Hello! I’m Cameron and I started my personal concierge business, Cameron Concierge, back in early 2007. I used my network and was profitable in my first month. Within a year, I had 64 clients and three employees. It was an incredible experience and I loved every day of it. However, despite how much I enjoyed being a personal concierge, I was restless and wanted to start new businesses. So I cut my business down to one amazing client who I adore and who pays me generously, essentially funding my entrepreneurial lifestyle as I continue to search for that which excites me.
Why am I doing a website on starting a personal concierge company?
I love, truly love, helping people find their path. There is nothing more rewarding to me than knowing that I helped someone improve their life and creating this site seemed like a great opportunity to help many people at once. Also, I know a great deal about this industry and there aren’t any great all-around resources out there for a budding personal concierge. I want to help you learn from my mistakes and successes.
So I made a successful concierge company, does that make me a master on the subject?
Not exactly, but this site will not only include my experiences but well-researched lessons and information from other companies. For those that want some more background, I have a BofA in History from Whitman College and an MBA from Portland State University. In addition to owning my own business, I’ve run operations of two interior design companies and a fitness start-up; did a stint as a banker; and was an account manager for an advertising agency. All of these experiences have provided me with a wealth of knowledge that I hope to pass on to you.
Have I answered all your questions?
Is there something you need an answer on now that I haven’t yet covered? Feel free to email me at cameron@personalconciergeinfo.com or comment below with your questions. I’m happy to help and will try to get back to you promptly. If you have any comments on the site in general, I’d also love to hear them.
A bit of disclosure
While I’d love to do all this for free, I will be providing some recommendations and more advanced tips over time that may pay me a little money. These will be hand selected and I won’t limit my recommendations by which ones offer a kickback or not as I wouldn’t really be helping you if my recommendations weren’t honest. No pressure to buy anything and I will always provide free advice.
Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my site and learn about me. I’d love to know about you and your company as well. Feel free to email me anytime and I’ll do my best to respond. I’d also greatly appreciate it if you’d like me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.
Best,
cameron@personalconciergeinfo.com
Hi Cameron,
Great advice (thanks) I too have started a Lifestyle/concierge company in January 2011 (so still a relative baby) and wanted some feedback about the website etc. Kind regards!
Hi Maya,
Thanks for the compliment! Have you already built your website or are you considering building a website soon? If you do have a site, please pass it on and I’ll check it out!
A website is great to have as it helps legitimize your business and seems particularly helpful in getting requests from out-of-towners just moving to the city, wanting to gift their friends/family that are local, or those looking for some help while visiting. As I’m sure you can tell, I’ve just started this info site. I have pages of topics I want to write about and am trying to do it in a linear fashion so it will be a little while until I post on websites. But, in the meantime I’m happy to email you some recommendations next week if you’d like. If you do have a site, please email me a cameron@personalconciergeinfo.com or just post it here. Please let me know!
Hi Cameron, thank you so much for your website and great information. I actually had a very vivid dream, that told me I needed to start this business,this dream was so strong I started putting together my plan that morning. Now all I need is to find some clients. I have a couple of meetings planed/set with some rich friends , that I know use some of the services I will be offering, hope this will help me find some clients. Any marketing advice you might have would be a godsend. I was in a nothing can stop me mode but a few self-doubt’s are slipping in. I’m unemployed at the time and have no start up money.
Best of luck to you Richard! The fact that you have already are in contact with some potential clients is great news. I probably should write a stronger phrased post on this, but I find that so many people jump in to this business before finding the demand. If you can find clients now, go for it! Working out the details of starting the company can happen after the money starts coming in.
And thanks for the compliments! I have a ton of information coming so hopefully I’ll be of help as you continue to pursue your new business venture.
Hola. Yo soy de Madrid(España) y estoy montando una empresa de recados.
Aqui en España no es muy conocido el servicio pero intento seguir con mi idea.
Quisiera comentar contigo las experiencias de montar una empresa de concierge en otro pais.
Gracias y muy interesantes todos los articulos.
Un saludo,
Ricardo Martin
Hello Ricardo. I’m glad you have enjoyed my articles. Unfortunately I do not speak Spanish and I think the translator program I used didn’t understand your request. Please let me know if you have any questions in English! Sorry.
Hi Cameron, Your web-site is a great resource and really highlights all those issues and questions in the personal concierge business. Well done! the issues are the same, the world over – our business is My Personal Concierge in Australia and San Francisco.
http://www.mypersonalconcierge.com.au
Keep the information flowing – it is a great chance to swap experiences…..
Thank you Deborah! If you ever want to share an experience you learned from and that others could learn from as well, I’d be happy to post it as an article for my readers. Feel free to email me at cameron@personalconciergeinfo.com
Hello Cameron, I am super motivated to start my own concierge company. I live in Las Vegas where it is super competitive. I have my own spray tanning mobile company now and I do massage therapy. Any suggestions on where I should target my future clients. Also suggestions how to incoporate spray tanning and massage therapy with my new company?
Thanks again for the information.
Nya
It really depends on the clients you want. You’ll probably want to look at the competition and see what is working for them. If you’re going after the tourists, you may want to get hooked into some of the casinos. Also, think about how you get business for your other two companies. You probably already have some good ideas of what will work in your area!
As for incorporating your other businesses, it would probably be more useful to see what concierge services your current spray tan and massage therapy clients might be interested in. You may find that people cannot connect hiring you as a concierge when they use your other businesses or it could work very well. Worth testing backwards first.
Hi Cameron
As a new mum I’ve started a lifestyle concierge company in london which I think fits in perfectly with my life right now. Can I ask however whether its a business whereby I don’t need a job? I see you were profitable in month 1 which is great. I’ve decided not to offer hourly rates but instead a tailor service charge. Good idea?
Oh great site by the way
Lyn
Most concierges need a second job to start until they build enough of a base. There are exceptions to that rule, such as having an investor or having a strong network in your area to help you grow your business rapidly. Some can get enough business to quit their second job quickly, others never succeed. It’s all about execution
As for tailoring your rates, that’s a really challenging way to go about it as you’ll find you’ll lose a lot of sales after going through all of the trouble to learn all about the job OR you’ll offer your services well below your value just to get the job. If you offer your rates up front, you’ll only get calls from those willing to pay those rates…which makes it much easier on you. The only concierges I know that have success with tailored rates already have strong reputations in their areas, otherwise they just get taken advantage of. However, it’s definitely your call. If you do try that and have success with it, please let me know!
Could you suggest the BEST keywords for search engines?
Hi Sherrie. Unfortunately, no. The keywords are heavily dependent on exactly what you do and where you are located. You can overdo it on keywords if you add keywords that are irrelevant to your business or too redundant and be punished by the search engines for it.
Also, for SEO purposes, keywords are only play a small factor in getting you ranked well in search engines. Other key ingredients are quality content and other quality sites linking to your site (aka backlinking).
If you are in a competitive area and want to get your site ranked well, I recommend visiting http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo. It’s a good intro guide and the blog is excellent at keeping you up-to-date with SEO changes and improvements.