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Mom-Mobile

Car service for children to or to/from sports practice and games.

My prototypical customer would be busy parents of children in sports. These parents would be working parents either with unique work hours, parents of multiple children, single parents or parents that may have jobs that do not allow them much time off.  These parents are hard working. They are trying to do the best they can for their children. I can relate to this group of people as I am one, a prototypical customer. Since I do fall into this group, for the purposes of this assignment, I am going to use the term "we" to describe us. 

These parents, depending on their individual circumstances, are often working long hours to provide the most for their children, to provide them with toys, popular clothing, joining sports for entertainment, skill development or health reasons. I would say we range in age from early twenties to late forties. We often don't have much time of our own. We may or may not participate in these sports activities with our children at home in our free time. I can only speak for myself, but as a single parent, I try to practice volleyball with my daughter as I can. I often find myself trying to take care of the daily chores of life while she is doing something else. We often have to juggle meals, play time, transportation, school, practices and down time, if there is any. If these parents are anything like me, they are just waiting until bedtime rolls around so they can have a little time to themselves. If their children are young, the parents typically don't have any hobbies as they are mostly just trying to survive the chaos. They may have some favorite shows like Game of Thrones or something that comes on after the kids are in bed. We often drive SUV's, minivans and large Suburban type vehicles, "mom-mobiles" or "grocery getters," as I have heard them called. You can spot us anywhere. We are usually the ones who look extremely tired. 

   

My Secret Sauce

5 ways that I think I have human capital that sets me apart:

1. I am super friendly and social. I rarely meet someone without leaving with a new friend or acquaintance. I have a tendency to make people feel at ease around me.
2. I care. I genuinely care about people.  I really care about children. My business would be about the children, I would care for them like I do my own child.
3. I am loyal. Once I reach a certain level of friendship or business relationship with someone, I am fiercely loyal.
4. I take no crap. I am firm, but fair.
5. I tend to have a different perspective of things. I try to be a decent human and not be selfish all the time. I think that selfishness is human nature, but I really try to take a step back and understand the situation and do what's best for the whole, not just myself.

I interviewed 5 people who know me the best, who have been with me through the good, the bad and the ugly. My interviewees are as follows:

• My best friend, Kristi. She knows me better than I know myself. We have been friends for almost 25 years. 
• My friend Dayna. We have known each other for over 10 years, but have become much closer in the last 5-6 years.
• My friend Tamara. We have been friends a little over 4 years. We met, instantly clicked and have been thick as thieves since.
• My Dad. He has been there for almost 38 years. We got much closer after my mom passed. I think he knows me pretty well. 
• My Aunt Carol. She, too, has been there for almost 38 years. She is the only family member that I have stayed in contact with throughout my life and I once lived with her. I think she knows me pretty well too.  

There really was no difference in what they had to say about me and what I thought about myself. I think that I have been blessed to go through trials in life and survive them. I am able to take a step back and see who I really am and see my worth. I am pleased to see that I have a pretty spot on sense of self. It didn't make it to the recording, but Tamara stated that I "have been refined by fire." It took 38 years, 3 states, 3 colleges, 20 years of working full time, one child, an impending divorce, salvation and a whole lot of sh!t in between to see who I really am and I kinda like me.  

The general consensus is that I'm a pretty alright person. Every single one of them said that they enjoy being around me because of my personality and humor. Kristi and my Aunt Carol touched on some things from the emotional category that others didn't, I can get angry and can be fierce when pushed too much. They are right. I feel that I give people ample opportunity to redeem themselves or their behaviors, but I am a firm believer in 3 strikes. Kristi also touched on my knowledge of the law, which is good to have in any business situation.  I think that everyone said pretty much the same thing, that I have diverse knowledge, am helpful, cheerful and am all around pretty happy person.

I think the funniest part of this assignment was talking to people about my emotions. Dayna busted out laughing saying that I can get overly invested in things emotionally and Tamara did too, to an extent, although Tamara feels that I am more guarded with my emotions.  Clearly, Aunt Carol, Daddy and Kristi have seen me get upset over things and know where my boundaries lie. I guess that is to be expected since I have been around them the longest.

Halfway Reflection

 

I have really enjoyed the first half of this semester. I don't know that I want to be an entrepreneur, but it definitely has gotten my wheels turning and it has been a pleasure seeing what ideas that our classmates have come up with. 

This class has definitely made me feel a little uncomfortable. Just in the sense that I don't like putting my ideas out there for people to critique. It has taken me out of my comfort zone, but in a good way. I have realized that there are many different opinions and they aren't all bad. It has also made me a little more receptive to constructive criticism. 

The only thing that really made me feel like giving up is just not having enough time. With a very busy life and a short semester, I just haven't had time to complete all the assignments. I have grown to really appreciate the steps to possibly making an idea come to fruition. If anything, I found that there was a time or two when I didn't try as hard as I could to get all my interviews in for specific assignments, but in those instances the opportunity always presented itself so I took advantage. No matter how short the interview was, I took the opportunity to record it, post it and complete the specific assignment. I felt that if I didn't just do it when it was right in front of my face, I was a fool. I tried not to let laziness get in my way. I guess that mindset has come from this class. 

Three tips that I would have for someone who was taking this class is:

1. Just do it. No matter how uncomfortable you are, if you do the assignment the chance is pretty good that you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome. It will be uncomfortable, but worth it. The assignments are not hard. You will learn a lot and get a pretty easy A.  

2. If you just can't bare the thought of taking off on your own to do interviews or if you are like me and feel that you are a terrible interviewer, practice with friends. Or take a friend with you. If you just need that moral support in the beginning, take a friend with you. It's okay if they laugh when you stumble over words or repeat yourself three times. Most people understand that you are nervous and you may have trouble talking to strangers. 

3. Be patient with yourself. It's okay to fail or feel like you have failed. You probably won't or haven't, but if you feel that way, it's okay. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back out there and get that A!  It does get easier! 

4. And a little extra advice - read ahead!!! Don't get caught trying to cram 5 interviews into 1 day. 

     

Reading Reflection No. 1

For my first book, I read Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life by Lisa Chaney,

What a great book! If you are interested in Chanel, the brand, or Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the individual, I highly recommend it!

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. What an incredible woman, What an incredible life. I was most surprised by her resilience. Going through all the things that she went through, in life, I would have given up. Just given up. She started out with a terrible childhood. She lost her entire family either through abandon or death. The amount of great loss that she experienced in her life would be looked at as debilitating, but she ended up using it to her advantage. I am not going to lie, along with her resilience, the fact that she may have prostituted herself out to keep afloat in her younger years REALLY surprised me. I found this a bit scandalous, but according to the cook, this was not uncommon at that time.

Gabrielle's resilience and tenacity are the things that I admire the most about her. She didn't give up and she dared to be bold, to be different. As a person who hates ordinary, I absolutely loved this about her. She experienced adversity from her peers. She was quite the talk of the town, being so daring with wearing pants and going against the common "flare" of the time. She beamed with simple elegance, mostly noted by her admirers, both men and women. I didn't realize just the impact that this woman had in fashion and society. She thought outside the box and didn't give a damn what others thought. This may have hindered her in the beginning of her career, but she did not let that deter her. She had a vision and stayed steady.

I don't know that there was anything that I didn't admire about this woman. Personally, I might not have done the things she did, but that was a different time. If there was something that I wouldn't admire about her, it would be the use of others or the alleged prostitution, but this could also be construed as  ingenuity.

Gabrielle had an incredible understanding for fashion, networking and business. It was said, in the book, that she made this all look easy. That is a great leader. A great entrepreneur. She had a knack for being around the right people at the right times, whether through networking or through finding them on her own. She always knew the right people to help her with what she wanted or needed. I feel this came from the men in her life. She was a mistress to a few men and she had the foresight to learn from those men and have them help her create her empire through investments, teaching her the ins-and-outs of business and networking.

I think the most confusing thing about this reading was all the french terms. I kept looking people up to see what they looked like and looking up terms so that I could know what I was reading. Trying to keep all these straight was confusing. There is so much missing from Gabrielle's life story, we may never know the real story, but from what Lisa Chaney was able to piece together, we can get a pretty good idea.

If I had the chance to sit down with Gabrielle today, I would ask her if it were worth it. Was it worth giving up family life and being lonely and secluded to have this life that she created? As a woman, I think women can have it all, but at what cost. Was the price that she paid too high, and would she do it all over again? Would she have tried to settle down with the only man that she ever loved? Would she have tried to be tamed by Arthur Capel? I hope not, but given the time period, it was uncommon for women to be as bold as she was. I know that I should probably ask her questions about her business decisions, but I would be far more interested in her personal life and how that factored into her business. So many men played into what she became, I would want to know why, if these handful of men helped create her fashion house, she felt no obligation to stay with them. I believe that is where her strong personality and feminism come into play. I know that she had foresight and a dream of what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go for it, but I would want to know, in her words why the drive to keep on and move past these men. I am enthralled with her personal life.

I believe that Gabrielle had a strong work ethic. She was constantly at work, even when she wasn't at the stores. As I have previously said, it was stated in the book that she made this look easy. It was her head seamstress that said this of her. She made it look like she was casually coming into the stores to check on things and then leaving in her chauffeured Rolls Royce. Behind the scenes, she was not only sketching these amazing works of art for people to wear, She was managing a fashion house, on her own. She was employing seamstresses and clerks, making sure things stayed in order. The seamstress also stated that she would host dinner parties and attend affairs of royalty and such. She was not merely attending parties and hosting dinner parties, these affairs were major connections. Her attendance was necessary to further her fashion house. Through the people that she met at these gatherings, she was introduced to other artists from other countries with whom she would import their textiles and what not. She was constantly working...and maybe having some fun while doing it. I don't know that I would share her work ethic to her degree. I do believe that to have a thriving business, it needs to be a top priority, but I don't want it to be my main priority and be the one thing that is behind every single thing that I do or decision I make.

 

Idea Napkin No. 1

Mom-Mobile

The Bigger Picture

For those of you just coming onto my blog, my concept is a car service for children, specifically children who are in afterschool activities such as sports. 

You: I am a mom. A single mother that holds down a full-time job, while going to school and raising a VERY active soon-to-be 9 year old daughter. I have also worked in childcare and have been a preschool teacher. I can now add volleyball coach to my resume, which is what got my wheels turning in the first place. I am pretty good with kids, firm but fair. My aspirations would be to have a reputable service that caters to children ages 6-16. I care about reputation when it comes to my kid and I know that other parents do too, so it is important for me to have a safe, reputable business that serves children. 

What are you offering to customers? I would be offering safe transportation for children to get to or to/from practices. It's a paid car-pool service. I would also be offering part-time jobs to moms who otherwise would be stay-at-home moms. With these jobs, they would be able to take their children with them, they would not have to worry about child care while working.

Who are you offering it to? I am offering it to parents: single parents, very busy parents, parents with odd work hours, parents of multiple children.

Why do they care? They care about their children. They want their children to be active so they sign them up for sports, but they can't always get them to practice on time. Their children have to miss out on practice, maybe because one child is sick and the parent can't get out or maybe both parents have to work late on a day that practice is scheduled. They don't want their child to miss out. 

What are your core competencies? I am a mother of a child who is in this age range, who is also active in spring and fall sports. I have also been employed with the State Attorney's Office for over 10 years so I KNOW what goes on in our world and have a sensitivity to it. I think what I would have that no one else does is extra security measures for that very reason. I would have an alert system, notifying the parent of when the child was picked up and dropped off at practice as well as a webcam in the car so the parent could log on and see that the child was secured in the vehicle. It has also been suggested that I have GPS tracking in place as well, which I will be looking into. The drivers would also go through a Level II background check, have a test drive (or two) and random drug screens. We all want our children to be safe, but can't always be with them. I completely understand that position and want to create a business that people can trust and rely on. 

I believe that these elements do fit together. I believe that I have experience, both as a parent and as a provider. Like some of my feedback has said, this is something that parents already do for free. I agree. I have done it. I have picked up players and coaches and taken them to practice. What about the players that don't have someone close to take them? What about the players that might not know anyone, that are new to town? There are 1,000 "what ifs." There will be parents who would not put their kid in a care to save their life and that is fine, I understand that and appreciate it. My whole idea is based on a concept that is primarily for the children, but also fills a need for the parent.          

Testing the Hypothesis - Part II

In Testing the Hypothesis - Part I, I found that there is a need for my opportunity, a kids car service. For right now, this service would be primarily for extracurricular activities such as sports practice, karate or dance.

In Part I, the demographic was established, parents with children ages 6-16, mostly working parents, were in great need of this type of service. For Part II,  I found people in the same demographic, but that may not have this need. What I actually found were more people who were in need of this type of service. 

I conducted a few interviews, and admittedly I sought out people who I thought would not use this service at all, for one reason or another. I was actually wrong. Whether people were just trying to be nice and supportive, I'm not sure, but before conducting the interviews, I asked for an honest answer. I only had two people that have a solution to this problem, using family members or friends to get their children to practice. One person, a single dad on a set custody schedule, just makes the accommodations needed by taking off of work. One thing is clear though, there is undeniably a need for this type of service, but whether people would feel comfortable enough to use it or not is another question.

Inside the Boundary

• WHO: Busy parents with children ages 6-16 in extracurricular activities. 
• WHAT: The need is to get their/our children to practice on time and safely. If we can not do it ourselves.
• WHY: The need exists due to the fact that most parents have to work or have other obligations during the time that the child is to be at practice or an event. 

Outside the Boundary

• WHO: Stay at home parents with children ages 6-16. Parents with alternative means for children to get to practice.
• WHAT: There is no time constraint for these parents. They have accessible rides for their children. They are able to get off work in time to get their children there or are able to take vacation time. 
• WHY: They are already using their family and/or friends as resources to provide rides to these activities for their children. Safety precautions, they are skeptical of a service for their child.       

Elevator Pitch No.1

Good afternoon!

I am not really sure where I am going with this, as far as who I am pitching to for this first one, so I took the approach as to pitch to my potential customers. It's a large market, but a limited one also, especially for this class. At this point, I am not sure if I would need to pitch to investors. I welcome any feedback that you may have.

My business opportunity is a car service for children who are active in extracurricular actives, Mom-Mobile. (That name is up for debate) As parents, we often find ourselves short on time with lots of activities on our schedule. Our children have sports practice or dance lessons that they need to attend. These practices are vital for group activities, teaching our children valuable skills. We want our children growing up to be an active part of our community, but often have trouble getting them to these functions. My solution would help solve a good bit of these time management issues. As a single parent, I have safety concerns for my daughter.  I do not want her going with a stranger to these events, however I often can not get her there. The answer to this is carefully screening stay-at-home moms who are often going to these practices/lessons anyway. Why not put some money in these mom's pockets while ensuring that our children can safely arrive to and participate in the activities of their choice.