It’s not easy to be a mom these days. There are so many more demands on working parents than there has ever been. It’s not just that they are working longer hours, they’re kids need more, too; they need help with hours of homework and they need someone to drive them to activity after activity.
HopSkipDrive is working to help solve one of those problems. Created by three working moms, HopSkipDrive is a car service for kids. Founders Joanna McFarland, Carolyn Yashari Becher and Janelle McGlothlin were facing the same problems that many parents do every day, which is how to get their kids to multiple places throughout the day. They felt there had to be a better solution so they came up with one.
HopSkipDrive is now operating in Los Angeles County and Orange County and is coming to San Francisco this month.
I talked to McGlothlin about how being moms has shaped their business, what they do to keep the kids that use the service safe and her plans for Mother’s Day.
On being a Mompreneur
“The fact that we’re parents really shaped all of the decisions we made. Because our children use this service, too. We really went into this trying to build a solution that we as parents felt confident in and felt was as safe as it could be for our kids.”
On Safety
“We call our drivers ‘caredrivers’ and that’s purposeful. We really see them as caregivers first and drivers second.”
“They have to have at least 5 years of caregiving experience, they pass a very stringent background check including fingerprinting – all of our drivers are on the Trustline registry, which is really the gold standard for caregivers in California. We also do regular DMV checks. We don’t allow our ‘caredrivers’ to have any points on their record. We want to make sure that their driving records are outstanding. We also meet every one of our drivers in person.”
The benefits of running a business as a mom
“I think as an entrepreneur you figure it out, and as a mom frankly. That’s kind of where the two sort of mesh together really well. Because you’re very good at thinking on your feet and solving those challenges when they come up. We do try as parents to make sure that people on our staff are able to go home and have dinner with their families and spend the time that they want to with their families, but it’s also when kids are in bed the computers come back out and we’re all online. As an entrepreneur there’s always something to do and so you’re constantly doing the juggle. But when you’re doing something that you love and that you feel is helping a lot of people, it’s worth every minute that you spend on it.”
On “leaning in”
“HopSkipDrive is a tool that a lot women can use to lean in … because a lot of times as professionals we’re encouraged to ‘lean in’ and to do all of this and ‘you can have it all,’ but no one has given us the tools to really support us in that. Joanna and Carolyn and I look at this company as a way to really help families spend more quality time together and to really allow their children to explore the world and to become the people that they want to be as well to have the freedom to get to all of their activities. We’re just really excited to make that happen and see all of the ways we’re impacting families across California.
On being a mom
“My fantasy of what being a mom would be like when I was younger and the reality of it are definitely different. For me, my favorite part of being a mom are the little moments with those little people, and sometimes not so little people anymore, when you’re so connected to the other person. You’re helping to shape who they’re becoming in the world and it’s just sort of magical to see the impact you’re having on a day to day basis. I think my favorite time is always the Sunday morning snuggles and the time one on one with my kids, because I do have three children, so the time when I get to spend with each one individually and the time I get to spend with these burgeoning personality and who they are as people it’s fun to watch and really an honor to be a part of.”
Mother’s day plans?
Honestly, I like to keep it simple…It’s time to be totally focused on the family and my kids.
*This is NOT a sponsored post.
