Woman starts bus service to honor late mother - FOX 35 News Orlando

A local woman used a personal loss as an inspiration to start a successful business. Deborah Stubbs started a bus service to honor her late mother.

Her day starts early. She leaves her home at 5:20 a.m., and drops off her first set of students by 6:45 a.m.

She's at the wheel of the family-owned business, Ginny's Care Bus. It's a service that transports kids under the age of 18 to and from their many activities. It's a far cry from her days of selling software.

"The stress of it, quotas, dealing with things like that, and then have children yourself and have to make sure they get where they need to go and being a single parent, it was difficult," said Stubbs.

She says she would spend an hour and half on metro Atlanta roads before even getting to work herself. She had a dream to start a company that provided the transportation help she needed as a parent, but put her dreams on the backburner until a tragic loss woke her up. Her mother, Virginia, also known as Ginny, passed away.

"Devastating blow. Everything that used to matter didn't matter anymore. All that mattered to me then was making full use of my time," said Stubbs.

That meant joining her brother and sister, and honoring their mother by starting Ginny's Care Bus.  Business has grown simply by word of mouth and meeting a need.

"I can't tell you the number of parents that call me and say you have been a blessing. I didn't know how I was going to do it," Stubbs said.

For Stubbs, following her dreams and making her mother proud is the biggest reward.

"It made the sting of losing her a little bit easier because in our hearts and minds, she's still alive. People call me Miss Ginny all the time, so she's still here and it makes me happy," said Stubbs.

Ginny's Care Bus services DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties. The rates range between $45 and $95 a week. For more information, click here