Better Safe. . .
One mom hopes child ID cards mean parents will never have to be sorry.
Her daughter's traumatic car accident in 1993 propelled
Denise Johnson to quit a successful corporate position and pour all
her savings into purchasing an Ident-a-Kid Services of America franchise. The
company sells identification cards that include a child's
physical description, color photograph, fingerprint and
parent/guardian address. Denise, 49, recalls her own personal
crisis when the hospital had difficulty locating her after her
daughter's accident: "What if there had been [fatal
injuries], and I had been too late? I never would have been able to
live with that. If those cards can save just one parent from that
hell, you're darned right I believe in them."
In addition to being used to identify a child involved in a car
accident, the cards are used in a myriad of situations, from simple
airport check-ins to child abductions. Franchisees sell Ident-a-Kid
cards at local day-care centers and elementary schools to parents
of infants to eighth-graders. The franchisor provides equipment,
copyrighted software, supplies and hands-on training.
Denise's husband, Timothy, 47, was initially skeptical about
her new business endeavor—she says he thought she "had
gone crazy." When he was forced to leave his job as a
broadcasting engineer, however, he joined her crusade. Today, the
husband and wife are a team, with Timothy in charge of scheduling
and compiling informational packets to send to parents, and Denise
using the PR skills she gained as a former sales manager to network
with schools.
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Despite missing the camaraderie of co-workers, Denise would
never give up the freedom and convenience of working at home.
"I'm so spoiled," she says. "If I ever have to
go back to the corporate world, it's going to be a sad day for
me."
After nine years as franchisees, the Johnsons cover a 10-county
area in North Carolina and have developed long-standing
relationships with their community. What makes them shine is their
deep belief in the franchise. "I genuinely know these cards
are important," says Denise. "It's a very
[inexpensive] insurance policy. I believe in the program
wholeheartedly. I love what I do."
Denise's confidence and dedication to the program
haven't gone unnoticed—the franchise named her Program
Director of the Year in 1999 and 2002.