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 much on your plate. 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, service setup like cable or internet, etc.
- House and pet sitting
- Waiting in line for concert tickets, renewals, form submission, etc.
- 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 (only if you plan on working as a Sole Proprietor). 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 QuickBooks Online and Wave are affordable and easy to use.
5. Build Your Website
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.
Not 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. My 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 Viber.
Related Content: Do You Need a Business Phone for the Home Office?
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, Twitter, and Instagram to promote your business. Place free ads on Craigslist, start a weekly newsletter, 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.
- The Way to Find More Clients and Make More Money
- How to Get More Business Clients and Customers
- Getting (and Keeping) Your First Client
Of course, it should go without saying, that you deliver high-quality work that's completed on time or ahead of schedule. Word of mouth marketing will be one of your most powerful tools in getting new clients and repeat business from current ones.
Testing The Water Before Making The Leap
If you'd like to test out being a Personal Concierge or Errand Runner before you invest in starting a business, there are a multitude of on-demand apps where you see if this sort of work is up your alley. Apps like Rover (dog walking), Instacart (grocery shopping and/or delivery), TaskRabbit (cleaning, personal assistant, or handywoman), or Postmates (food, grocery, and alcohol delivery). If you end up enjoying these sorts of gigs — then consider starting your own Personal Concierge business where you can decide what sort of services to offer and how much to charge.
Related Content: Five Types of On Demand Money Making Opportunities
Conclusion
While I provided some basic steps to getting your Personal Concierge business off the ground, I highly suggest investing in your personal development by reading books like, The Concierge Manual: The Ultimate Resource for Building Your Concierge and/or Lifestyle Management Company or The Concierge Life: What You Need to Know to Build a Successful Business, Live Your Passion, and Change the World! and taking courses online that will sharpen your skills.
It's also worth your time to connect with other Personal Concierges or Assistants to share ideas, resources, and to have a like-minded tribe of professionals to vent to, share wins with, and get advice. You can check out organizations like Task Complete which offers Concierge Training, or VA Networking which trains Virtual Assistants.
Good luck and keep me posted on your journey!
Originally published in March 2015. Content updated in June 2019.
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Hi, it’s my first time hearing about this business… I am a mother of 5 and during the day I have about 6hours lying around.. With nothing to do during the day.
I would really love to work as a concierga, because I love helping people and meeting new faces… The thought of me going out to service other people tickles my fancy.. I hope I can get that satisfaction..
Good luck and keep us posted on your journey!
I like this idea can you advise me how would pricing work for each client as in should it be different for a business than for a senior or new mom and what would the best start cost be for each task being done
Hi Nikita,
While you can be a generalist, it’s easier and generally more lucrative to pick a niche. You can charge by the hour, by the task, or you can choose to bundle services and charge a monthly or weekly fee. I’d say the more skill a task takes, the more you would charge.
Here are a couple of helpful articles on pricing your services:
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/pricing-freelance-services/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/stop-charging-by-the-hour/
Good luck and keep me posted!
Hello, thanks for the helpful article. Thanks to the Internet, you can create an effective home business. From my own experience, I can say that creating such a business is not easy. To create an effective home business you need to take into account many factors. I believe that the most important thing is to create a business plan, to allocate a place to work in the house (especially if you will create any gifts and handmade goods), choose a source of funding and decide how you will sell your goods. Also, as described in the article, it is important to register your own business, because without it you will not be able to do business. By completing these points, you can create a truly efficient home-based business that will give a good income.
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!
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!
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
Have you checked out DoneDone — https://www.getdonedone.com?
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
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!
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
Glad you enjoyed the tips, Michelle! You can also use a service like Turo and rent a car once a week for errands as well. Good luck with your Personal Concierge Business and keep us posted!
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
How exciting, Jim!
You can sign up for our weekly newsletter here: https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/newsletter-signup/
We also share new updates every few hours on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWorkatHomeWoman
Good luck on your Personal Concierge journey!
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
Hi Kathy, It will depend on many factors. I suggest a consult with an attorney since laws vary from state to state.
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?
Hi Lee, No, you don’t need a car to be a Personal Concierge. You just won’t be able to offer services like running errands or picking stuff up.
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!
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!
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
Hey Cori, Glad you enjoyed the post! The on-demand economy has made it so easy for people to make money running errands!
I’m about to start my own business but how much to charge for my services I provide
Hi Dina,
Here are some helpful articles on what to charge and getting clients:
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/charging-time-worth/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/raise-your-rates/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/paid-freelancer/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/first-client/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/promising-leads/
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
I have started my business. Now I am just not surenough how to go about getting customers. Can you steer me in the right direction. What should I present to them?
Hi Kathy,
Here are some helpful articles on getting clients:
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/more-clients-freelance-business/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/book-more-clients/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/find-more-clients-2/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/get-more-clients-email/
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! :)