Necessity Fuels Entrepreneurial Mom

Last updated Thursday, May 29, 2008 5:12 PM CDT in Business

By Pamela Hill
The Morning News

She decided to start her own mothers' support and activity group when she couldn't find one to join. The choices were limited, waiting lists long and membership fees too high.

So Leis created the Bentonville Meet-up Moms last summer. The group now has 171 members and a Web site, www.nwamoms.org.

"It's turned into a huge deal for me. It all just started because I wanted a support group," Leis said.

The group has several activities each week - some with kids, some just for moms. Play dates are just the tip of the mommy iceberg. Individual members also plan activities and help keep the group running, Leis said. The result is weight-loss groups, book clubs, restaurant outings, movie nights.

Members pick what fits their schedules and needs.

Play-Care, the hourly day-care service that now employs four, followed in September.

"Sometimes you need some help, whether it's to go to an appointment, a part-time job, or you just need to get out," Leis said. "It helps give mothers and kids the interaction they need."

Play-Care, which is licensed by the state, requires a one-time enrollment fee of $35. The service is then $7 per hour. There are some pre-pay plans to use a certain number of hours a week or month and those are either $5 or $6 an hour, depending on the plan. Leis also offers unlimited drop-off in the summer for $350 month. (Other details on the service can be found at www.play-care.com.)

Play-Care has a director and teachers for each class. They focus on creative, educational activities for kids and ensure a safe environment, Leis said.

The service can only handle 24 kids at one time, but currently average about half that on any given day, Leis said. Most of the children are 6 and under, but Leis is considering an after-school program.

Elaine Sanders, office manager for the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce, said she's not aware of any other hourly daycares in the city.

The hourly service and moms' group, the fees to which are covered by Play-Care funds, are especially popular with people new to the area.

Holly Jones taught music and directed a girls' chorus in Michigan before she moved to Bella Vista three years ago with her husband, who'd taken a job at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. home office.

They had a son a year after moving here and Jones knew she wanted to stay home with him. But she'd always worked outside the home and found she still needed some outlet to socialize and meet people in her new town.

"I searched online and came across the Meet-Ups," Jones said. "It's been absolutely great for both of us (her and her son). A lot of people are in the same boat as me: New to the area and just starting out with kids."

Jones also uses Play-Care. She doesn't want her child in daycare full-time but often needs help for a few hours.

"It's very convenient that way. It all goes back to not having someone who can baby-sit," she said.

Nikoya Mills of Bentonville stumbled across Play-Care when she was looking online for a moms' group.

"I just wanted something a couple of days a week to let my daughter play with other kids," Mills said. "And I don't have any family out here. I'm one of the only stay-at-home moms on the block. If I had an appointment or something, it put me in a bind."

With Play-Care, she only has to pay for the hours her daughter is there. And having evening care has allowed her and her husband to go out to dinner or see a movie together.

Lisa Caplan-Miller, program director for the National Association of Mothers' Centers, said groups like Leis' are important resources for mothers.

"Parenting is really hard. We talk about it in the United States as such as valuable job but we really don't set it up and support it as such," Caplan-Miller said. "Having support and talking to other parents is crucial."

The New York-based National Association for Mothers' Centers supports 40 non-profit centers across the country where parents can meet and discuss issues. The 33-year-old association also advocates on behalf of mother and parenting issues.

"You learn from each other. We look at it as building stronger families," Caplan-Miller said. "It helps you remember who you are as a person."

Leis has been named one of 36 finalists in the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund program. Winners receive $5,000 to help fund a project or idea that empowers women. One winner is chosen for each of 15 weeks.

Leis, whose children are now 4 and 2, said she'll use the money to make improvements and buy more supplies and equipment for Play-Care if she wins the prize.

Overhead costs and an uncertain revenue are probably the main reason more daycares do not offer hourly services, said Roseann Jones, owner and director of Bright Ideas Learning Center in Bentonville.

"I think there's a need for it, definitely," Jones said. "When my kids were little, they were 13 months apart and I had to take them everywhere with me."

Jones, whose center has been open 13 months, does offer a daily or hourly drop-in service. Children have to be registered and provide shot records. Parents must give two days advance notice, Jones said, to ensure availability. Drop-in for a full day is $35 or $5 an hour for up to six hours.

However, Jones said only one person has used the drop-in service in the 13 months Bright Ideas has been open.

"I don't have many people who ask about it. I think if more people knew about it. Most just think you have to pay full-time all the time," Jones said.

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