Work from home as a

Concierge

[Contributing Expert: Katharine C. Giovanni]

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Niche Overview
Hotels from around the world were the first ones to adopt the concierge idea and offer the service to their guests. Today, independent concierge companies have brought this ancient service to the modern world so that now everyone has access to them.

So what exactly is a concierge?? I think the short version here is that it is simply another word for personal assistant.

The concierge industry itself is only about 20 years old and started with a few brave pioneers who took the hotel concierge idea and decided to offer it to the corporate world. I have been in the field since 1998 and when I started there were, perhaps, 30 or so concierge around the U.S. Today, there are thousands. You can actually see the phenomenal growth by looking at my company’s numbers. Triangle Concierge began in 1998 with a dozen clients. Today we have thousands of clients from 40 countries. In fact, the International Concierge and Errand Association (ICEA) has experienced 110% growth in just the past year!

You can now find concierge everywhere ... in hospitals, malls, corporations, apartment buildings, office buildings, airports, colleges, associations, churches and on and on and on. You could sum up the state of the industry in two words ... extraordinary growth.

We all do a balancing act every day, and since most of us don’t have a personal assistant to make the phone calls and run the errands for us, we try and cram them into the weekend and on our lunch hour during the week. In fact, many people feel that there are simply not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Right? Well help has arrived!!!
 
Here are a few services that are currently offered by concierge around the country:

• Pet care
• Personal chef services
• Obtaining Tickets to concerts, sporting events, etc...
• Auto maintenance
• Home organization
• General Errand Services including grocery shopping, dry cleaning pick/delivery and the like
• Personal Shopping
• Home Management Services
• Business Assistance
• Transportation Services     
• Business Referral Service       
• Restaurant Recommendations and Reservations
• Pet services
• Senior care
• Modified house sitting
• Travel planning
• Internet research
• Employee relocation services
• Corporate housing
• Corporate gifts
• Traveling notary services
• Bill payments
• Cleaning Services
• Courier/delivery service
• Gift baskets
• Flower delivery
• Meal delivery
• Merchandise returns
• Mystery shopping
• Repair/service calls
• Special day reminders
• New mommy services
• Meeting/Event Planning

This is only a few of the many services a concierge can offer. The sky is the limit here! There are dozens of things you can do here. In fact, a concierge will do anything as long as it’s legal, moral and ethical.
The popularity of concierge services stems from the fact that people are stressed out, overworked, and need help dealing with life so they can spend their free time nurturing themselves and their families. 

As good workers become harder to find, businesses are also looking for concierge services to offer as perks to keep valuable employees happy. Companies around the world are not only starting to use concierges, but are making them a part of their corporate benefit packages.  They are reasoning correctly that the less time people spend running personal errands during the workday, the more time they can spend at their desks and subsequently with their families at night. It has become an incredible new work/life benefit as corporations begin to offer these services to their employees and clients.
 
Real estate management companies are setting up lobby concierge and are offering them to their apartment and office buildings and neighborhoods. Concierges are being added to hospitals, universities, shopping malls, airports and more. Travel Agencies, Meeting Planners and Real Estate Agents are all adding them to their list of services. Certainly it’s the wave of the future.
 
 
What skills do I need to become a successful concierge?
 
You have to be the type of person who will labor until the work is done no matter what time it is. The client always comes first, and if that same client needs some work finished by a certain day, then you need to be sure to finish it, on time.
 
Experience in sales, marketing, meeting/event planning, hospitality, human resources and customer service are all great things to have, but are not essential.  I know an excellent concierge who was an engineer in his “past life,” and his business is flourishing. In the beginning you will be everyone — the bookkeeper, secretary, receptionist, errand runner, meeting planner, webmaster, business owner, mail room clerk, administrative assistant, president and chief bottle washer.  You are the classic Girl (or Boy) Friday who does everything for everyone.
 
In this business you can’t wait for things to come to you, you have to go to them.  You need to be able to talk to virtually anyone about anything.  You need to be the type of person who can have a conversation with a post in the subway. You should be able to radiate enthusiasm when talking about your business, and you need to be able to work steadily day and night without complaint.
 

How to set your Fees
 
Figuring out how much to charge is probably the most difficult part of starting up any business.  It is especially hard in this business because the industry is so young and as a result there are no real guidelines to follow.  Fee setting is actually one of the elements of marketing your service because it tells people that you are going to give them quality services for their money.  A low fee may bring you clients initially, but it might not be enough to sustain your business.
 
Every market is different so fees are set according to a number of factors … region, overhead and who you are marketing to.  KNOW YOUR MARKET!  Knowing who your clients are going to be is the key to setting your fees. For example, the price you might charge someone earning four or five figure income will be different than the price you might set for someone earning six and seven figures.
 
Now in today’s market, there are two basic ways to set up your fees … membership/package style and A La Carte.
 
Concierge companies who set up the fees membership/package style generally charge a yearly membership fee (which could also be a retainer fee) plus fees for other services. I have seen membership fees range from $75 to $750 to $5,000 to $10,000 and more per year depending on their location.  In other words, companies located in New York City and Los Angeles would charge on the “high” end, and other companies in places in smaller tiered cities like Des Moines, Iowa, for example, would charge on the low-medium end.  On top of the membership fee, companies charge the client (usually on an hourly basis) for many other services such as meeting and event planning, personal shopping and researching for a product or service.  Hourly rates also vary depending on the type and location of the service. 
 
The other way to set up your service is “restaurant style.”  This means that you provide your client with a menu of services with no membership fee. It is a “pay as you go” service.  A detailed breakdown of all the services along with their costs is usually quoted to the client.  For example, the quote would include rates for errand and personal shopping service and a special date reminder service. 
 
For errands, I have seen charges ranging from $12 to $75 (and higher!) per hour.  It really depends on the location. Things like personal shopping and doing errands like waiting for the cable repairman are all charged hourly. Based on my research, and on the research recently put out by the International Concierge and Errand Association (www.ICEAWeb.org), the average hourly rate for concierge and errand services in the United States seems to falling between $25-65 per hour.
 

Competition
 
I can’t tell you how many phone calls we get about this topic. It’s number one on everyone’s list ... who is the competition? How do I beat them?  They’re going to take all the clients!!!
 
NOT TRUE.  There is plenty of business out there for everyone.
 
Let’s take a look at the realtors in your town. I’ll bet you that, for the most part, none of them are stepping on each other’s toes and that there is plenty of business for them all. One company couldn’t possibly handle all the business in one town as they would be overwhelmed and would soon be out of business.  Trust me on this as it happened to a few clients of mine. They were one of the only concierge in town to advertise their business, and WHAM!  It worked!!  However, they soon became overwhelmed with all the business and had to close down for a few months while they re-organized. Clearly one company can’t possibly handle all the business.
 
Here’s another way to look at it … what would McDonalds be if Burger King hadn’t come on the scene??  Think they spend their time sending each other hate mail?? I was first! You can’t set up your restaurant! It was my idea!!!
 
See my point? PLENTY of business for everyone. One town can certainly handle more than one concierge company offering the same basic services with no problem.
 
Competition is good for the soul. It forces us to do better and offer a better product. I also firmly believe in building relationships and working together towards the common good. Working together will get us farther than working apart.
 
And yes, I practice what I preach. Should I get mad every time someone publishes another book on the Concierge industry? No ... because there is plenty of business for everyone. I think the more books out there on the subject, the better! 
 
My advice to everyone is to bless your competition, shake their hand and welcome them to the neighborhood. Say positive things about them and build a relationship with them. Don’t judge them for what they do or not do. Instead, greet them warmly and let them be.
 
Now why would I want to do that? 
 
Good question ... one reason might be that it’s the last thing they’ll expect you to do. It will certainly shock them for a minute! 
 
The real reason is this ... there is a universal principle that states what you put out into the world will bounce back at you like a boomerang. I know that you’ve all heard this one. If you put out honesty, integrity, love and respect they will bounce right back at you and will only make your business better and more prosperous. If you put out jealousy, anger, fear and hatred then please learn to duck because it’s coming right back at you. 
 
Treat your competition as you yourself would like to be treated.  Love will always get you farther than hate.
 
 
For more information on how to set up your own concierge business, you can purchase my book The Concierge Manual using the link below, or visit my website at www.triangleconcierge.com

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Recommended Reading The Concierge Manual - Katharine Giovanni

Tools of the Trade A computer with Internet access  A telephone and voicemail/answering machine Cell phone A fax machine or computer-based fax capability Website, brochures, sales kit and business cards Basic software such as a client database (TriTrax Pro from Triangle Concierge is good), Microsoft Publisher and Quickbooks for example Insurance such as general liability insurance and bonds Client contracts and a good lawyer A great accountant A positive attitude!!!

Organizations & Associations Triangle Concierge, Inc.  ICEA – The International Concierge and Errand Association

Resource Links International Concierge Directory LogoYes- Create your own logo! Vistaprint.com – free business cards BigDates.com Kwintessential Language and Culture Specialists – International Protocol if you are doing business overseas, or you need to purchase a gift for someone outside of the United States Time Value Calculator - How much leisure time do you have and what's an hour of it worth? PRWeb - free online press release distribution services

Just some of the clients we've worked with:

US Dept of State US Army Air Force Aid Society US Air Force Europe US Air Force US Air Force Academy