You’re throwing your button-nosed, just-out-of-braces daughter a sweet 16 party this weekend. Clamoring down into the basement with boxes of clutter you have whisked off the counters, you are practically at the bottom step when, what is this? You’re ankle deep in water from the melting snow outside and the party decorations are floating by like swan boats through the Boston Public Garden. But wait! Don’t turn those streamers into papier maché just yet.
With an onslaught of freshly licensed teens due to arrive upstairs in a few days and electrical plugs shooting sparks like a fireworks display downstairs, there is zero time to go grocery shopping, pick up the dry cleaning, make loads of food and recreate the decorative theme.
But, with personal concierge services like Done on the Run, started by Heather Tolley-Bauer in late 2006, there’s a ripple of hope in that standing water.
“Helping create a life without lists” is Tolley-Bauer’s new mantra. Her Done on the Run duties include grocery shopping, picking up dry cleaning, waiting for the plumber or electrician while you’re at work or on vacation, managing appointments and suggesting caterers and event venues. Her skills are available to singles, couples, elderly and even small businesses and nonprofits. But why would Tolley-Bauer go from nearly a decade run as the director of public relations at Citizen’s Bank to being a professional errand-runner?
“I was letting the responsibilities of my job run my life,” said Tolley-Bauer. “It was because of [a] situation with my [critically ill] friend that made me realize I needed to take my life back.”
While her exit from Citizen’s Bank seems startling, Tolley-Bauer is still corporate-minded. “If you think of running your household like running a business, outsourcing is a good way to do business.”
Tolley-Bauer, 36, said providing these services to people gives her an opportunity to be “altruistic,” but her altruism comes at a cost.
She charges about $30 per hour for “a la carte” services including grocery shopping and waiting for a contractor at your house, but building a long term relationship, or lumping services for a group in a similar area can mean discounts.
Currently she is working with 12 households and has contracts in the works with a small business and two non-profit agencies.
Tolley-Bauer’s long-term strategy is to franchise the business. While there are similar concierge services around the state in Rocky Hill, Middlefield and Fairfield County, according to Tolley-Bauer, “Our paths haven’t crossed.” n
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Amanda Blaszyk is a staff writer for the Hartford Business Journal.
