Web.Preneuring

Moonlighting trucker uses $700 cash and credit cards to launch laptop biz that now makes $1 million.

For an idea conceived by an entrepreneur while he moonlighted as a truck driver making nightly runs throughout California, Safe Kids Card, Inc., has come a long way in a short time.

The Safe Kids Card is a wallet-sized, mini CD-ROM that serves as an all-in-one identification card for children and holds such information as photos of the child, a digital fingerprint and other medical and personal information that is easily accessible in case of an emergency.

Thirty-four-year-old Jeremiah Hutchins launched the company in August 2002. Franchising began in March 2003 and within nine months there were 15 Safe Kids Card franchises in operation across the country offering a product whose technology and effectiveness is superior to traditional plastic ID cards.

Today, less than two years after it began franchising, the Powell, Wyoming-based company has 45 franchisees in 19 states and the District of Columbia, along with master franchisees in Canada, Australia and Ireland.

In the summer of 2002, Hutchins, who describes himself as having an “entrepreneurial spirit,” was already in business with a partner selling digital business cards using the same technology as the Safe Kids Card. He moonlighted as a trucker at night, hauling everything from Campbell’s Soup to Little Debbie snack cakes.

Hutchins listened to AM radio as he drove and the airwaves were filled that summer with talk surrounding the high-profile trial of a man involved in the kidnapping of a 7-year-old girl in San Diego.

“All the people on the radio shows were talking about if they had only had a better picture of the girl or if she only had better identification maybe it would have helped,” Hutchins said. “It was a hot topic.”

Realizing the many shortcomings of various forms of child identification, Hutchins began working with a software engineer who developed the initial technology that took advantage of the mini CD-ROM format. Hutchins started pitching the product to day care centers, was met with an enthusiastic response, and the Safe Kids Card was launched.

Hutchins started Safe Kids Card with $700 in cash and five of his wife’s credit cards, all the money he had after returning from a two-year stay in Hawaii, where he worked at an auto parts store and as a tour guide on a walking trail.

There are a multitude of companies that focus on plastic ID cards for children. Unfortunately, it is a format that is outdated and, because the plastic ID cards provide only a minimal amount of information, they have proven ineffective in both medical emergencies and in helping law enforcement recover a missing child.

Conversely, the Cross Match fingerprint scanner used by Safe Kids Card to obtain a digital fingerprint is the same used by the FBI and police departments. Also, more than 100 categories of information can be included in a Safe Kids Card. The cost of the card generally ranges between $13 and $15.

“Nothing surpasses the quality we can offer as far as biometrics and software development,” Hutchins said. “Our product has already been upgraded five times since its launch and we are the only concept to digitally store biometric fingerprints.”

With an innovative growth strategy and additional service offerings, Safe Kids Card is well positioned, especially since analysts have targeted child-related businesses as one of the country’s 13 fastest-growing industries. In 2004, Entrepreneur magazine reported that children’s products and services ranked as one of its top five overall categories after being barely noticeable in 1980.

With system-wide revenue of $340,000 in 2004, Hutchins is expecting Safe Kids Card to surpass the $1 million mark in 2005 in only its second full year of franchising. The United States has the potential for 200 to 250 Safe Kids Card franchisees and Hutchins expects to have sold all available territories by the end of 2006.

Among Safe Kids Card’s draws for investors is its affordability and ease of operation. It is essentially a turnkey business that can be launched for less than $15,000 ($14,900), including all equipment, which consists of a laptop computer pre-installed with proprietary software; a high-quality printer; external CD burner; and supplies, such as the mini-CDs and labels. One or two people generally operate it as a part-time, home-based business.

The rewards can be substantial. The Australian master franchisee for Safe Kids Card recently reached an $800,000 agreement with ABC Learning Centres, one of Australia’s largest childcare providers, to produce more than 80,000 Safe Kids Cards. The Safe Kids Card program is primarily offered to private schools and daycare centers, and is also offered through such outlets as Boys & Girls Clubs, scouting, police-sponsored events and fairs.

“It’s been said that children’s businesses of any sort are recession-proof,” said Hutchins, whose statement is backed by government figures showing what parents spend on their children. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Consumer Expenditure Survey, the amount of money parents spend on raising a child from infant to age 17 has increased 680 percent in the last 40 years from $25,000 in 1960 to more than  $170,000 today.

“Our start-up costs are low and Safe Kids Card can be a home-based business. There’s not the big stress factor that’s associated with bigger concepts,” Hutchins said. “We’re offering a service to people who already have a lot of digital technology in their homes. The problem is that most of them don’t know how to utilize it.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 40 million children ages 3-12 living in the United States and Safe Kids Card has involved some of the country’s most well-known companies in an effort to get the Safe Kids Card to as many families as possible.

Companies such as CompUSA, Ford Motor Co., Edward Jones, Sprint and Curves have co-sponsored local events in which Safe Kids Cards are provided to children at no cost. In return, the sponsor’s logo, along with other pertinent information, is printed on the Safe Kids Card.

Co-branding represents a strong avenue for developing and growing a Safe Kids Card business. There are three other options for offering Safe Kids Cards: a) schools and daycare providers can pay for them on their own; b) parents can purchase the cards individually for their children; and c) Safe Kids Cards can be offered as part of a fundraiser, with an organization earning a profit from sales of the cards.

In North Carolina, one Edward Jones office chose to be a sponsor, then challenged other locations to take part. None turned down the challenge.

“With co-branding, people who get the Safe Kids Card show it to a number of other people throughout the year,” Hutchins said. “It’s a very good association for those companies.”

Investing in a Safe Kids Card franchise is not a single-faceted opportunity. Hutchins offers investors several other options to building their business:

A Safe Adults Card similar to the Safe Kids Card is offered for older adults and those with medical problems. Also available is a Safe Pets Card, which can provide useful information when pets are missing or need medical treatment. There are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States alone. All three concepts are included in the initial investment.

A “Save Your Medical” computer flash drive will soon be introduced, allowing anyone to access and update their medical information practically whenever and wherever they want. The flash drive can complement both the Safe Kids and Safe Adults Card and is small enough to be carried in a pocket or on a keychain and can be plugged into any computer with a USB port.

Safe Kids Card is affiliated with CityAmber.com, a burgeoning online network whose goal is to provide individual neighborhoods in cities across the country with their own informative websites for news and events in their community. For example, franchisees would promote the program to local realtors who, in turn, would pay to sponsor a website for their local community. Several franchisees are already involved in marketing the program.

The affiliations and service offerings are representative of Hutchins’ goal to stay atop the industry by always offering the latest technology and programs to customers.

“The people we’ve surrounded ourselves with are pro-active,” Hutchins said. “They are always looking for ways to make things better, faster, quicker and more efficient.”

(back to top)