SMALL BUSINESS SUPERSTAR SPOTLIGHT: KANSAS CITY MOM COLLECTIVE

If you’re a parent or caregiver in KC, you’ve no doubt spent some time on the Kansas City Mom Collective website – or at least know someone who has. From blog posts to events to guides and more, the Kansas City Mom Collective has become an influential resource for parents and caregivers raising kids of all ages. “We’re providing resources and bringing moms together in an intentional way,” said Sarah McGinnity, Owner of the Kansas City Mom Collective.

KCMC started in 2012, when the so-called “mommy blogger” trend was just starting. “It was more of a novel thing, and it was a way for moms to write about their experience of parenting,” said McGinnity. “It represented what we did at the time. Now we’ve developed into so much more than that.” The “more” includes tickets events for things like Moms Night Out, Easter egg hunts, Cruising with Santa, information sessions on kids and technology, paid partnerships with well-known KC brands like Boulevard and Worlds of Fun, and even a newly launched podcast. As it grew and evolved, Kansas City Moms Blog was renamed Kansas City Mom Collective.

KCMC still has about 30 contributors, but it also has an executive team that includes a sales director, events director, events coordinator, social media coordinator, and podcast coordinator.

It’s evident from checking out KCMC’s Instagram account that they are covering nearly every kid-friendly event or program in Kansas City. Followers will see livestream interviews with childcare experts, contributors taking over to offer a “day in the life” look at parenting children of all ages, interactive stories to engage followers, and behind the scenes looks at things to do with kids in Kansas City. And with 13,000 Instagram followers, area businesses are noticing.

“We’ve developed partnerships with every main KC attraction designed for families,” said Sales Director Laura Mulcahy. “They turn to us to help promote their new exhibits to our audience, and in turn our audience looks to us to see what’s going on in Kansas City. We used to go out and seek the partnerships, but now so many businesses and attractions see that we’re such a visual medium and we’ve established ourselves as a premier space to reach women and families.”

KCMC has also developed strong relationships with hospitals and other health care providers across the region – something that became an asset when the pandemic began. For example, their partnership with Children’s Mercy includes a quarterly series on different health issues for children. Through this partnership, KCMC was able to become a COVID vaccine resource for families. McGinnity says COVID affirmed that KCMC has an important role to play in the community when it comes to tough issues and topics and how to address them with children.

"When COVID began in 2020, we were just providing as much content as we could to help families,” said McGinnity. “Looking back on all we did to help get that information out there, it helped us form a new identity. We helped to guide our audience through COVID, and then in the summer there was a lot of racial reckoning happening. We guided our audience through that as best we could and how to talk to their own kids, and now we’re talking about vaccines and other COVID variants. We went from providing whatever content we could get to actively seeking out partnerships and becoming an intentional resource.”

Mulcahy echoes that sentiment. “It's been both exhausting and exciting. When the world shut down, we lost a lot of our sponsorship money from events we had planned. At the time 2020 looked like it was going to be our best year yet, and I felt down,” she said. “But looking at the content we’ve put out since then and what we’ve done editorially and seeing our team rise to the occasion showed our business partners that we are vital, and we can adjust.”

In 2021, KCMC was recognized as one of the Chamber’s Small Business Superstars. This recognition helped them connect with other local businesses to develop stronger relationships and partnerships. “One is with Spark Kansas City that gives us a co-working space in Downtown Kansas City once a week for Sarah and myself, and a monthly meeting space for our executive team,” said Mulcahy. “We also did some work with Evergy, who sought us out at the Small Business Awards Luncheon.”

McGinnity knows as KCMC’s profile grows in the business community, they will continue to be a strong advocate for kids – and especially moms. “There is just not enough childcare out there, even before the pandemic,” she said.  “A community is only as strong as its mothers. And who wouldn’t want to hire a mom? Moms are multi-taskers and problem solvers. Businesses and our workforce are missing out on a lot of innovation and skilled workers because there isn’t enough support.”

“Being a mother who works is incredibly hard,” said Mulcahy in agreement. “It’s time to offer that support. When mothers are happy, they are better workers, and their families are thriving as well.”

Kansas City Mom Collective is one of several Small Business Superstars we're shining the Member Spotlight on. If you know a small business that's a Small Business Superstar, submit them right here from now through February 7.