Work at Home Idea:
Start a Personal Concierge Business
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With people working harder than ever these days, more and more of them are willing to pay good money for services that make their lives easier. And that can mean an incredible opportunity for you. As a personal concierge, business and personal clients will hire you to help them out with everyday tasks they don't have time for.
But is this the right business for you? It is if you…
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can juggle 10 different projects at once and make sure they all turn out well
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make friends wherever you go
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thrive on deadlines and love a challenge
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know how to use your creativity to fulfill the needs of others
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are ready to pursue new challenges and set your own course
Start-up is easy. All you really need is phone, an answering machine, business cards and this step-by-step guide. In it, you'll learn to:
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- estimate start-up expenses and operating costs
- organize your business to stay on top of multiple projects
- find your niche and the clients who need your services
- promote your business for maximum results
and more
Are you ready to learn everything about the world of personal concierges?
This guide from Entrepreneur.com is necessary before diving into this home business venture.
Book Excerpt
In this chapter, we’ll explore the new trend toward personal concierge services as well as the history of the concierge profession as a whole. We’ll also introduce you to several entrepreneurs who have started their own personal concierge services. You’ll benefit from their experience and advice as we look into the personal concierge industry.
Spreading Like Wildfire
Concierges have been around in one form or another for centuries, but the personal concierge burst onto the scene only in the late 1990s. Today, more people have less time for everyday tasks, and many of them rely on personal concierges for everything from walking the dog to getting dinner on the table. There are few tasks a personal concierge won’t tackle, as long as the chore is legal, of course.
Although personal concierge services are a fairly recent development, the number of companies that serve time-starved clients is mushrooming, right along with customer demand for such businesses. One San Francisco-based concierge business saw its client base double in 1996 and continue to grow up to 50 percent annually for several years after that. Some 2,000 miles away, a Chicago concierge firm that began with 25 clients in 1997 grew to serve more than 85 clients in just a couple of years. Membership in the National Association of Professional Organizers, which includes some professionals who provide concierge services, swelled from a few hundred when founded in 1985 to more than 1,100 members by the late 1990s.
Why the booming demand for personal concierges and organizers? A big reason is that most people have accumulated so much stuff—both in the workplace and in the home. Just glance at your desk or kitchen counter, and you’ll probably see stacks of papers, bills, correspondence, etc. In fact, in a recent survey by Steelcase, a leading designer and manufacturer of office furnishings, 27 percent of office workers described themselves as “pilers,” while 12 percent described themselves as pack rats. Taking care of all that stuff requires time and organization. Some people need help just to get organized; others could manage the paperwork if they were not saddled with so many other chores. That is when they turn to (or would like to be able to turn to) professionals to help keep them organized, run errands, and see to it that business and personal obligations are met.
Although it’s no secret that the personal concierge field is booming, hard numbers are difficult to come by. The National Concierge Association, founded in Chicago in the late 1990s as a networking and resource organization for both personal and hotel concierges, doesn’t yet track numbers or statistics pertaining to the industry. Cynthia A., a former hotel concierge who runs her own personal business in San Diego, estimates there are a few hundred personal concierges throughout the United States, along with thousands of hotel concierges. Several other personal concierges and concierge consultants agreed with that estimate but said the number of personal concierges is growing fast.
According to Sara-Ann Kasner, president and founder of the National Concierge Association, “The concierge business is exploding right now. There has been tremendous growth.” Personal concierges and industry analysts say there is plenty of room for even more growth.
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This guide from Entrepreneur.com is necessary before diving into this home business venture.
Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent the views of Work-at-Home-Business.com and/or its partners.
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