The Uber of home and childcare services may be coming to Dayton as soon as the end of 2022.
Local entrepreneur and mother of four Ariel Smith wants to provide an extra set of hands around the house through a quick, convenient and safe set of on-demand workers.
Since the start of the pandemic and even before, Smith said balancing responsibilities with self-care has become an increasing challenge for parents. As a result, the demand for housekeeping and food delivery services has shot up over the last few years.
In the past, Smith said parents have relied on a support system built from immediate family members for emergency or last-minute needs. But she believes this additional reliability on others can place a strain on relationships.
Smith is now heading toward the launch of her new business Tribe. Tribe aims to create a safe, extended village to families in need of housekeeping, laundry, nanny or a children’s chauffeur services, easing the load on parents and support systems.
“We try to do it all — work, the laundry, tending to our children’s needs — but we can’t do it all and do it well. To create something that would be cost effective and meet so many needs of mothers and families is a no-brainer,” Smith said in a Launch Dayton interview.
Smith said she hopes to hire her administration and on-demand team to launch initial services later this year, including housekeeping, laundry and nanny. Since services often involve personal care to individuals and their children, Smith said she is working on an in-depth vetting process to ensure safety.
By the start of the 2023 school year, Smith aims to have her children’s chauffeur service up and running to complete the full list of Tribe offerings. She said the chauffeur service launch is likely to take additional time due to vetting and partnerships with local schools, who are understaffed for bus transportation.
Pre-launch, Tribe is already working on partnerships with local nonprofit groups that provide family services. Smith said Dayton nonprofit Omega CDC has already expressed interest in signing a contract once the company is up and running.
While initial services, also available to those without children, will launch first for Dayton-area consumers, Smith intends to eventually branch into the Cincinnati and Columbus markets as well.
Interested Daytonians should stay tuned as this early startup develops. Starting with a website ordering system and evolving into app capabilities at a later date, price points for services will be set for customers closer to launch.
Smith is a graduate of the Early Risers Academy, a 10-week business-building class through Launch Dayton.
Alongside current entrepreneurial efforts, Smith runs her brand Bloom LLC which focuses on self-care for moms. She runs a blog and podcast called “Let’s Bloom Together” as well as making public speaking appearances at conferences, which she intends to continue to ramp up in the coming months.
