Nanny Help: getting what you pay for

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm also not sure it's appropriate to come here and sell your services in quite this way, but that isn't my call.

agree. move along, I'm sure you'll find people with lower morals like you on craigslist

[Anonymous]

A nanny being paid $12/hr isn't going to work like a $30/hr nanny. A family paying $12/hr isn't going to increase their budget to $20/hr just because you suggest it and nanny starts washing the dishes.

I'm sorry but your whole business plan is flawed.

[Anonymous]

you have my vote to sink all of your life savings into this business with the hope that nannies will work harder for less money!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you make nannies better ? Op what exactly do you teach these nannies ? Can you give us some examples ?

Nothing. You can't teach someone to be a better nanny. That is what comes with experience. You can't just tell a nanny she needs to keep the house clean as she goes, prepare healthy food, and keep the sink cleared and tell her to charge $20 an hour.

Unless you are going to take the nannies and culture them, teach them a second language, and get them certified in something tangible then they will never be worth more.

[Anonymous]

I don't quite understand why people are so hostile to the OP. Maybe you don't think her business will work out, but there's nothing outlandish or bizarre about helping families hire employees that specifically fit their needs/ability to pay or about training employees. She's offering these perfectly normal services in the context of nannies, where she perceives -- rightly or wrongly -- a gap in the market. Perhaps she shouldn't have phrased it as "making a $12 nanny perform like a $30 nanny," but rather as "helping a newbie nanny acquire the skills that come from experience in a shorter timeframe" or something? But in every other profession, getting free job training is considered a good thing and doesn't mean your employer thinks you suck. And, yes, obviously after sufficient training you will apply for a higher paying job that utilizes your new skills, but that doesn't mean that the employer providing the training doesn't get anything out of the deal. If everyone on this forum's arguments were correct, no employers would ever provide job training.

OP is upfront about this being a brand new business and offering her services for free for -- she hopes -- the mutual benefit of both parties. If you're not interested, don't take her up on it; but don't act like this is an insulting or outlandish proposal.

And, yes, of course you can teach someone to be a better nanny. Don't be ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

This might be better as workshops or as a nanny training school. As presented it doesn't seem so great. No nanny wants to feel taken advantage of by being trained to work like a $30 nanny while making $12. The market or what it is. In my city $15 is considered good pay. Most families pay less unless they have multiple children. No amount of training is going to get me a $30 job where i live.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much to the person who responded at 13:36, I think I really messed up in how I originally explained this with regards to pay and titled it. The concept needs some work but I think if you all read my subsequent posts you can see what 13:36 saw. I am actually a bit shocked at the harsh backlash - I did not expect to be treated as such and I think it speaks to the sometimes negative nature of this industry. It does not always have to be nannies vs families and it in fact shouldn't. Some people read this and very obviously felt attacked because I used pay, an obviously sensitive subject, to help explain my concept. When I really should have emphasized families and nannies creating strong, positive relationships through career advancement.

I originally thought of this as a workshop based idea but coming from the nanny side of the spectrum, I don't think we, in general, have enough time or money to fully invest in our careers as nannies without families' help. 13:36 if you have any suggestions I'd love for you to email me and we can discuss further. In fact, if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it! I'm not the enemy, I am a nanny just like you all and I am not trying to take advantage of any system.

[Anonymous]

I think you're insulting the families that have hired nannies. It seems like you are saying that they are too stupid to hire a
qualified nanny.

[Anonymous]

But OP - I think part of your problem is that parents will not pay for this service, at least as you have articulated it here.

I'm a parent and I don't see the need for what you have described. I wouldn't hire an unqualified nanny in the first place. And I wouldn't pay $30/hr for anyone as a nanny (and I live in the DC Metro area.)

Are you building/running an agency? I understand that. Are you developing job training courses a nanny (or prospective nanny) might take? I understand that also.

Are you developing continuing education type programming that employers would pay to send their nanny to attend or participate in? I think it would be a very unusual employer who would do that. And an employer who would pay for those services would instead just pay for a highly qualified, experienced (and therefore more expensive) nanny in the first place - thereby eliminating the need for what you've described.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who asked what I teach nannies to do/provide: Avant Nanny helps nannies tailor a curriculum for each individual child based on their needs/interests/goals/level. That is the main concept, providing a new service much like what children receive in the classroom on an appropriate level that promotes enrichment outside of school. Think worksheets (math, reading comprehension, writing, etc), projects (ex: go to National Zoo, research and complete a diorama on their favorite animal), and day to day activities (if they watch a movie they will then complete a synopsis or answer questions, again baed appropriately on age and level).

Again, I apologize for not making this clear before. This is not a scam or a ploy - I wanted to put this out there to two random families because I wanted an unbiased proof of concept on this. The people I have met see the value in me and this venture and while their opinions are important to me, I wanted to start from scratch in order to fully realize what this business is capable of.

To those that do not see the value in this, I completely respect your opinion and I would hope you would share that mutual respect in your responses.

I think my experience as a nanny as been very different from many, I think of nannying as my career and I treat it as such. I am open with my employers and I appreciate everything they have done for me. I respect them and I know they respect me and maybe that is the only model in which this business works. Otherwise this becomes about mistrust and bettering someone to one party's advancement and subsequently hurting another. This is about mutual growth in the best interest of the children. I aspire to be on a career path that promotes growth, inspiration and stellar service. I think we need a coach to start breeding this atmosphere. I don't mean to offend anyone with my suggestions and I think all nannies are capable of providing this level of enrichment if only they have the right mentor and tools.

I've been a nanny for a long time and I just don't see the need for this in my charges time with me. Our days run like clockwork. For instance with charges age 6 and 3. They wake up at 8 eat, get dressed and then it's off to either summer camp or school. The youngest is gone from 9-12 then comes home eats and naps until 2:30 when its time to get the 6 year old and camp/ school. After that they have play dates, we swim in the pool or a scheduled activity like karate or ballet. By 5 pm I'm cooking dinner. During the school year the oldest gets home at 4 we do homework activities like soccer practice and swim lessons then dinner. The amount of free play they have is already so small I can't imagine cutting it out for worksheets and dioramas. During the school year they sometimes only have 20 minutes a day of free play while I'm cooking.

[Anonymous]

OP the backlash you've seen has nothing to do with nannies vs families. I'm a nanny and nothing you've said is appealing to me. if you want to ask nannies pay you for a workshop, that is one thing (and still seems unnecessary to me), but your bottom line to this business is training people to become high quality workers for cheap pay (and I am really uncertain about your qualifications given how you've approached this).

first, as a few PPs have said, the market and the family needs dictate what the market is. I'm the PP that said I have experience with multiples and special education but that isn't going to matter when I am interviewing a family that doesn't have those needs. second, families pay what they want to or can afford. no training on the nanny's part is going to change that. and yet again, if you train a $12 nanny to provide service s like a $30 nanny, that nanny will move on to get a $30 job.

it does not sound like you are an advocate for nannies nor does it sound like you are trying to smooth things between families and nannies. I'm not really sure what your point is here, other than lowering wages (which again, is out of your control).

[Anonymous]

if the point of your business is to be a mediator between a family and a nanny, I don't think that would be super beneficial either. if the two parties need hand holding to communicate, the relationship isn't for them. why would I pay somebody to do the communicating for me?

[Anonymous]

To all of the critical and negative responders: message received. I will forgo responding anymore to this thread and attempt to delete it (if that is possible). I can handle constructive criticism but this is uncalled for. Never did I think my offering a free service involving a new business I am trying to start would be received this way. I'm disappointed that a community of women (mostly, I understand men are involved too) would tear apart a female entrepreneurial attempt like this. I get it if it doesn't work. I can handle that. To the people who outwardly assumed things on my character and what I'm attempting to do, and the poster who wished I lose my life savings doing this - I hope you all never encounter a community so set on destroying a person's dreams like you all have tried to do today. I whole heartedly regret posting this and to anyone who says "it wasn't personal", read the posts. This was as close to bullying as I think one can get. To those who responded with legitimate concerns, I appreciate it and thank you for not insulting me or attempting to chip away at me while offering your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Most nannies I know, leave before their year is up. Clearly, these families don't know what they're doing. NP.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm an MB who has responded here a couple of times, attempting to give you genuine feedback. If you know DCUM well enough to post here then you knew what you were getting into when you started the thread, and you're going to need a bit tougher skin. Especially if you're starting/building a business.

I think you got a lot of useful feedback, not much of it positive - but important information for you. Certainly some typical DCUM obnoxiousness mixed in here, but I think the feedback about how your business model was received you should try to receive with as open mind as possible. It will help you in the long run.

You essentially got a free focus group here, in response to a pretty blatant ad. Seems like you did ok in the big picture.