Geist mom Shauna Williams has been on both sides of the sometimes overwhelming search for the right childcare facility. She is a working mom, but more than that, she also is former director of one of Geist’s largest childcare centers.

Nearly all of her interests center around kids, right down to her hobby of hand-painting children’s furniture. So it was only natural for Williams to start a business helping local moms and kids find the best childcare to meet their individual needs.

Williams, who says she’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit, has just launched WorkingMothersWeb.com, a website aimed at helping Indianapolis-area moms compare  childcare providers, as well as simplify their lives in other ways.

“The information parents are looking for is not always readily available, so we are trying to make that task a little easier and put all that information out there in one place,” said Williams, a mom of two who lives in Northwoods at Geist with husband, Ryan, who helped build the website.

“It’s kind of a like a one-stop-shop when you are searching for childcare in your area,” said Shauna, adding that her site will always stand out from others because it is local (you search by zip code), up-to-date and allows providers to give much more information than other websites.

Working Mother’s Web lists basic information (including whether they are a center, home or ministry) on about 900 area childcare providers for free. For a small fee, childcare operators also may post everything from teacher bios and educational philosophy to photos and video tours of the facility.

Other websites with childcare finders are either national sites or little more than a Yellow Pages listing and are often out of date, said Shauna, an early childhood educator for more than a decade who most recently was director for the Geist Kindercare facilities.

In addition to information on childcare providers, the website also includes simple recipes, family fun ideas, tips on going “green,” links to child safety resources and several “printables,” such as babysitter info sheets and medical consent forms.

She’s also working on adding a community forum, where parents can comment on their experiences with local childcare providers.

The goal is to be a local hub for all the resources busy moms need. Eventually Shauna would like to franchise her idea to other communities across the nation, providing a great work-from-home opportunity for moms, she said.

So if you are a busy mom (or dad) in need of childcare, or if you just want to see all of the useful resources, visit Shauna’s Working Mothers Web at www.workingmothersweb.com!

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