Mummy PA to the rescue!

Whilst women may be known as great multi-taskers, there comes a point when the career-juggling mother of several kids, to whom the household management responsibilities also seem to fall, has to admit that she simply can't do everything. Cue the Mummy PA Lifestyle Management service at Consider-it-Done.co.uk. Set up by Sue Reeve, Mummy PA aims to offer busy mothers an affordable extra pair of hands to help with those endless tasks that eat into precious time with the family.

From organising birthday parties and booking the holiday to picking up laundry and ordering groceries, Mummy PA is on hand to give back to working Mums some much needed breathing space and sense of control. Sound tempting? The Good Web Guide talks to Sue Reeve about what Mummy PA can really do for you.

INTERVIEW

What does the service involve?

We offer an organising service to help people with their demanding lifestyles. Our aim is to work invisibly in the background and make things easier for them. Each client has their own lifestyle manager on the team so they have the same point of contact every time and that person's there to work through anything the client might need.

What gave you the idea for the Mummy PA package?

We found that a lot of the time our clients were mums and a lot of them were under pressure because they had so much going on in their lives. Women are increasingly reaching senior positions in companies, yet our experience is that it's still the female that mainly shoulders the organising in the household. Women are keen to succeed in all areas of their lives, and this is a mechanism that enables them to do that.

What sort of job and how many children does your average client have? Can you give some examples?

There isn't really an average. We've got a client in a senior role who has grown up children, we also have clients who have very young children or new borns, and women who are single parents. Quite often people will come to us after a divorce when they recognise that something needs to change. Every single situation is different and that's what makes it quite exciting and unique for us.

Why are women struggling to manage everything?

Something like 25% of children today grow up in single parent households and it's mostly women taking the central role. Women generally have their health longer and their children later and this tends to happen when they are in quite a demanding place in their career and their parents are getting elderly and needing care. It's a sandwich scenario, where everything is crammed in.

What sort of things are you asked to do as part of the Mummy PA service?

Quite often it's to do with school. Perhaps people that are new to parenting and don't know a lot of things, for example: when do you put your child down for infant school? Which are the best schools in the area? Which schools have places? When are the Open Days? We might co-ordinate school runs between parents, find swimming teachers, or music teachers, or we might organise a birthday party. The thing about kid's birthday parties today is that everyone's looking for unique ideas. It's not just a clown and a musician anymore!

Have you had any unusual requests?

We were once asked to get a broken trampoline fixed. Only thing was that the trampoline was in a locked shed in Wales, so we had to somehow work out the logistics! We had a house with a big garden and they were weighing up the options of a big motorised lawn mower or pygmy goats…so we looked into where she might get some pygmy goats and how effective they would be at keeping the grass down and so on. We've arranged a hundred extras for a film at short notice. We've also arranged for a pair of baby ducklings to be delivered as a wedding present to two ladies getting married.

What would you say to busy mothers who would clearly benefit from a PA, but are worried that it might be seen as indulgent, particularly over a recession?

I think I would say, life goes on and the need to keep on top of organising doesn't go away. I'd say that the mums we work with see us as even more necessary now. They need to focus even more at work now perhaps, but still want very much to have time with the family.

Can Mummy PA actually save you money? How?

People can lose money through disorganisation. For instance, if you lose track of your parking fine, it doubles in fourteen days time, but if you stay on top of it, you can minimise your loss. If you think of the number of times that you didn't quite get around to buying something for your friend's birthday and had to buy an expensive bottle of champagne last minute. Or buy your dinner at the corner shop because you didn't quite get around to ordering the groceries. People just throw money at problems, but if you've got someone there to help you stay on top of all everything, this is less likely to happen.

What did you do before and how has this helped you in your role as a Lifestyle Manager?

I always worked for big companies. I worked for British Airways, Heathrow Express and Orange in my corporate career and always in customer service focused roles. I could very much see in my own experiences the long hours culture, the commitment and the sheer volume of things that you have to deal with. I was travelling a lot. I was away from my home, my friends and family and, when I got back, I really wanted to have quality time with those people rather than dealing with a leak coming through the roof! My experience was also that people tend to put themselves last and the company first, so I was able to bring all that understanding into Consider it Done when I set it up. I also realised that my talent was in finding solutions to problems and getting things done.

When did you launch the Mummy PA service, how has it grown and where do you see it going?

The publicity we got in November 08 (in The Times) was really the launch pad. Thanks to that publicity, it took off immediately. I'd like to make Mummy PA available in more places, so perhaps part of a gym or spa membership, or available to a nursery or crèche. But more importantly, I think it will be something that's relevant to forward-thinking employers who can see what great value this could add to their key people - not just mothers actually - as part of an employee benefits package.

What has the feedback been like from Mummy PA clients?

People really love the one-stop shop idea in that they don't have to differentiate between work tasks and home tasks - they can literally have us typing up their expenses or setting up a management conference on one hand, and on the other, helping them find a new nanny or research their holiday. The other thing they like is being able to stay in control of choices and decisions - they don't lose that sense of being in charge - it's just that the legwork is taken away.


FIND OUT MORE
To find out more about the Mummy PA service, click here

VIP EXTRAS
Each new client who joins Consider-it-Done will be given:

i) A Taste London (tastelondon.co.uk) complimentary subscription worth £69.95
ii) A year's Blacksmith membership with Mr & Mrs Smith, worth £15

COSTS
Lifeline Subscription Package: £295 (ex vat) for 8hrs/month. Subscribers rate for any extra hours needed.
Now & Again Package: £325 (ex vat) for 8hrs. Unused time can be rolled over from month to month.

Interview by Emily Jenkinson

Uploaded 20th February 09