Sprouts About "Mompreneur"
By CHRIS FREEMAN - cfreeman@nwherald.com
LAKE IN THE HILLS – Raising four children has brought plenty of experience to Laura Hopkins, a Drop In Childcare Licensee, a trait she hopes to use in her next career.
Hopkins is preparing to open Sprouts About, a drop-in day care center at 61 Polaris Drive in Lake in the Hills. The plan is to combine a traditional day-care facility with extended hours and flexible schedules to allow parents to bring children in for an hour or two at a time.
“My kids taught me this is something I was really good at,” she said. “I never would have thought of myself as an early childhood teacher ... but with Sprouts About, I’ll be able to.”
The idea has rattled around in Hopkins’ head for years, she said. But after unsuccessfully searching for drop-in care centers the first time the idea came up, Hopkins found some help after her most recent search.
Sprouts About has partnered with DropInChildCare.com in its preparation for its opening.
“When I looked again, I found DropInChildCare.com and [founder Julie Anne MacKinnon] out of Ohio,” Hopkins said. “She runs four centers like this and had a licensing program. I consider her a consultant, really, and I paid her and she gave me pretty much everything – all the rules for Illinois, and she helped every step of the way.” That help was key, Hopkins said, because she was anxious about starting her own business for the first time.
“Because [MacKinnon is] six years into it, she’s got a lot of experience and she shares it with me, so I don’t feel like I’m doing it all on my own,” she said. “I wanted to find a partner who wanted to do it with me, and this way I did.”The center, which is expecting to open in September, will be open until 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It also will be a state-licensed day care facility, meaning that parents of children from 6 weeks to 12 years old will have five forms to fill out to register them.
Once registered, though, they could sign up for part-time or full-time care, or swing by to drop the children off for an hour or two at a time when they are busy or need time alone, Hopkins said.“So many parents do not fit into the only model of day care that was available,” she said. “I want to help those parents that could really use a safe place and know that I abide by the standards the state sets.
“Being a stay-at-home mom for 11 years ... people like me don’t really have a break – if you work at an office, even if you have a lunch hour you have an hour to yourself. Stay-at-home moms don’t have that.”The location was important to Hopkins as well. Although she said that finding a site near a strip mall that had grass accessible for outdoor play was a challenge.
“Once we found one, getting the village to approve it was another hurdle,” said Hopkins, whose initial plan was rejected before being approved. “Plus we wanted it to be central – right by movies, restaurants, shopping, the doctor office – to make it for parents to be able to use it.”Hopkins said she is still going through the hiring process – the center will have six employees at full capacity – but even before she has opened the doors, the word of mouth has been growing.
“So far it’s been excellent,” she said. “Every person has been extremely helpful.“Most of the phone calls that I have received have been mostly for part time during the day and also into the evenings. That’s something that’s really different about me.”
From her first venture as a business owner to the late hours she expects to keep, a number of things appear to be different about Hopkins and Sprouts About.“Kids definitely come into your life and make things crazy; you turn into a juggler,” she said. “I think my experience being a mom and learning how to do everything, how to connect with people and be open to meeting new people, really helps.”
