How does a professional basketball player become a leader in childcare marketing?
That’s the journey of Jeromie Hill, the founder of Helppli, a full-service marketing and enrollment agency serving childcare providers across the U.S. and Australia. In a recent conversation, Jeromie shared how his unique background, data-driven mindset, and passion for early education are helping childcare businesses grow smarter and more sustainably.
From Pro Athlete to Childcare Advocate
“My original background is actually a sporting background,” Jeromie said. “So I was a professional basketball player. I played college basketball in the United States in Texas and then played professionally in Sydney in Australia for a couple of years.”
After his athletic career, Jeromie leveraged his business degree and found himself naturally drawn to childcare—thanks in part to connections with sponsors who owned centers.
“It just sort of happened naturally... I went to college, I got my master's degree, I had that sort of business background. I wanted to get into business, but what industry I was unsure. And I just met the right people that had that background in childcare, and opportunities came up.”
He never looked back: “I've got a three-year-old of my own now. And so I know the importance of childcare and making sure they have the right start before the age of five.”
Lessons from the Field: From YMCA to Little Zaks
Jeromie’s career has spanned diverse roles in the childcare ecosystem:
“The first step was working for the YMCA actually... then had an opportunity to go and work for a company called Mindchamps... then worked with a big group in Australia called Little Zaks and also helped them launch a childcare tech platform.”
That tech platform? An Uber-style tool for matching childcare centers with casual educators:
“If you need casual staff, just like Uber, you’ll put in your request. It'll ping everybody in a 20-kilometre radius... and it automatically fills shifts.”
This experience taught Jeromie what operators need most: simplicity, scale, and smart marketing.
Site Selection: The Key to Sustainable Growth
Expansion is top of mind for many providers in 2025, but Jeromie warns against rushing into it blindly:
“A lot of people rushed into opening childcare centers and it's created a bit of over-saturation... A lot of centers have had a hard time recently.”
The solution? Data-driven site selection.
“We call it the child ratio between the number of children and the available childcare places in that catchment. The ratio that we're looking for is anything between 2.4 and above. Pretty much anything above 2.4, we can fill to 100%.”
He also highlights the importance of geography and accessibility:
“There's literally been a scenario where we've had a center on a really busy road... 95% of the children were on one side of the highway... because just across that highway would take 10, 15 minutes.”
Hyper-Local Marketing That Works
Digital ads are important, but Helppli also empowers clients to embed themselves in their local communities.
One example?
“A partnership with the local coffee shop. And every Monday morning between 10 and 11:30, the childcare center would sponsor free coffee for mum and bub... and here's just a business card saying who's paying for it.”
This created goodwill and brand awareness with no sales pitch required. Another grassroots favorite:
“They'll run a baby and me program at the center. And not for enrolled families, but for families that are with newborns, they're currently on mat leave... Those baby and me groups have been truly successful.”
Scaling Through Systems
Jeromie explains that what works for one center can usually be replicated:
“You can create templates, processes and systems and you can reuse and repurpose those for new centers... You can set up drip sequences, nurture campaigns for one center, duplicate that over to the next center and then just localize.”
This kind of systematization made it possible to rapidly scale Little Zaks:
“Literally with Little Zaks, we scaled from 15 to 40 centers in a very short period, opening one new center per month.”
Centralized Enrollment: From Good to Great
A standout part of Helppli’s service is centralizing enrollments.
“We have some clients come on that have like four or five centers and they're not using LineLeader. They're using, you know, leads coming into their emails or spreadsheets... And the first thing I'd say is how did you do that?”
He compares poor lead management to flying with empty seats: a loss of both revenue and opportunity.
“Your profit is mostly that last 10%... I worked with one client... they had 15 locations. And we did the lost opportunity. And there was over $4 million that was just sitting on the sidelines.”
With the right tech and team in place:
“You’re going to convert at a higher rate. You're not going to lose leads... Contacting leads within the first hour... that’s all going to help with conversions.”
What Metrics Matter Most?
Jeromie focuses on four key numbers:
- “The number of leads you can produce per center.”
- “The conversion percentage from lead to tour complete.”
- “The conversion percentage from tour complete to enrolled.”
- “Your churn rate.”
Bonus metric? Staff happiness:
“If your staff are happy, your families are happy, your children are happy... If you're operationally good and you have enough children in the local area, marketing is just going to fill you so much quicker.”
Final Word: Don’t Wait to Get Strategic
Even centers at full occupancy need to stay proactive:
“It only takes one mega center to open up next door, and it's the new shiny thing... The only thing you have that will protect you is your trust within the community.”
If you're in growth mode, thinking about site selection, or just trying to fill a few more spots—Jeromie’s advice is clear:
“If you're serious about scaling, you have to have a tool like LineLeader... and you have to take enrollments very serious.”
Want more insight like this?
For help with childcare marketing, enrollments, or smart site expansion, explore Helppli and LineLeader. And don’t forget to subscribe for future interviews and childcare growth strategies!
Learn more about Jeromie and Helppli!
