Hopkinton Biz Mixes Education, Cooking | Mom entrepreneur plans to franchise business
Photo/Amanda Roberge
PLAYING DRESS-UP: Mary Murphy, dressed up as Cinderella for an upcoming class, has turned her career as an educator into a small business startup in Hopkinton.
Mary Murphy has cracked the code on getting to the heart of literacy for early childhood and beyond. It involves hands-on activities that go straight to the belly.
“I believe that between age 2 and 8 is this magical window of time when a child’s attitude toward reading is formed,” she said from her sunny workplace otherwise known as Hooray For Books. It is there, at the bright blue tables with child-sized chairs, that kids connect to the books they’ve just read by creating recipes — for example, a big red bone for everyone’s favorite dog, Clifford — that help them to foster a lifelong love for cooking and reading.
Murphy’s innovative business brainchild, located in Hopkinton, has for the past 10 years been a place where reading and cooking merge into a full schedule of drop-off classes for kids of all ages, and their parents are eating it right up.
With Moms In Mind
“When I was designing the program, I had to put on a lot of hats and ask myself: What works from a teaching perspective? What works for kids? And most importantly, what works for moms?” It was this last question that led her to create curriculum-driven classes that last for a minimum of 1.5 hours.
“It is of value to moms to be able to run to the store and not have an unhappy kid in the cart, or not have to spend $30 on stuff they don’t need just to pacify their toddler,” she said. “But when they can have that and be giving their child access to a class they love coming to, it’s a win-win.”
This is an area in which she has every right to claim a little expertise. With five children between the ages of 6 and 18, Murphy has a firm grip on what moms are looking for and the past decade as president and chief creator at Hooray for Books has only validated that.
But what comes even more naturally is her talent in the area of teaching. Prior to becoming a business woman, Murphy had been a kindergarten teacher for 12 years, with a degree in early childhood from Boston College. It is this career experience that allows Murphy to connect with kids on their level, to help them learn while having a good time.
With tricks she’s acquired over the years she has been grooming her six part-time teachers to carry on the day-to-day operations while she markets the business for franchise. She recently completely paperwork that allows Hooray For Books to be franchised in 26 states, and according to Murphy it’s a great deal for someone looking to grow a business — armed with a love of children and a passion for books and cooking.
“Each franchise will be a reflection of me and what I’ve worked for,” she said. “I’ve designed the company, the programs and the curriculum so that it is accessible for a mom to become a successful entrepreneur.”
According to Murphy, business has been somewhat recession-proof, claiming that many parents are opting to forego vacations or unnecessary expenditures, but they will always seek out quality educational experiences for their children.
“That’s the nice thing — or one of the nice things — about not only owning your own business but owning this kind of business,” she said, adding that a mother of five has no choice but to be creative with her career choices. “It’s a family-friendly endeavor.”
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