Deborah Harvin has run Edith’s Haven, her family child care business, for 20 years. She started it when she suddenly found herself divorced with three children. Child care already ran in her family: her mother provided care while Deborah was in college, and her sister worked in the field for 30 to 40 years. With that example, Deborah decided she could do it too.

Deborah says Edith’s Haven is "not a bucket of toys and a couch." It's a real preschool, run out of her home, where she opens her "home and heart" so children can grow every day. Her daughter grew up around the business and now wants to go into child care too, which Deborah says "reconfirms that I'm doing the right things."

There aren't many people of color in Colorado, so Deborah makes a point of reaching out to providers of color who are just starting. Her message to them: "It's going to be hard, but you can make it." Her main advice is to build a business that lasts.