While working as a tutor for kids on Hollywood production sets, Todd Pliss heard the complaints from parents about the lack of quality child care. There was a glaring need for experienced and responsible babysitters who would show up on time and spend more time with the kids and less time texting their friends so Pliss closed the books on tutoring and came up with a solution: Grandmas for hire.
In 2011, Pliss launched Rent-A-Grandma, a one-stop agency for all of a family’s domestic staffing needs. The agency carefully screens and administers a background check on each applicant and each grandma typically earns between $16 and $23 per hour. Pliss claims that hired grandmas are not bored retirees but rather women who are passionate and want to work.
According to Pliss, the average age of a grandma-for-hire at the agency is 60 and about 90% of the grandmas have previous domestic experience. In addition to child care, the agency’s grandmas also provide specialized services including cooking, organizing, party planning, and pet sitting for various clients.
In May 2011, a short time after Rent-A-Grandma was featured on Fox News, hundreds of families contacted Pliss and asked him to consider franchising the concept. Pliss eventually gave in and decided to offer franchise territories in 36 states.
So far, Pliss claims the feedback from customers has been great. Families, Pliss says, really bond with the grandmas and in many cases, the grandmas become part of the family. As the number of single-parent and working-parent households continues to climb, Pliss believes there will be an increasing demand for his agency’s services. Who better to call than grandma?
For more information on Rent-A-Grandma, including franchise opportunities, visit www.rentagrandma.com.
Well heck…I’ll take 2!!!
“TianaBerwanger: Need Help Around the House? You Could Always Rent-A-Grandma: http://t.co/PGTLImGtwhtwh”