Home Smart 100 2014 Emergency Backup Nanny (QLD) — 2014 SMART 100

Emergency Backup Nanny (QLD) — 2014 SMART 100

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This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation came to life when…

I was a single mother working up to 60 hours a week. I relied heavily on my au pairs, but any time they weren’t available I would find myself having to leave the office to take care of minor family emergencies. Despite the many advantages of using an au pair including affordability, help around the house, incredibly flexible hours and personalised care within my own home, I realised that the lack of guaranteed reliability was its biggest downfall. I wanted to create an alternative to mainstream childcare that could be relied upon.

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

The purpose of this innovation is to bring alternative forms of childcare such as au pairs and nannies into the mainstream by removing the risks typically associated with them (of quality, reliability and immediate availability).

It does this by…

It does this by creating a systematic structure to au pair recruitment that includes screening and basic training, removing quality concerns. It increases reliability by providing an immediate backup service for families. It solves the availability problem by recruiting candidates from 200 sources (including universities, backpacker hostels, job websites, language institutes) from within Australia. Families are matched to candidates using a proprietary matching algorithm.

SAMSUNG

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

Mainstream childcare is inflexible and often unaffordable and does nothing to improve work-life balance. Other au pair agencies have failed to consider the reliability issue and don’t have backup nannies and can’t find a replacement with often less than six weeks’ notice. This becomes untenable for most families.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

Offering a childcare alternative that is incredibly flexible. Families can arrange for the au pair to work whatever hours they need. It is affordable and also helps families with household chores including cooking, cleaning, etc. It takes away reliability concerns.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

In the past, this problem was solved by agencies obtaining their candidates from overseas. This places a big burden on families to stick with their au pair even if incompatible because of the expense of flying another person over and the waiting period. If there was some reason why the au pair was sick, families would have to scramble to find alternative arrangements.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Smart Au Pairs, Au Pair In Australia, Au Pair Network. None offer the emergency replacement nanny, creating reliability issues for families.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

Families with children under the age of 12. In Australia in 2011 there were 2,367,000 families with children aged under 15 according to the ABS. My service particularly suits families of shift workers, FIFO, single parent families and families who require greater flexibility and help around the house.

It is available for sale through…

Families can contact us through our website or by calling our 1300 number.

Our marketing strategy is to…

Internet (Google search, Facebook, paid Internet advertising), flyers, press releases, networking, seminars with parents, school newsletters, playgroups, working with companies to help their employees find a more flexible, affordable and sustainable childcare alternative.

Your Turn — VOTE!

The Readers’ Choice Index was created to provide an opportunity for Anthill readers to vote on SMART 100 applications, in one of three ways:

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We’ll use your vote to create the 2014 SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Index.

FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

Your Turn — VOTE!

The Readers’ Choice Index was created to provide an opportunity for Anthill readers to vote on SMART 100 applications, in one of three ways:

  1. Tweet it: Top left of each page (3 points)
  2. Trigger a Reaction: Facebook ‘Like’, etc (2 points)
  3. Leave a Comment: Anonymous comments excluded (1 points)

We’ll use your vote to create the 2014 SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Index.

FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.