Client Spotlights
Celeste Rivers
Mommy's Best Friend
New Brunswick, NJ
Celeste Rivers considers her path to entrepreneurship a divine gift. After a corporate restructuring, Celeste’s Human Resources position was in flux, and she felt that she needed a change. She says she remembers it like it was yesterday. It was June of 2012. She went to sleep one night, had a dream, and when she woke up, she knew what she was meant to do.
Rivers started planning her childcare center immediately. It became her passion, and she started researching and taking the classes she felt she needed to prepare for opening a childcare center. She renovated her basement and garage to create an in-home childcare facility. It was very important to Celeste that the program be both educational and fun. The program included an educational curriculum and field trips.
As a NJ state-registered in-home childcare provider, Mommy’s Best Friend II was limited to only five children. It wasn’t long before there was a waitlist, and Celeste knew she needed a bigger space. Rivers says it felt like it happened overnight. An acquaintance of her husband’s mentioned that they knew a person selling a business.
She says, “He gave me the information. I went out, and I looked at this place, and I said, this is it. This is where we are going to be.” In her new space, Mommy’s Best Friend II can care for up to 30 children.
UCEDC met Mrs. Rivers in 2022 when she was accepted into the Virtual Incubator Program (VIP), which helps businesses with ownership from an underserved population sustain themselves through education and access to capital. Celeste says, “The training department at UCEDC is absolutely phenomenal,” and the VIP gave her a wealth of information that she still utilizes today. She explains that though she knew a great deal about childcare, the program helped her on the business side of things, including how to manage finances, bookkeeping, and taxes.
Celeste remains in contact with her VIP mentor, UCEDC Training Officer Alejandro Cruz, and she says that she continues to gain knowledge that aids in her success more than a year after completing the program.
