How do I go about starting a personal assistant business/?

Question

I was thinking of starting up a business where I run errands for business and people who are to busy to do it themselves. where id o go about getting info on how to start.

Answer 1

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* How to Start and Operate an Errand Service (Revised 2nd Edition) by Rob Spina
* Start Your Own Personal Concierge Service (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Ups) by Entrepreneur Press
* The Concierge Manual, Second Edition by Katharine C. Giovanni

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

A concierge business involves performing routine errands for clients, such as picking up dry cleaning, buying the dinosaur cake for the little tyke, and so on. With the rise of two-income families, working people nowadays seldom have the time to do life’s little chores. If you do not mind performing these little tasks and enjoy doing something different each day, this is a business with excellent growth potential.

Creativity and flexibility are the key qualities to establish a successful concierge business business. You need to have strong affinity with people and a lot of imagination to make ordinary mundane things seem so special, even magically obtain tickets to a sold-out concert that your client craves. Think of yourself as a personal concierge. The most important component of this business is finding your target audience, which often consists of busy executives and working people. To reach this market, you can place ads in your local newspapers, write an article about this service, and send press releases to generate publicity for your business. You can also choose to personally visit a lot of businesses and drop off your brochure.

Start-up costs can range from $500 to $2,500, depending on the equipment you already have. You will need a computer, fax machine, Internet access, pagers and cell phones. Another possible start-up expense includes the cost of bonding and insurance to protect you in the event of accident, theft or mishap. You can expect to earn gross revenues of $50,000 to $75,000 and up, depending on the services you provide and the clients you target. You can charge clients with a variety of membership fees based on the nature of service and number of requests per month. You can charge for family or individual membership, a corporate membership for companies to give their employees, and a one-time service fee. Remember though, that whatever you purchase for your clients are billed to them.

I recommend that you check the following articles, books and websites:

Entrepreneur Magazine's book "How to Start a Personal Concierge Service" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1891984713/ref=nosim/powerhomebizguid
How to Be a Personal Concierge
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,287025,00.html
How to Start and Operate an Errand Service (Revised 2nd Edition) by Rob Spina
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0965703150/ref=nosim/powerhomebizguid
Sound Startup Strategies For a Personal Concierge http://www.startupjournal.com/columnists/ideafile/20010905-pink.html
National Concierge Association http://www.conciergeassoc.org

As for prices, check on the web for website of personal concierge businesses and check if they publish their prices. One such site is Parris Concierge http://www.parrisconcierge.com/... whose Services include such routine (and time-consuming) tasks as returning items to the store, picking up your prescriptions or obtaining annual automobile license renewal stickers. Prices for Parris Concierge run from $40.00-$50.00 per hour and a 10 hour package is $400.00.

Another concierge service is Sisters http://www.sistersx2.com/ and their hourly fees range from $40.00-$75.00 per hour and packages can be built to suit any request.