Oct. 21, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Truks-N-Trykes.

If someone had told Drew and Bri McCarty five years ago that they would own and operate a child care center – let alone two – they would have started laughing.

“But life has a funny way of showing you that what you think you want isn’t really what you are meant to do,” Bri McCarty said.

Back then, the couple didn’t have a child yet – much less a child care center.

But they were expecting one, and the search for a child care led them to their future business venture.

“We knew that day cares were tough to come by and that it was even tougher to find a quality child care facility,” McCarty said.

“After calling a few centers, I did a tour with Truks-N-Trykes 2 and instantly knew we were in the right place. These owners were in it to help raise great young people. They were not looking for a quick buck.”

Fast-forward to 2020, and the McCartys became one of those owners. Truks-N-Trykes has gone from one set of owners and three centers, to three sets of owners and five centers.

But it wasn’t a straight path to a career change.

“We first decided we wanted a change of scenery,” McCarty said. “I left my job in banking, and Drew left his as a security manager, and we moved to the Twin Cities to start a new adventure. After about three weeks, we found out we were expecting our second child.”

While they were elated, they also realized they had another move to make.

“The metro area was not the place we wanted to raise kids, and we realized Sioux Falls was always home,” she said. “So two months into that new adventure, we headed back.”

Upon coming home, she reached out to Truks-N-Trykes 2 owner Misty Cotton to see if her daughter could re-enroll and if a spot could be held for the baby on the way.

“And I happened to mention to Misty to let me know if she knew anyone who was hiring, and she responded she was looking for an assistant,” McCarty said.

“Being a Hollywood buff, I figured that would mean I’d be grabbing her coffee, picking up dry cleaning or maybe even taking her dog to the groomer.”

But Cotton didn’t mean a personal assistant; she meant an assistant director for the child care center.

“So I was thrust into this new world, one that was much different from the banking world,” McCarty said. “And each day, it stole a little bit more of my heart.”

After giving birth to a son, she decided it was time to head out and use her MBA to get her “big-girl job.”

“After a few interviews, nothing felt like it was sticking. Nothing felt like it was going to be as fulfilling as being with the staff and the kids,” she said.

“I said this to Misty, tears were running down my face, and she simply replied, ‘Why do you have to leave?’ ”

It was simple, but it wasn’t.

“I felt obligated to venture out and utilize my degrees in new ways, and I had climbed to the top of the ladder at the center,” McCarty said.

A few days later, she went to Cotton with an idea.

“Demand in the area was so high, I said they should start a center just for infants,” she said. “It had been mentioned before but nothing developed.”

Cotton said if McCarty was willing to sign a five-year contract, she would open another center.

“I snickered as I said, ‘I will do it if it is mine and you help me.’ And Misty looked me in the eye and said, ‘You know, I would do that in a heartbeat.’ And that moment is etched into my memory because that is truly how the idea of Truks-N-Trykes NurseryCare was born.”

The next day, they started talking about how the relationship would be structured. They toured facilities and started with the idea of creating a center for 40 kids. When a lease didn’t work out on one building, they moved on to a different one that would hold 65 kids.

“I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to find that many people who needed care, but we kept on persevering,” McCarty said.

After a few months of working on that building, the deal fell through.

“I was devastated, but Misty wasn’t willing to let me quit that quickly,” McCarty said. “She introduced me to the Paradigm Construction team, and within two weeks, they had building plans in a new development and a center designed to serve 113 children.”

The new center in southeast Sioux Falls at 4825 S. Hosta Ave. began construction.

Then, the true reality set in.

“We needed to fill the center,” she said. “Luckily, my degrees are in business innovation and marketing, and we hit the ground running.”

Within a few weeks, the center had more than 30 percent of spots filled. After a few months, it was 50 percent.

“Despite the pandemic, we continued to do tours via Zoom. Prospective parents learned about us from a floor plan and a big idea.”

After a few months, McCarty knew she needed someone to help with the detail side of the business.

“And that’s when my partner in life became my partner in business,” she said. “Everything was coming together. When we opened this July, 80 percent of spots were spoken for, and Drew filled the last 20 percent with his tours in less than two months of the center being open.”

That’s not all that has been keeping the couple busy.

As NurseryCare was in the process of opening, the Truks-N-Trykes owners were approached by a former director of another center in town, Heather Groos. Another new partnership took root, and it led to Truks-N-Trykes Early LearningCare opening Aug. 17.

It’s located in the former Bright Horizons building on the former Citibank campus in northeast Sioux Falls.

“We purchased the business and began to run feet first into owning two brand-new centers in just two months,” McCarty said.

“Being able to do that project in that amount of time was a testament to Heather’s tenacity and work ethic as the director of the new center.”

With NurseryCare filled and the wait list growing, Bri and Drew have been dedicating a majority of their time to finding ways to help inform parents on the north end of town of their new option in care.

Many of the former Bright Horizons staff are still there too.

“We’re all excited to offer an opportunity for people to have a place close to their employment that provides a quality program that focuses on social and emotional development by focusing on an emergent curriculum,” McCarty said.

“It’s been a whirlwind year, but we couldn’t be happier to be helping so many families with an approach to child care we think truly sets us apart.”

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