Building a Calmer Parenting Experience: How Alisa Khakhar Grew Love Montessori
There are some businesses that begin because somebody spots a commercial opportunity.
And then there are the ones that begin because something changes the way you see your own life.
For Alisa Khakhar, founder of Love Montessori and a finalist for Content Marketing Award of the Year, that shift came while she was living in Sydney and looking for a nursery for her then two-year-old.
She discovered Montessori, became fascinated by the philosophy, trained as an educator and eventually built a business around helping other parents understand their children in a calmer, more confident way.
What began as a side project in 2021 is now a full-time business with its own dedicated venue in St Albans.
Montessori Is More Than A Nursery Style
One of the first things Alisa wanted to clarify in our conversation was what Montessori actually is.
It is often associated with certain toys, nurseries or beautifully organised shelves, but the philosophy goes much deeper than the aesthetic.
“Our children are born with everything they need.”
For Alisa, Montessori is about creating an environment where children are given more space to explore, make choices and learn through their own experiences.
Instead of the adult constantly directing what happens next, the role becomes more about guiding and supporting.
That shift has shaped Love Montessori from the beginning.
The child is learning, but so is the parent.
From Side Business To Full-Time
Alisa launched Love Montessori in 2021, in the first week that baby and toddler classes were allowed to reopen after lockdown.
At the time, she was still working full-time in marketing and recruitment within higher education.
For several years, she built Love Montessori alongside that career before finally making the decision to go all in.
Last September, she left her job and moved the business into its own permanent venue.
Before that, she spent four years setting up an entire Montessori environment inside a community centre every time she ran a session.
“I would set up a whole entire Montessori classroom from scratch.”
Anyone who runs equipment-heavy classes will know exactly what that means.
Early starts.
Loading.
Unloading.
Setting up.
Packing away.
Then doing it all again.
Having her own venue gave Alisa the opportunity to create the environment exactly as she wanted it and leave it ready for families.
Creating A Space Where Parents Can Exhale
The venue is not just about convenience.
Alisa wanted somewhere that felt welcoming to parents as much as children.
A kettle going.
A familiar environment.
Somewhere aesthetically calm and carefully prepared.
A place where new parents can arrive, perhaps feeling nervous about walking into a group for the first time, and immediately feel that they can settle.
She describes wanting people to “land softly” in the space.
That phrase captures a lot of what Love Montessori is trying to create.
The sessions are built around:
- Independent exploration for children
- Practical Montessori activities
- Food preparation, art and movement
- Parent education and discussion
- Support around common parenting challenges
- A calm, non-judgemental environment
Alisa sees herself less as a traditional teacher and more as a guide.
The goal is not for everybody to sit and watch her.
In fact, she says the ideal Montessori session is one where somebody could walk into the room and struggle to identify who the teacher actually is.
The Impact Happens Between Classes Too
One of the most interesting parts of Love Montessori is that the impact often becomes visible after families go home.
Parents come to Alisa with the very normal overwhelm of early family life.
Am I doing enough?
Am I doing too much?
Why are the tantrums happening?
Should my child be sharing yet?
How do we approach toilet learning?
How can I encourage more independence without creating even more work for myself?
Alisa helps parents understand what may be happening developmentally, then gives them practical ideas to try at home.
The most rewarding moments are when they return the following week and tell her something has shifted.
“That penny drop aha moment. That makes so much sense.”
Those changes do not always need to be huge.
Sometimes it is simply adjusting a play area, changing the way something is offered or understanding that a behaviour is developmentally normal.
The result can be a child who feels more capable and a parent who feels less as though they are getting everything wrong.
Making The Venue Work As A Business
Of course, having your own venue brings a very different financial reality.
Alisa is open about that too.
“It’s a big cost.”
The community hall may have involved a huge amount of physical work, but it was cheaper.
A permanent venue means rent, responsibility and those unexpected moments when somebody messages you from your premises while you are in Costa Rica to say water is coming through the ceiling.
That is the glamorous side of business ownership nobody puts in the brochure.
To make the space more sustainable, Alisa is opening it up to aligned providers when she is not running Love Montessori sessions herself.
The developing hub now includes or is welcoming providers such as:
- Basking Babies
- Mini First Aid
- Sleep support workshops
- Other specialists supporting parents and young families
It is a smart next stage for the business because it makes better commercial use of the venue while strengthening what Alisa wants the space to represent.
Not just a Love Montessori classroom.
A trusted place for parents.
Content That Extends Beyond The Room
Alisa’s work also naturally lends itself to content because so much of her value sits in education.
Parents may attend a weekly session, but the questions they have do not disappear when they leave the building.
That is why she is developing more online workshops and courses around Montessori parenting and everyday family challenges.
It also allows Love Montessori to support families who are nowhere near St Albans.
One of Alisa’s most important messages is that families do not need access to a Montessori nursery, school or expensive collection of specialist products to benefit from the philosophy.
“You are their first teacher and home is their first learning environment.”
That makes the content side of the business incredibly powerful.
The physical venue creates depth.
The online content creates reach.
Building The Business Around What Parents Actually Need
Love Montessori has changed significantly since that first class in 2021.
It has moved from a side business to Alisa’s full-time work, from community halls to a dedicated venue and from local sessions into an increasingly broader mix of education and online support.
But the underlying idea has stayed remarkably consistent.
Help parents understand their children.
Give children an environment where they can become more independent.
And make family life feel a little less overwhelming.
That clarity is what gives the business so many different directions to grow in without losing its identity.
Watch the Full Interview
In our full conversation, Alisa shares how she discovered Montessori, the reality of taking on a permanent venue, the parenting challenges she sees every week and why she believes some of the most powerful changes families can make are also the simplest.
👉 Watch Alisa’s full finalist interview here.
If you are thinking about how your own class business could grow beyond the session itself, The Class Business Live on Saturday 10 October 2026 is a chance to explore those ideas with people who understand the reality behind them. From venues and new revenue streams to content, partnerships and customer experience, it is a day built around practical conversations with other providers, finalists, judges and sponsors.
Then we will come back together that evening for The Class Business Awards & Afterparty at the National Conference Centre in Solihull.
Join us for The Class Business Live and Awards.
