If you’ve purchased a car in the last year and a half, you may know Kelly Stumpe better as Instagram’s famed The Car Mom — but in case you’re still slaying in your 2004 Honda Odyssey like us — MEET KELLY!
Did we mention she was five months pregnant and had a one-year old at home with her at the time? And the mission of The Car Mom? It gets us all sorts of fired up.
Let’s go….introducing you to your new favorite follow and fellow working mama, Kelly!
Introduce yourself, your family and mission.
Hi! I’m Kelly Stumpe – a mom, car saleswoman, Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, and “The Car Mom”. My husband Tyler and I have two young kids, George (2) and Hattie (1).
The Car Mom is dedicated to empowering moms and families to make the most informed and confident decision when car shopping. We want to create a positive car buying experience for both the female consumer and the dealership by dismantling outdated stereotypes between the two and changing the narrative of a traditionally male dominated industry.
What compelled you to start reviewing cars and accessories for families? Have you always been into cars?
I launched The Car Mom in June of 2020, when the Coronavirus pandemic was in full swing. At the time, I didn’t feel like I could bring my toddler to the grocery store with me safely and I couldn’t imagine how moms felt about car shopping with their families. I hoped that by touring cars from the perspective of a mom and posting those tours to social media, I could help families immensely as they narrowed down vehicles in their car shopping journey. I was five months pregnant at the time and had a one-year-old at home – I saw a need and was looking for a creative outlet, hoping to build a small community and sell a few more cars.
The response to The Car Mom honestly blew me out of the water (and continues daily with plenty of “is this my real life?!” moments). In the past year The Car Mom’s Instagram following has grown (through sharing + word of mouth) to 207k+, we have almost 45k YouTube subscribers and recently passed the 3 million view mark on our video content. I’m so proud of the community of empowered, educated female consumers that we’ve created and that we’ve done that work while continuing to lift up car dealerships and break down outdated stereotypes.
What is your challenge in balancing mom life and your passion for your job?
I would say the biggest challenge is the guilt associated with being a working mom. I overcome this by one on one time with my kids, setting strict working hours and also setting out with the intention to help other mothers. I don’t work hard for the money or the fame. I work hard to save mom’s frustration, time and money while car shopping.
As a mompreneur, what are three tips you can share that help you live your professional and personal life?
- Set goals! I’m huge on goal setting and sharing those goals with anyone and everyone to hold myself accountable. When I first launched The Car Mom, I shared my business goals with my community and continued to share as each month passed. Knowing that I had a community of other amazing women cheering me on and helping me to crush my goals was, and continues to be, such a gift.
- Get organized! Funny enough – “organize” was my word for 2021. I live by my email inbox. I use it as a filing system and as a to do list! I also schedule out my entire day, right down to eating lunch and running errands!
- Self care! Taking time for myself, giving myself permission to unplug to be with my family and prioritizing going to bed early. I am a huge fan of taking my MTO (mom time off).
What are your top three road trip essentials?
My FREE Car Mom road trip printables!
Lunii Storyteller: Choose your own adventure, anyone? This is one of the coolest “kid toys” – screen-free and comes pre-loaded with stories so your kiddo can start listening right away! 10 out of 10 would recommend.
Car Vacuum: Road trips mean snacking in the car and snacking in the car with kids means crumbs… lots. of. crumbs. This vacuum can fit in your car cup holder or side cubby and can pick up everything from dirt to goldfish. I’ve been pledging my love for this little workhorse of a vacuum for the last year and it has yet to let me down. A must-have!
What’s your favorite car organization tips?
I think the glovebox is the most underutilized place in the car. People love to keep their owners manual and service records in there. You should still keep this information in the car, but move it to a storage compartment in the trunk so it’s not taking up valuable space. Make your glovebox work for you!
Mesh zipper pouches: These pouches are a game changer when it comes to keeping my car/life organized with two young kids. I have pouches for both George and Hattie that have extra clothes + jammies, toys and snacks, a first aid pouch, and a mom pouch with anything that I might need (extra hair tie, anyone?). From one parent to another – these are sanity savers.
All of my center console and glove box favorites can be found, here!
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Enjoy getting to know Kelly – she has the most amazing resources and reviews on her website and is the BEST follow on Instagram for relevant content, fun behind the scenes of being a working mom and her recipe for the best broccoli out there. TRUST US.
