- I’m Jody Swain, CEO and co-founder of Hire and Fire Your Kids. My background is in retail management, where I built a career for 20+ years. While working full-time I began developing a parenting solution to manage my new blended family. I saw instant improvement in my kids’ motivations and behaviours and friends and family started noticing and asking for the “secret program”. Unexpectantly, I was laid off from my job and knew it was time to work on the app full-time and rest is history!
- Please describe what you do and/or what the company/organization is all about.*
Hire and Fire your Kids is a digital tool that helps parents raise responsible, respectful and accountable kids. Our mobile and desktop app becomes the reminder, instead of nagging parents, which reduces friction and promotes positive communication. Parents set expectations, post jobs (chores), issue warnings, and praise great behaviours, while kids take the initiative to apply to jobs, follow expectations, and receive rewards. - Question #1: Was there a time in your life you knew you were capable of more, or destined for more?*
As far back as I can remember, I had the desire to be an entrepreneur and finally “go it alone” and I had many business ideas that lived on my vision board. But like many women, I found myself stuck in the rat race of collecting a steady paycheck and the comfort of a permanent job. I always thought I would find the right timing, well, the right timing found me. I was laid off from my corporate management job and that little voice in the back of my head became louder and louder when I began to think, now or never, and dove feet first into my own business venture. - Question #2: Please share a challenge that you have overcome in your life. What did you learn about yourself through this experience?
The biggest challenge I had to overcome was losing my son & mom. As anyone who has lost a parent knows, no matter how old you are, you always need your mom and her not being here anymore stunned my entire existence especially happening just a few years after the trauma of losing my son, it was like deja-vu. To add salt to injury, she passed away on by daughter’s birthday and shortly afterward, I lost my job. My life pillars were crumbling around me, and I was unable to see past the rubble. As difficult of a time it was, I knew I had to keep going, for my husband, my kids, and for myself. I decided to redirect my anger, devastation, and sadness into building the app and found refuge in the hope of helping other families. Life will never be the same, but I learned that small steps to keep afloat, turn into leaps and before you know it, you’re in a better place – mentally and physically. - Question #3: What is your why? How do you ensure you are living your life “on purpose” as much as possible?
Hire and Fire your Kids is a passion project turned life mission – raising healthy, accountable, and responsible kids. The pandemic created family frictions that we had never experienced before, and parents needed help managing their household. I had a solution that worked for hundreds of families and knew I needed to share it with as many more as I could. We decided to make the app free to download and play to ensure all families were able to access our tool. We still have a long way to go to make the app match my vision, but we are excited to be building a community of parents along the way to live out our mission every day – a parenting app for parents, built by parents. - Question #4: Where do you see yourself and/or your life in the next year? What do you hope to see in the world and/or hope to accomplish?*
I hope that families truly prioritize each other. The pandemic was a real wakeup call for myself and my family as before the pandemic, we were moving day by day, week by week, looking forward to the weekend, vacation, or next life milestone without enjoying the current moment. We have so much to be thankful for and truly take it for granted. I hope that the Hire and Fire Your Kids app will be in every household to help manage those tough, not-so-fun interactions so families can spend more time together happy, laughing, and making memories for years to come. - Question #5: What advice can you give (Top 5 Tips) to other women around life, family, work, self-care, etc?*
- Just start – I was always looking for the “right” time and would make excuses as to why I couldn’t make the leap but the best thing to do is just start – even if it’s part time.
- Don’t feel guilty for time off – Time off is vital to the success of your business. Recharging, relaxing, and taking your mind off of over drive isn’t selfish or reckless, it’s critical to the success of your business.
- Have a plan A, B, C, D… – Nothing goes as planned but contingent plans and alternative plans are just as important, if not more important, because pivoting quickly and adapting will make all the difference in long-term success.
- Hire the skills you don’t have – You aren’t the expert in everything, and even if you are, you need to delegate to be able to put your all into the strategy and growth of the company. It can be hard to let go of the controls, but you will never grow to your full potential without help.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff – I know, simple and obvious, but important to remember. It’s easy to get wrapped up in every issue but always think to yourself “is this going to effect the business in 5 years?” if the answer is no, don’t spend your valuable time worried about it.
- Any other information would you like to share with our community
Hire and Fire your Kids was founded by parents, for parents. Family comes first, and we take great responsibility being a part of your family. We’re learning and evolving everyday and take the feedback we receive from families to implement changes and improvements to ensure our app is exactly what your family needs. We’re proud to be endorsed by Autism Speaks Canada as a resource for families with kids on the spectrum and we are committed to bringing our app to as many families as possible.
Interview with Jody Swain, Founder of Hire and Fire your Kids
December 10, 2021
By Jody Swain
