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How to Get Started Working at Home as a Personal Concierge

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How to Get Started Working at Home as a Personal ConciergeBy Holly Reisem Hanna

Do you want to launch your own home-based business, but you’re not sure what type of business to start?

Then consider working as a Personal Concierge, or sometimes called, a Personal Assistant. Not only does this allow you to work from home, but it falls under the most basic human needs of not having enough time and having way too much to do. And people are more than willing to pay good money for an extra set of hands so that they can get stuff done.

As Personal Concierge you’ll assist individuals with their overflow of tasks and errands:

  • Booking travel
  • Bookkeeping
  • Appointment setting
  • Running errands
  • Picking out gifts
  • Planning parties
  • Meal prep
  • Dog walking
  • Grocery shopping
  • Sending out correspondence
  • Organization
  • Internet research
  • Mailing packages
  • Picking up kids
  • Managing repairs
  • House sitting
  • Waiting in line
  • Dropping and picking up items from the dry-cleaner

Being a Personal Concierge does not require any special skills, training or a large startup budget, however, you will need to be professional and organized.

So how do you get started working from home as a Personal Concierge?

1. Have a Business Plan.

Since it’s unlikely that you’ll be taking out a loan to launch your business, you don’t have to have a formal business plan, but you do need to create a simple plan so that you have a roadmap to chart your journey. Within your plan, you’ll need to include things like what services you’ll offer, what to charge, how to accept payments, how you will market your business and take care of bookkeeping and financials. Need a little help? Life Hacker has a free one-page business plan to get you started.

2. Business Structure.

As a Personal Concierge you’ll most likely work by yourself, so choosing your business structure should be relatively easy (Sole Proprietor). But if you are going to have a partner or you’d like to have some extra legal protection you’ll need to file for a Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or S Corporation. Each structure has its own pros and cons, meeting with an attorney or an accountant can help you to determine which structure best suits your needs.

3. Register Your Business.

If you plan on using something other than your own name, you will need to apply for a DBA – Doing Business As. You will also need to research to make sure that someone else isn’t already using the name you want to use. This is also a good time to look at available domain names for your website.

4. Financials.

You will need to keep track of all of your business expenditures and sales by opening up a separate bank account for your business. Along with having a separate business bank account, you’ll need to figure out how to accept payments and what type of bookkeeping software to use. PayPal is a third-party payment solution that is both widely used and accepted, and it allows your customers to pay with a credit card. You'll also want to keep track of income and expenses, this is can be done on a spreadsheet, but I've found that using a bookkeeping platform helps to keep things more organized. Platforms like GoDaddy Bookkeeping and Wave are affordable and easy to use.

5. Online Presence.

There are many affordable ways to create a website for your business, but I highly suggest using a multidimensional content management system, like WordPress. In fact, WordPress is what I use and most other small business owners and bloggers use. Note sure where to get started? No problem. Setting up a WordPress website via BlueHost is easy and affordable. Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to set it up (this should take less than 20 minutes, seriously). Once you go through these steps you can purchase a theme (this is the design element of your site) to create a custom design. This site was designed using StudioPress — it's so easy to upload and to modify, and it gives you a highly professional looking site.

6. Communication.

You will want to designate a separate email account for your business activities. Once you purchase your domain name and hosting, you’ll be able to get an email address that reflects your business name. Having a separate phone line for your business can be nice, but it’s also an added expense and it may not be needed. Explore different options, like using your smartphone, Skype or Google Talk.

7. Marketing Your Personal Concierge Business. 

Now that you have your website ready you will need to get traffic to your site. Start by setting up social networking profiles on Facebook and Twitter to promote your business. Place free ads on Craigslist, start a weekly e-letter, print business cards, blog weekly, and ask family and friends to spread the word. You may also want to post flyers or promote your new business at your local chamber of commerce. Remember to take a little time each and every day to market (promote) your business.

8. Getting Your First Clients.

Now that you have all of the essentials in place, you’ll need to secure your first client to start making money. While there are numerous ways to go about this, take a look at these articles for more in-depth instruction.

For some more resources on becoming a Personal Concierge check these out:

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Comments

  1. Hi, I love how informative your articles are! I’m considering starting a concierge business but I live in a rural area. How well do these type of businesses generally do in small towns? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Amber,

      That’s a great question!

      It really depends on what type of services you’re offering. If the bulk of your services can be done online; I’d say that it doesn’t matter where you’re located. However, if you’re thinking about running physical errands and tasks — it may become a little more tricky.

      I suggest writing down a list of all of your skills and then see how they can be transitioned into an online business.

      Good luck and keep us posted on your journey!

      Reply

  2. Hi there! I have a concierge business and looking for software to track not clients but the clients requests. I need a good tracking system for each client for the requests..
    Thank you

    Reply

  3. Hi, this is such an awesome idea, I have been searching for something to start from home and was really considering going into a similar field but more marketing related, but with this I could do both! I studied Marketing and worked as a PA. So I hope this will work for me. I have one question and I really hope you can answer it! If I start my own personal concierge business, and let’s say I have 10 clients, that’s a lot for one person I think starting off, how would you manage between 2 – 10 clients and who do you mark as priority as well as if they all give you a to do list and there are things that clash? How would you manage this? Do you decline when you full or if a call comes in for a task and you already busy?

    Hope to hear from you!

    Regards,
    Carmen

    Reply

    • Hi Carmen, Glad you enjoyed the tips! First, you’ll need to figure out how much time you have to dedicate to work. Once you have that figured out, you’ll need to onboard and vet clients. Each client’s needs will be different, so you may only have two or three clients based on their needs and how many hours you’re able to work. You definitely need to come up with a system to stay on track and keep organized. Using a project management system, like Trello can be helpful. As your business grows, you may want to hire additional staff to help you manage your clients, or you can have a waitlist for new clients, as you won’t want to take on more than you can handle. Communication will be key in all of this — letting clients know what skills and tasks you can handle, how much time you can dedicate, your turn around time, rates, etc. Good luck and keep us posted!

      Reply

  4. Hi Holly! Really enjoyed reading your blog/article. I, too, am in the process of starting my own personal concierge business. And also don’t have a vehicle. However, where I live, I have access to major public transportation systems, i.e., bus, taxi, train. I believe running errands and p/u and d/o things for clients shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. Cheers!!

    Best regards,

    Michelle Martin

    Reply

  5. Hi, Holly. I have just decided to enter the concierge business. I am currently working on my business plan as well as getting other “ducks in order” for my launch. I would like to be a member of your online society. I am sure that I can learn a few things and contribute learned experiences over time.

    Thanks.

    Jim Powell

    Reply

  6. Hi! Thank you for your interesting blog. Question: Under the business register segment. ….In doing a business name search can a person use a business name thats on the east coast but not in your state, city, etc? Thank you for any information. Kit

    Reply

  7. hi
    i just found out about this beautiful business opportunity and before i post my question i would like to thank you for putting all this together. its really helpful and amazing (made me more interested in starting my own business). so now my problem is i do not have a car and i would like to know if this is all possible if i do not have my own transport?

    Reply

  8. Thanks for this awesome information. I just was laid off and trying to figure out how to manage my personal busy schedule with kids and make some money!
    I do have a question that I may have missed in here. Do you have any tips or links of a fee structure? Something to show a typical fee for running errands or grocery shopping or taking the dogs out at lunch. Any help you might have would be great.
    Thanks again!

    Reply

    • Hi Christi, If you want to be a generalist that makes phone calls and runs errands, take a look at sites like TaskRabbit and Fancy Hands to see what they charge per task/hour. I have some articles on pricing, but, they’re more for freelance writers. Good luck and keep me posted!

      Reply

  9. Hi Holly,

    Thanks for putting this together for us. This would be perfect for anyone who loves to be out and about running errands. The first person I thought of was my daughter. :)

    Passing this along. Hope all is well!

    Cori

    Reply

  11. A quick update from me! I run The Concierge Society – Your Personal Concierge Community – create a concierge business you thrive in which is full of resources for people who are looking to start a personal concierge business. Plus, I’ve just launched the Fee 7 Day Personal Concierge Manifesto Mini Course which may be a great place to start! http://theconciergesociety.com/7… I’m also happy to answer any questions you may have as a result of my 12 years running a personal concierge business.x Abbie

    Reply

  12. Hi everyone! I have been running a personal concierge business for over 11 years, and have just established an online community for new and established personal concierge businesses and their team. I’d love for you to get involved. Head on over to http://www.theconciergesociety.com to take a look. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. I know what it was like when I started – hardly any information around at all! :)

    Reply

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