees, and the business. Do not send:

child names, dates of birth, diagnoses, disability or health information;
custody, authorized-pickup, family contact, payment, or subsidy identifiers;
employee Social Security numbers, identity documents, medical information, or full background-check reports;
online banking, payroll, licensing-portal, alarm, camera, or software credentials;
unredacted tax returns, personal financial statements, or account numbers through an ordinary introductory email;
a center’s identity or address when the owner has asked for a blind process.

Childcare.gov’s background-check overview describes multiple federal check components and recurring checks, while state implementation varies (Source: Childcare.gov, 2026). Verification belongs in the controlled transaction process. Private reports do not belong in public marketing or an unrestricted shared folder.

How is confidentiality handled?

Before sharing identifying or sensitive materials, the parties may need a signed NDA, buyer qualification, restricted access, redaction, unique child IDs, a document log, and a communication plan.

For sellers, the timing of staff and family communication is especially important. Premature disclosure may create turnover or anxiety. Delayed disclosure can also create transition risk. The correct sequence depends on the state, transaction, license, agreements, and workforce facts. It should be coordinated with the licensing agency and counsel rather than copied from a national checklist.

What does the first call not do?

An introductory call does not create a guaranteed engagement or outcome. It does not establish a center’s market value, promise a listing, guarantee a buyer, approve a loan, determine license eligibility, or set a closing date. It also does not substitute for the written agreements that define representation, duties, fees, conflicts, confidentiality, or jurisdiction-specific requirements.

Jason and HedgeStone Business Advisors do not promise that a child care license transfers, that operations can continue through closing, or that a particular buyer can qualify. Those are live state-agency questions. Property access, including obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may also require facility-specific legal and professional review; the Department of Justice notes that privately run child care centers generally fall under ADA Title III, subject to important distinctions (Source: U.S. Department of Justice, 2026).

Contact Jason Taken

Jason Taken · jason.taken@hedgestone.com · HedgeStone Business Advisors. Bring one concrete decision to the conversation: whether to prepare for sale, how to define a buyer search, what evidence a center needs, or which approval may control the timeline.

Frequently asked questions

How do I contact Jason Taken?

Use the buyer or seller inquiry form on this page, email jason.taken@hedgestone.com, or book an introductory call using the calendar. Jason Taken is a business broker with HedgeStone Business Advisors. The form asks for contact details, location or target geography, and approximate timing. Keep sensitive business, child, family, and employee records out of your initial message.

Is the first call confidential?

The conversation is intended to be discreet, but an introductory call is not a substitute for a signed confidentiality agreement, engagement letter, or counsel-approved data protocol. Share high-level facts first. Sensitive center identity, employee information, financial files, and de-identified operating data can be handled through an appropriate staged process if the parties move forward.

What should a child care seller bring to the first call?

Bring the state, license and program model, whether the facility is leased or owned, the owner’s role, approximate revenue and enrollment context, desired timing, and the main concern. Exact financial and operating records can follow. Do not delay the first conversation because the data room is incomplete, and do not send child-level personal information.

What should a child care buyer bring to the first call?

Describe the states or metros, model, site count, preferred facility structure, owner role, management plan, capital range, financing status, timing, and prior operating or transaction experience. If you are reviewing a particular center, summarize the asking terms and the evidence received so far without sending identifiable child or family data.

Does an introductory call guarantee representation or a transaction?

No. An introductory call is a fit and scope conversation. It does not guarantee representation, a listing, an acquisition opportunity, financing, licensing approval, value, timing, or closing. Any engagement, duties, compensation, conflicts, and jurisdiction-specific requirements must be documented separately after the relevant facts are reviewed.

Sources

About the author: Jason Taken is a business broker with HedgeStone Business Advisors. He works nationwide across dozens of business verticals and brings a finance and lending background to acquisition and sale processes. He is not a licensed child care director or educator.

Last updated: September 20, 2026. Rules current as of September 2026; verify current requirements with the applicable licensing agency and professional advisers.