{"id":22218,"date":"2022-02-07T08:45:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T16:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/?p=22218"},"modified":"2026-10-14T10:16:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:16:58","slug":"how-turo-is-helping-helen-c-give-her-kids-a-childhood-to-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turo.com\/blog\/canada\/community\/how-turo-is-helping-helen-c-give-her-kids-a-childhood-to-remember\/","title":{"rendered":"How Turo is helping Helen C. give her kids a childhood to remember"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Helen C.<\/a> wants to make her kids\u2019 dreams come true, and Turo is helping pave the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want my kids to do things that I didn\u2019t experience when I was younger,\u201d the mother of four explains. \u201cMy family worked hard, but we didn\u2019t have those luxuries. I\u2019ve worked since I was in grade nine. I had two jobs. I went to university. I never had the time to live my childhood, because my parents had to work and I had to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today, her kids are exploring their interests in activities like snowboarding, violin, ping pong, and more thanks to the extra income she gains from hosting on Turo. While some people jump into car sharing with the enthusiasm of a born entrepreneur, Helen says she wasn\u2019t someone looking to start a business. After reading about Turo, she listed her Toyota Corolla<\/a> in July 2021, but she had doubts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s so many car rental companies and I thought, \u2018Why would people choose me over a rental company?\u2019 I didn\u2019t really know what to expect or how friendly the guests would be. In the beginning, I was a little nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking up speed with a little help from her kids<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There were certainly a few bumps in the road. Literally. Her first guest accidentally damaged the rim of her car. While this would be a discouraging experience for many, Helen actually viewed it as a good sign of the infrastructure in place to help hosts when the Turo team helped her sort out her claim quickly.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccidents do happen. That\u2019s why we have insurance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once she overcame that small roadblock, her business picked up speed. Bookings came in and guests asked if she had other cars in her portfolio. In response, she added a Fiat<\/a> that July before listing a Grand Caravan<\/a> and Toyota Yaris<\/a> in August. A Hyundai Elantra <\/a>soon followed in September. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was hard balancing things at first, but she spent the summer getting used to life with Turo by turning it into a mini-adventure for her kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey wanted to go out all the time, so I tried to make it exciting for them. I\u2019d bring popsicles and they\u2019d come with me and watch me or help me clean the car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing in thousands with five-star guest experiences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By the end of 2021 \u2014 only five months after listing her first vehicle \u2014 she\u2019d earned $4,000 on the Corolla alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt just kept going. It didn\u2019t stop. So I was like, \u2018Oh this is pretty good.\u2019 I was actually making some cash. It got pretty interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Helen is the first to admit that she\u2019s learning as she goes. Knowing she can always turn to the sales and support teams for advice has been reassuring. Her Turo rep, Elan S., helps her answer questions on everything from growing her business to having difficult conversations with guests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I was stuck on something, I was able to ask him, \u2018Hey. This is not working out. Are there any suggestions you can make?\u2019 At one point I was very overwhelmed with one-day bookings because when they came back I had to clean. He said, \u2018One option is to make it two days minimum. That way you\u2019re not drained and you\u2019re still enjoying what you\u2019re doing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of cars on the platform, her consistent five-star reviews, and her recurring customers all built up over less than a year of hosting, which is a testament to the great work she has been doing. One thing she does exceptionally well is deliver all-star guest experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019m friendly. When there\u2019s an issue, I respond right away. Even if there\u2019s an issue (…) I try to be very positive. I don\u2019t yell. If there\u2019s a flat tire, I\u2019m like, \u201cIt\u2019s just a flat tire. This is a car. It\u2019s Canada. There\u2019s snow.\u2019 I\u2019m not going to be like, \u201cOh my gosh, what did you do to my car?!\u2019 They think that my car is very clean. In the winter it\u2019s hard, but I try to clean it as much as possible so they\u2019ll feel comfortable. I have sanitizer in there. Masks in there. They feel like my car\u2019s safe and clean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also goes out of her way to be flexible for her returning customers, and they reward her with their loyalty. In fact, one guest travels all the way from downtown Toronto to Richmond Hill (the city north of Toronto where Helen lives) to book her vehicle, even for one-day trips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI like when people feel like I\u2019m helping them and they\u2019re happy. During Christmas, there was one guy who wanted to bring his family from the airport. He wanted to return the car at a later time, and I didn\u2019t want to charge him. Helping a family makes me feel good, because I have my own family, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of her journey, Helen worried about juggling business and family. Today, it\u2019s that focus on her kids that\u2019s given her the empathy to deliver outstanding guest experiences time and time again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Book with Helen<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get started on web<\/p>\n

Cover your car payments or earn some extra cash by sharing your car whenever you\u2019re not using it.<\/p>\n List on web<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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List on the go<\/p>\n

List your car in a few taps \u2014 download the Turo app to get started on your phone.<\/p>\n Download the app<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Helen C. wants to make her kids\u2019 dreams come true, and Turo is helping pave the way. \u201cI want my kids to do things that I didn\u2019t experience when I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[19,51],"language":[2],"class_list":["post-22218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-canada","tag-member-profiles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t