Sarah is quiet but mighty! She is the perfect example of a team player. While holding the front at home and raising two boys, she has partnered with her husband to give an existing business a new life. She is responsible for maintaining Eco Car Spa on top of mind among the local community, networking on FB like crazy. Eco Car Spa specializes in hand car washes and auto detailing. Slowly but surely they have become the go-to detailing business in Frisco, TX

Transitioning from Corporate to staying at home and then bringing all experience in pricing management to empower her family’s new business venture, Sarah has managed to find her voice and space as a MOMpreneur.

Sarah is proof that a 9 to 5 doesn’t define you and that work experience is applicable to any field when you have a well-rounded career. Being a loving mother and building a business is possible and, being a wife and a business partner can happen successfully when you bring a combination of knowledge and skill informed by experience.

She is such a kind soul and my favorite kind of woman.. a woman that supports other women with the purpose of helping them rise. Check out her story below!

Let’s meet Sarah

Q+A

WHO IS SARAH MCCONNELL? 

Mom of 2 boys and a Shih Tzu mix, wife to Adam, and co-owner of Eco Car Spa

FAVORITE QUOTE? HOW OR WHY DOES IT RESONATE WITH YOU?

This is a tough one, I LOVE quotes, and my favorites change based on how I’m feeling and what’s going on in life. A recent favorite is “IT IS ALL ABOUT MINDSET. FROM THE MOMENT YOU WAKE UP TO THE MOMENT YOU REST YOUR HEAD AT NIGHT. EVERYTHING IS UP TO YOU. YOUR EMOTIONS, YOUR THOUGHTS, YOUR PERCEPTION, YOUR REACTIONS. EVERY MOMENT.”  I can easily let myself get caught up in what’s happening “to me” and often forget that I am in complete control of how I react to all the things around me. I can set the mood, often for the entire family, by how I’m reacting to things. Life is too short to be stressed and unhappy because of life’s circumstances!

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE 3 MANTRAS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF?

“You can do hard things”

“Great things never come from comfort zones”

“This stage of life won’t last forever, enjoy it”

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH 30 MIN OF UNINTERRUPTED ME-TIME?

Depends, my first instinct is to get outside and walk and clear my head. Vegging in bed with a good book or show would be a close second.

 

WHEN YOU ARE HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING OUT OF BED ON MONDAY MORNING, WHAT IS THE THOUGHT THAT GIVES YOU THAT MAGIC PUSH TO START THE DAY RIGHT?

It’s a good day to have a good day! Or if it’s a particularly stressful day, I take some deep breaths and tell myself I can do this, I’ve got it.

 

WHAT CAN MAKE YOU LAUGH OUT LOUD WHEN YOU ARE HAVING THE WORST DAY?

Almost always something one of the boys says or does. I swear kids are the funniest and they can always make me laugh…even when I shouldn’t.

NETFLIX BINGE SHOW ON REPEAT? WHY THIS ONE?

I love a good sitcom, my background noise shows are Schitt’s Creek, Big Bang Theory, Friends, and New Girl. They always make me laugh and recite the lines without even thinking.

 

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU DO FOR YOURSELF EVERY DAY?

It’s super simple but I start every day by drinking a full tumbler of water (32 oz) pretty soon after I wake up. It makes a huge difference in how I feel after sleeping 7-8 hours and not drinking water. I feel more awake and it often zaps that groggy/headache feeling you can wake up with (or maybe that’s just me!).

 

WHAT DID YOU STOP DOING TO MAKE TIME FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

I guess less downtime and household chores have definitely taken a hit. I used to spend more time on social media for “enjoyment” or mindless scrolling and now a lot of it is very intentional.

 

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE COMMUNITY. I FIRST “SAW” YOU ON OUR LOCAL FRISCO FB GROUPS. HOW HAS YOUR CONNECTION WITH LOCAL WOMEN IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS? SPECIALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC?

Have you seen that meme that says something like “Nobody supports you like a social media friend that you’ve never met”? There is 100% truth to that, only now that things are starting to become a little more normal, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of these amazing women and will hopefully continue to meet even more. There have been countless women in these various mom groups who have been incredibly supportive and have definitely had a positive impact on our business. Everything from recommending our business to offering a business or mom advice, to being someone I can vent to or making me laugh. The pandemic really forced me to get out and network and I’m extremely thankful because without these unprecedented times, I may not have crossed paths with these women who have positively impacted my life.

YOU ARE A BAD-ASS MOM PARTNERING WITH A BAD-ASS DAD! HOW IS IT LIKE WORKING WITH YOUR HUSBAND ON THE BUSINESS?

Overall, it’s great. We both bring different ideas and knowledge to the table and really balance each other out. I’d be lying, though, if I said there aren’t times we’re convinced the other has lost their mind and we’re super annoyed with each other.

 

SO FAR MOST OF OUR GUEST MOMS HAVE STARTED A BUSINESS FROM SCRATCH. YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND PURCHASED AN EXISTING BUSINESS AND REINVENTED IT. TELL US ABOUT YOUR DECISION TO BUY THIS BUSINESS. WHY DETAILING?

This part was all my husband. He’s loved detailing cars for over a decade and over time became the person all of our friends and family would ask for advice on techniques or products. He often did our own cars in his free time and would occasionally offer his services to friends when time allowed. Owning a detailing business has been something on his bucket list for quite some time. When he got serious about pursuing this business and he had determined that it was a low-risk investment (ha, if only we’d had a crystal ball that predicted the sh*t storm 2020 turned out to be), I told him I would 100% support him but was not going to have anything to do with it because it was not my thing! A few months in, I realized that the business, while functional, was kind of a mess and definitely needed some changes. I started doing a little bit here and there; making updates and small changes. It wasn’t until the world stopped in March of last year that I really dove in 100%. It was obvious that there were going to have to be some shifts if our business had a chance at surviving. I developed our mobile site, restructured our pricing and packages, created new menus, and really got serious about our social media presence and a bunch of other behind-the-scenes items.

YOU HAVE GREAT CORPORATE BACKGROUND IN PRICING STRATEGIES AND REVENUE MANAGEMENT. HOW HAVE YOU APPLIED ALL THAT EXPERIENCE IN YOUR NEW BUSINESS?

Those skills are pretty universal, I think. It’s important to understand your market and competition and then to make sure you’re positioned appropriately given the services and experience you offer. It’s also vital to understand who your target customer/client is and make sure you offer packages that give them value while also producing a revenue stream for the business.

GIVE US AN INSIGHT, FROM A MOM’S PERSPECTIVE ABOUT CHANGING CAREER PATHS. MOVING FROM CORPORATE TO FULL-TIME MOM AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

It’s definitely been an interesting ride. I’ve worked since I was a young teen, starting in a family friend’s restaurant at 13, and continued to work through high school, and college, even teaching full-time while going to grad school. When I decided that I wanted to stay home full-time after working several months as a new mom, I had no idea what that life would look like. As it happens it was perfect for our family for several years. In 2019, when we purchased the business, I honestly thought nothing would change but as mentioned previously that wasn’t the case. Now things are similar to a lot of moms who do the full-time stay-at-home mom gig while also working on their own business. My oldest attended kinder this past year and my youngest did a part-time preschool. This gave me more flexibility for working during the day instead of the evenings and weekends but I still spend a decent amount of time working during those times; especially with summer here. There are days that I wish I could stop that work and focus more on mom/household life, but overall I enjoy contributing to the business in a real way.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF WORKING HAND-IN-HAND WITH YOUR BETTER HALF?

We both bring different ideas and knowledge to the table and we really balance each other out. He leans more to risk-taking and I’m more risk-averse, it’s a good mix.

 

HOW DO YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND KEEP EACH OTHER MOTIVATED THROUGH TOUGH TIMES? HOW DOES YOUR PARTNERSHIP INSPIRE YOU?

We’re both in this together and most of the time if one of us is feeling discouraged or frustrated the other one can motivate and lift up. We’re good at giving each other a break from things when needed or coming up with new ideas when the other one feels drained.

 

TELL US ABOUT A FEMALE ROLE MODEL IN YOUR LIFE. A WOMAN THAT INSPIRES YOU ON A PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL LEVEL.

I’m inspired by most females in my life for a variety of reasons. I long ago discovered that I didn’t want or need people who dragged me down in life and for that reason, I find inspirational qualities in all the important people in my life. Everything from being a better mother, friend, wife, or businesswoman those qualities are all around me and I love that I don’t have to look far for inspiration.

 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST SCARED OF?

Well, this is a can of worms for someone with anxiety! So, I’m going to go big picture with this one and say getting to the end of my life with regrets. The past several years have been tough for our family and I have spent a lot of time weighed down by things outside of my control. In the past 6 months or so, I’ve decided to regain control over my mindset and be more mindful and present and focus on gratitude.

 

BEST ADVICE YOUR OWN MOM (OR MOTHER FIGURE) EVER GAVE YOU?

There’s so much but I’d say mainly to keep going and working hard and to not let life pass me by.

WHAT IS THE SWEETEST THING YOUR KIDS HAVE SAID TO YOU LATELY?

They are the sweetest boys and tell me all the time how much they love me, which always melts my heart.

 

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO SEE WHEN THEY LOOK AT THEIR MOM?

That my love for them is unwavering and that hard work AND fun are necessary for life.

 

Let’s talk about ECO CAR SPA

WHAT IS THE ELEVATOR PITCH FOR ECO CAR SPA?

Eco Car Spa has you covered for everything from full exterior and interior detailing, to paint correction and ceramic coatings.

WHY ARE YOUR DETAILING SERVICES SPECIAL?

We have experienced technicians and quality products and pride ourselves on transparent pricing and services. We’re upfront and honest from the get-go on setting expectations for results and sometimes that loses us the customer, but we’re not going to oversell results. We cannot fix all damage to a vehicle, sometimes we’re only able to make improvements and we want you to understand what you are getting. There’s even been a few times where we don’t end up charging the customer the full quote or at all when we were incorrect in estimating the level of results we could provide.

 

WHAT IS THE NEXT PROJECT/PRODUCT/IDEA YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON?

Our main focus this year will be working our business back to pre-pandemic levels. Eventually, we would love to expand our mobile side with a dedicated vehicle and more equipment but that is still on the “would be nice” list, for now, the focus remains on regrowing.

 

WHAT ARE THE GOALS FOR 2021 FOR ECO CAR SPA?

As mentioned above, our main focus this year will be working our business back to pre-pandemic levels. I know many people feel that things are back to normal and while they have improved tremendously, we’re still dealing with residual a lot of effects of the past year. For instance, there’s a labor shortage and we’re struggling to find reliable people to employ which impacts the number of vehicles we’re able to take on. We’re staying the course and feel confident that things will continue to improve and grow this year!

Want more? Check out their website

www.ecocarspa.org

Follow ECO CAR SPA

FACEB0OK: www.Facebook.com/ecocarspatx

INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/eco_car_spa

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