Hi. I'm the owner of D.C. Mama Concierge and we (by we I mean me I have no employees..yet) do exactly what you've described. I've worked in executive household management and most recently as a personal assistant.

D.C. Mama Concierge caters to the needs of busy moms who have too much on their plate. Delegate those tasks to me! Big or small. Last minute or with a lot of lead time.


Proactively and preemptively pick up Keens during Nordstrom Anniversary sale for NEXT years summer camp?

Organize your entire household. Design, Purchase, Assemble.

Party planning. Bake the cake, make the favors, face paint AND do the after party cleanup.

Write and Mail Thank You notes (shh)

Costco Runs

Cook

Clean

Stand in line at Apple for a 5s? DMV? Black Friday @ Best Buy?



You can contact me at:
info@dcmamaconcierge
202-538-2449

^^ This was my concern with housekeepers; they're used to charging by the job, not the hour. Glad to hear you had success, though, and I'm going to try it.

PP here. One other things. You mentioned paying extra for the other tasks. We ended up realizing it actually made sense to pay slightly less per hour than her regular housekeeping positions. When she does housekeeping, she is working, extremely hard, for the entire job and getting in and out as fast as possible.

At our job, she has more variety, paid break time, guarenteed hours, paid vacation, and paid holidays.

All in all, she charges us about 15% less per hour than she charges her regular housekeeping clients.

We hired someone like this. She is basically a housekeeper and all her other jobs are straight housekeeping. I wouldn't call it nannying at all. Advertise for a housekeeper and be clear that you will pay hourly and that occasional sitting and general flexibility will be part of the job.
We found a great person on care.com

The biggest hurtle was getting past the mindset that a lot of housekeepers had that they did their specific tasks, as fast as possible, and were paid by the job. Once we found someone who really got that she had set hours and that we needed flexibility in what she did during those hours, it worked out extremely well. I think some people just didn't get that if we wanted her to watch our three year old for an hour, and we said we knew she wouldn't be cleaning during that time, we really meant it and wouldn't be upset that things weren't cleaned! On the same token, if its an easy week and she's finished all the cleaning with two hours left in her schedule, she doesn't leave, but finds something else useful to do. Maybe cleaning out the pantry or the fridge.

It is really win/win. We have someone filling in the gaps that we need. And she has a break from pure housekeeping. We don't pay as much hourly as her housekeeping jobs do, but, when you consider the fact she is paid hourly for 8 hours one day and 4 another, she still comes out ahead. (She might only be able to fit in 4-6 hours of actual paid housekeeping when she strings together different jobs. Plus, we guarentee her hours, so she has a steady source of income for about 1/3 of of her total income)

No, I would call it housekeeping first, though now I'm thinking maybe I should hire a really skilled cleaner and then a separate "family assistant." I'll try all-in-one first, though.

I think you can advertise almost anywhere for a position such as this. Care.com, Sittercity.com., Craigslist, your local newspapers and even on this website.

Just make sure you clarify as much as possible ALL the duties that will be involved and do not label this a "Nanny" position only.

Good luck.

I did this as well when I was in college. I was just a "family assistant"

That's exactly it! I live relatively close to Catholic and U of M. I'll definitely try there. What did the people who hired you call the job?

I did a position similar to this while in college. If the hours/days are somewhat flexible, I would try a neighborhood listserv and/or see if there's a way to post ads at the university or college closest to you.

I was in college about 20 years ago (yikes!) but at the time it seemed like a great, flexible way to make a decent amount of money. I did housecleaning, laundry, made a meal or two each week with large portions that could be frozen and eaten later, and did fill-in nannying when theirs was unavailable or when they needed occasional weekend help.

I have three small children (3.5 and under). I work PT from home, and we already have a fulltime nanny. Because of this set-up, the nanny or I can take one of the children to a class or something while the other is home during my "off" times. With child #3, though, I am having a hard time doing everything I used to do, working, and being the primary caregiver to an infant. The goal is that on the weekends, we have family time rather than running-around-doing-errands time.

We also have a cleaning service. The cleaning service has become a huge PITA because they run on a tight schedule (2 people come for 1.5 hours each week), only schedule work from 8-3, and won't do anything not on their list. Because of the new baby's naps, waiting for the cleaners and keeping everyone out of their way has become incredibly stressful. My husband also doesn't think they do a great job, though I think they actually do.

So, we are considering hiring an individual who would come 8-10 hours a week (two afternoons, ideally since all the kids are generally awake for a few hours after 3:30) who would do everything the old cleaning service did plus various other household chores, some regular (like two loads of laundry each time she comes), and some occasional (like cleaning the refrigerator every few months). I know this is basically a housekeeper position, but I would pay a little more and/or add another couple of hours for someone who could be more of a "personal assistant:" run an errand, make dinner once a week, and be willing, in a pinch, to watch the kids if the nanny was out or both the nanny and I were unavailable for some portion of the day.

How would you advertise this position? Where would you advertise it? Any advice appreciated.