By Randy Wilson

Starting a concierge service is a great way to become your own boss and take command of your financial future. While not for everyone, a concierge service can be a fun and profitable way to make a living as the rest of us slave away in offices doing the weekly grind. Here is some useful information for anyone thinking about starting a concierge service and living the American Dream.

Estimated start-up costs and pricing guidelines:

Actually, most of us already have almost everything we need to start a concierge service. On the list of essential equipment is:

• cell phone
• computer (preferably a laptop)
• fax machine, printer
• and perhaps a color copier

All told, you might be out $2,000 if you had to buy everything from scratch.

The amount you charge really depends on your time investment and the services you provide. A lot of concierge services charge a monthly membership fee where a person is allotted a specified number of errands. Others charge by the hour while some by the errand. Generally speaking, starting a concierge service will net you anywhere from $24-125 per hour.

Recommended experience, skills, and training:

Starting a concierge service certainly does not require any college degree, but it wouldn’t hurt. A background in sales is probably best for anyone serious about it. Since your entire professional life revolves around making good contacts and selling yourself and your services on a daily basis, a sales background comes in very handy. Any training involving general business and sales or marketing is also valuable.

Marketing tips:

Any successful concierge service will have to effectively network and find the best deals on the products or services their clients want. Targeting airports and hotels where large numbers of strangers enter your town every day are great places to concentrate marketing efforts as they are filled with people in need of your services. A company website is another great idea as your target market will most likely consist of white collar people who are Internet savvy. Be sure to have your content list your location consistently so that you come up in searches performed seeking your area.

Financing sources:

Banks tend to view a concierge service as a high risk business due to its unpredictable nature. There just are no reliable business models to use and they depend upon the charisma and determination of the owner in order to succeed. Thus, financing options are limited to friends and family. But fortunately, start-up and operational costs are relatively low so financing shouldn’t be too great an obstacle for most.

Income potential:

Starting a concierge service may be a fairly large risk in the eyes of a bank, but it has above average income potential for those with the determination to make it work. On average, a personal concierge makes $40,000 to $60,000 per year. But many concierges make extra money from stores and contractors who pay them a commission for sending business their way. It is not uncommon for a personal concierge to charge individuals annual membership fees of $1,000-1,500, and average $5,000 in annual dues from corporate clients.

Starting a concierge service may just be the escape from the rat race that you have been looking for. With low start-up costs and above average income potential, the prospect of getting paid good money to run errands never looked so good.

Randy Wilson has dozens of home-based business articles at his Profitable Home Businesses site.

SOURCE: TeachMarket.com – The Extra-Bucks-For-Teachers Resource

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