Self-employment
New biz turns busy lives into big profitsWorking long hours and juggling multiple responsibilities, many professional people are simply time-starved. There just isn't enough time in the week to complete errands such as grocery shopping or picking up the dry cleaning. ROGER PIERCE |
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 [ 2005-08-24 ] |
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Josanne Nalasco (left) and Saree Ghosh operate Andante Concierge Service.
"In Toronto, we discovered a definite market need for personal concierge services," entrepreneur Josanne Nalasco says.
Nalasco and her partner, Saree Ghosh, help busy Torontonians to get things done through their company, Andante Concierge Service (www.andanteconcierge.com). Their personal concierge service is making many lives easier by looking after tasks such as gift shopping, buying show tickets, picking up prescriptions, arranging birthday parties for kids, setting up romantic dinners, taking the car in for servicing or waiting for the cable guy to show up.
Ghosh came across an article in a magazine that identified the personal concierge industry as an up-and-coming trend and as one of the most profitable home-based businesses to start. She says they chose the word "Andante" as their business name because of its meaning. Italian in origin, Andante is a term referring to the moderate tempo of a musical piece.
With millions of stressed-out and over-worked Torontonians, they have plenty of prospects. "Our clients are simply buying some time to enjoy life a bit more," Nalasco says. "It's very satisfying to know we're helping people to focus on priority activities like spending time with family."
Willing to help clients anyway they can, Ghosh says personal concierge services aren't just for wealthy people. "While we typically serve busy professional people, we've kept our fees very affordable so anyone can hire us," she explains.
Nalasco recommends an aspiring entrepreneur consider starting a service business that helps people save time. "There's a huge market out there of people eager to buy themselves some time," she says.
"Find out exactly what they want and deliver it."
-- Entrepreneurship expert Roger Pierce trains people on how to start a small business in the Up & Running Biz Launch Program.
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