Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.
My name is Janel Northington Williams. I am a mom of two teenage boys, I work full-time as a teacher and I own Mobile Mommies LLC event childcare service.
How did you get into event childcare?
When my children were younger, I was a single mom. Oftentimes, I would get invited to an after work event but I needed a babysitter for my boys. Both of my boys are on the Autism spectrum and babysitters were hard to come by. Not wanting to decline the invitations, I would have to bring my boys along but they would not sit still and it was very unnerving. I also noticed other moms would bring their children to the event and the kids would run around and cause a scene. My frustration with the situation had reached my limit so I decided to do something about the problem. From that point, I designed Mobile Mommies LLC to be an on-site childcare service to fit the needs of all parents who attend special events.
Describe your service/product you provide and how are you different from the rest.
Mobile Mommies is a non-traditional childcare service in that we provide childcare at the location of special events such as weddings, receptions and corporate parties. We bring the childcare to you! We don’t provide weekly in-home childcare. We don’t have a bunch of teenagers that show up at your house and text all night while they are supposed to be babysitting. We are professional, certified, licensed childcare providers with skills to care for children ages infant to 12yrs old including those with special needs. We travel to all locations in Ohio. Our rates are affordable and our service is exemplary. Daycare centers don’t do what we do.
Describe your style/approach.
We custom design childcare solutions for brides and event planners. In a typical childcare situation, the parents would have to invite a babysitter into their home, leave the child and drive for miles to attend an event. Some parents are not comfortable with that. We make childcare much easier and safer because we allow parents to bring their children to the location of the event, provide us with a cell phone number to reach them and we care for the children only steps away from the parents. If a parent has any concern about their child, they can easily and quickly come to the childcare room and see their child.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is describing our services to clients who never heard of what we do and then they get excited about having us on-site. They tell us how glad they are we exist, book our services and they can relax because now they don’t want to worry about what to do with the kids.
What is your favorite venue and why?
My favorite venue is one that has easy access to a separate room away from the main adult area. We work best in places that have tables, chairs, adequate lighting, adequate space, power outlets and helpful staff members on-site.
If you could provide childcare for any celebrity wedding (past, present or future), who would be the lucky couple?
I would really like to provide childcare for Kanye and Kim Kardashian at their wedding. If they have one! It would be interesting to care for their child and the other celebrity kiddies on the guest list. Maybe they will fly us out to California! Jean you can come along too!
What is the most unusual request you’ve had?
An elderly gentleman who owns a transportations business and I were talking at a networking event. He asked me if I would provide babysitting for him. I asked if he was planning an event and wanted us to provide on-site childcare. He said no to both. He then said “I want you to babysit me.”
I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by his unusual comment but I respectfully declined.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned, and would pass along to others?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be very thoughtful about who I share sensitive information with about my business. There are lots of people who are so enamored by my business concept that they use unethical practices to try and find out how I run it so they can duplicate our services. I am very cautious of who I trust, who I tell information to and allow to work with me.
Anything else you want to share with us?
I want to say that Jean Neuhart is one of the very first people in the wedding/event planning industry that I came in contact with over 4 years ago. She talked with me and encouraged me to pursue my business. She took a chance on me and invited Mobile Mommies to a bridal luncheon in Beavercreek where we set up childcare. Even though we didn’t have any children show up in our room, she believed in my company and believed in me. I will always be grateful to Jean. She is a true professional!
How should brides interested in childcare for their weddings get in touch with you?
Brides can contact me through Jean or by viewing our website at http://www.mymobilemommies.com/. We provide a 10% off services discount for brides that utilize Jean as their wedding planner. Emails can be sent to info@mymobilemommies.com.. Phone number is 937-520-5758.