Mompreneur creates new daycare model

By Jon Cook

(Reuters) - Felicity Chapman had a newborn, a design business in its infancy and a problem.

They did not get along.

After the birth of her first daughter, Chapman decided she would only work part-time, but found it all but impossible to juggle both her clients and childcare. Chapman knew she needed to find some flexible childcare that would allow her to accommodate her clients' needs, without shortchanging her daughter.

"I didn't want to leave her with just anyone and I couldn't tell my clients that I can only come from Monday to Wednesday from 9-12, because that's the only time when I have childcare," she said, echoing the sentiment of many working mothers. "I thought there has got to be a better solution."

The seed that began as a line in Chapman's notepad has grown into Cubes & Crayons <www.cubesandcrayons.com/>, a hybrid business offering moms a place where they can literally take their kids to work.

One part office space provider and one part daycare, Chapman believes her Silicon Valley-based business is the answer for working moms, or dads, who are finding it impossible to get the job done from home and look after their children at the same time.

Chapman has attempted to create a space where kids can play on one side and parents can get down to business on the other. The daycare side accepts children ages 6 weeks to 7 years and has multiple packages to accommodate parents who only need an hour here and there to those who require between 10-60 hours of childcare a month.

Cubes & Crayons charges anywhere from $10-$17.50 an hour for daycare, the high end being for drop-in care, and maintains a three-to-one ratio of staff to children, overseeing a maximum of 10 kids at any one time. Office space rental ranges from $20 a day to $850 a month for unlimited access 24-7.

Through Cubes & Crayons, Chapman also tries to offer clients a "water-cooler" experience where parents can regain that human connection they lose when they work from home.

Her idea appears to have struck the right chord with local parents, as Cubes & Crayons boasts about 100 members a year after opening its rumpus room. Most of Chapman's customers use her space in a drop-in capacity, as opposed to making a more substantial monthly commitment.

Today Cubes & Crayons employs three part-time childcare workers, with two more in an on-call capacity, and a part-time receptionist. Chapman is still in the office everyday, but has more time to spend on marketing and building her client base.

Chapman estimates her startup costs at about $75,000 - spent mostly on staffing, rent, utilities, furnishings, renovations and permits. She self-financed all of it through the sale of her home and by cashing in some personal investments.

To save on marketing costs, Chapman has heavily leveraged social media, mainly through blogging and having a presence on websites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. As a result, she is gaining popularity among mommy bloggers.

Despite launching her business a year ago, Chapman has been relatively unscathed by the current recession. She altered her marketing material to emphasize affordability in order to appeal to those who have lost their jobs and benefits -- or who are just feeling the economic pinch.

THE PITCH