On this episode of the InNOLEvation® Mindset, host Mark McNees interviews Chelsea Noble, owner of Twinkle Toes Nanny in Tallahassee, a franchise nanny placement agency providing background-checked caregivers for babysitting, part-time, and full-time in-home care with backup support and an hourly pricing model rather than large placement fees. Chelsea shares the company’s origins (founded in Gainesville in 2011 by Kristi Beckmeyer), her path from FSU hospitality undergraduate (2018) and FSU Foundation/Student Affairs roles to earning a master’s in hospitality entrepreneurship (2022) and buying the existing Tallahassee location in May 2025 while pregnant. They discuss the franchise purchase process, her husband’s support, managing 1099 caregivers (often college students), negotiating pay for long-term placements, lessons on boundaries and work-life balance, community engagement through the Chamber and Jim Moran Institute programs, and her advice to “make the mistakes” and learn from them.
Website and Social media addresses:
https://twinkletoesnanny.com/locations/tallahassee
https://www.facebook.com/twinkletoesnannytally/
https://www.instagram.com/twinkletoesnannytally/?hl=en
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:37 Twinkle Toes Origin Story
01:29 Fixing Nanny Agency Fees
03:52 Chelsea Background and FSU Path
14:59 Buying While Pregnant
16:36 Franchisee Process Explained
19:43 Nannies vs Families as Clients
22:52 Early Wins and Hard Lessons
27:09 Chamber and JMI Growth Programs
30:54 JMI Peer Groups Explained
33:12 Personal Growth Origins
36:40 Learning Academia Startup Life
40:10 Scaling the Nanny Business
48:38 Work Life Boundaries
52:49 Defining Financial Freedom
55:12 Pitching and Teaching Entrepreneurship
59:34 Leadership Weight and Final Advice
