Janesville business pairs nannies with growing families
(Published Monday, January 15, 2007 11:07:40 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Gina Duwe Gazette staff
Being a nanny and home manager for more than six years was a great experience for Nettie Weber of Janesville. During that time, she networked with families and nannies from all over, and worked with "the many pillars of the household employment industry."
The business aspect sparked her interest.
In September, Weber started her Janesville business Perfect Match Nannies, which pairs families primarily in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois with qualified nannies, governesses, parent helpers, home managers and doulas.
"I just really became interested in the business aspect of nannying and providing a service (to families) that would help them alleviate the stress and time it takes to find a qualified professional in-home child care employee," she said.
She also chaired for three years the Milton Relay for Life, where she worked with the marketing and business aspects of the event.
"I just absolutely fell in love with those two components. It spurred me to eventually open Perfect Match Nannies," said Weber, a Milton native.
Weber, 29, does all the legwork to place live-in and live-out nannies and other household helpers, and provides resources to families to help make their decision. She has two on-call staff members who assist with background checks and other duties.
Weber is helping place Judy Sornson of Portage with a family in the Madison area now.
Sornson said it's been great working with Weber, and prefers a placement agency rather than advertising herself.
"Otherwise you really don't know what kind of position you're getting into," she said. "There's security knowing they've been checked out, and I've been checked. It gives you a peace of mind."
Weber points out her business is a nanny placement agency-not an employment agency or a babysitting service.
Perfect Match Nannies is the only service of its kind in Janesville, Weber said, but much of her business comes from Madison, Milwaukee and Rockford. Since her start in September, she's placed nannies with about six families.
Perfect Match Nannies charges a $500 commencement fee for each family. When the family picks a nanny, that person becomes an employee of the family, who is charged an end fee. Those charges range from $1,000 for placement of a live-out nanny to $1,500 for a live-in nanny.
Weber works with families from all kinds of professions.
"A typical GM family could absolutely hire a household employee," she said.
Nannies are usually paid about $10 to $16 an hour, she said.
People inquire everyday about her services, Weber said, but she always has candidates such as Sornson coming to her for placement.
Sornson was a nanny for 17 years for a family that had four kids in the Rockford area.
"That was so rewarding to see them grow…you just become part of the family," she said. "It's such a rewarding career."
The lingo
Nanny: A nanny is employed by the family on either a live-in or live-out basis to undertake all tasks related to the care of children. Duties are generally restricted to childcare and domestic tasks related to childcare.
Salary for a live-out nanny position generally ranges from $10 to $16 an hour in this area, based upon the candidate's experience. Salary range for a live-in nanny is $7 to $16 an hour.
Parent helper: This person provides an extra set of hands to the stay-at-home parent. A parent helper position is usually for a nanny candidate who is building up their qualifications and experience to eventually take on a full nanny position and work unassisted.
Salary range is $7 to $12 an hour.
Birth doula: A person trained and experienced in childbirth who provides physical, emotional and informative support to the mother before, during and just after birth.
The doula does not replace the nursing or medical staff during birth.
In this region, the pay is generally $15 per hour up to $650.
Nanny/home manager or nanny/estate manager: This person combines nanny and home/estate manager roles each day. The person is responsible for all duties related to the children, as well as for the household.
Salary range is $15 to $21+ per hour (live-in and live-out).
Nanny/governess: A governess is "traditionally an educationally-qualified person employed by families for full-time or part-time at-home education of school age children."
Positions usually require travel with the family, keeping the children up to date on studies and may be live-in or live-out.
Salary range for a nanny/governess position generally ranges from $30,000 to $60,000/year+ (live-in or live-out).
