By Anna Gerber

Greg Yoakam is passionate about spending as much quality time with his kids as possible. It’s an idea he has transferred from his personal life into his business life.

Yoakam is the founder and CEO of KidsLinked.com, a Web site connecting parents and child caregivers with family management tools and access to learning opportunities for children. The free site also offers ideas for fun activities, babysitters, and planning tools for everything from birthday parties to preparing for a newborn.

“I was always trying to find something different and fun to do with my kids, but the process of researching things to do is time-consuming,” Yoakam says.

Yoakam moved to Columbus in 1991 from Bellefontaine to pursue a bachelor’s degree in finance from Ohio State University. After graduating in 1995, he worked for The Limited, Inc. as an accountant and a financial analyst. He also worked at Cardinal Health in software development, project management, IT strategy, and sales and marketing strategy. During this time he received an M.B.A. from Fisher College of Business at OSU. Yoakam moved to Upper Arlington nine years ago after marrying wife Michelle. They have two kids, 6-year-old Brooke and 4-year-old Zac.

Before founding KidsLinked.com, Yoakam started his first online business, BoldPace.com, a Web site that offers training plans for tri-athletes. From this business he learned valuable lessons about starting his own Web-based company, which would help him develop KidsLinked.com. One of the biggest lessons he learned was he needed assistance from other people.

“If you build it, nobody will come unless you market it and involve other people,” Yoakam says.

Yoakam partnered with Laura Miller, a marketing-savvy parent from New Albany. Yoakam found Miller on Craigslist and says it was obvious to partner with her because “she’s such an involved parent herself.” The two also work with Sajed Khan, a Chicago-based technology specialist.

The three of them initially conceptualized KidsLinked.com in January 2007 and the site went live in June 2008.

Yoakam’s days are hectic from start to finish, but he is determined not to let his professional life interfere with family quality time. Yoakam plans playtime every night after dinner and reading time before bed. He also likes to involve his kids in household activities, such as gardening and cooking. Yoakam also coaches the kids’ soccer and t-ball teams.

Amidst the chaos, however, Yoakam still makes time for himself. He is a devoted tri-athlete and has competed all over the country, travelling as far as Florida, California, and Texas.

“You only get one big thing you can do for yourself that doesn’t involve your kids. For me, that’s triathlons,” Yoakam says.

He says this year’s schedule has been too crazy for him to travel far to compete, but he still tries to attend triathlons close by in Chicago or Michigan. Yoakam usually trains in the early morning from 5 to 6 a.m. and practices two of the three sports every day.

“I like to exercise early when my kids are sleeping, that way it doesn’t interfere with their day,” he says.

To get his work done, Yoakam usually spends time working after the kids go to bed at night. He tries to spend no more than two days a month travelling for business so he can be at home with his family. He says he understands what it takes to balance work and family, and uses his juggling skills to continue improving KidsLinked.com.

The site will soon add more tools to help busy parents, including an improved calendar in November that can be synchronized with standard Outlook or Google calendars, and social networking features in December. Features for teachers and coaches to manage events and information on their own Web pages will also be added near the end of the year.

KidsLinked.com has expanded from Columbus to places as far as Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, as well as many other locations around Ohio. The company hopes to add two or three new cities every month, totaling 60 by the end of the year.

“We are trying to create tools to simplify how parents manage their daily lives,” Yoakam says.

For more information on Yoakam and his Web site, visit www.kidslinked.com.

Anna Gerber is a contributing writer for Upper Arlington Magazine.