Thank Your Loyal Clients with a Freebie!

What is a loyalty program? Should you use one? How will you know it’s working and worth it?

A loyalty program is an incentive program from which a business offers it’s repeat customers and clients rewards of some form. The rewards are entirely customizable, lending to increased personalized service and attention. Customers love it (I know I do!) and it is tremendously effective.

A company may give it’s customers free merchandise, complimentary services, rewards points, exclusive access or advance release products, and so on. The best rewards programs offer something memorable but not too over-the-top.

As a concierge business or errand service, you could present something useful and particular to a client that spotlights how well you know him and can identify his needs. For example, if you have a client who frequently requests ticket procurement to sporting events or concerts, you could throw in a complimentary one-time pass for parking or a gift card to a restaurant nearby that serves your client’s favorite cuisine. Who wouldn’t appreciate something as thoughtful and generous as that??

Learn how to start a concierge business today at Concierge101.com

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Leading Entrepreneur Makes Investment in Concierge Business Startup

Today’s luxury market continues to expand, and concierge businesses are drawing more attention as an economically viable business opportunity in the luxury services industry.  Yes, investors are watching closely for investment opportunities in lifestyle management.

 One of Leeds’ leading entrepreneurs and business funding experts has broadened his portfolio of luxury investments with a six figure investment into West London based lifestyle concierge service One Hundred Lifestyle.  The investment also includes it’s sister business, travel agency Zero Zero One Travel.

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Both One Hundred Lifestyle and Zero Zero One serve affluent clients in search of  lifestyle management, bespoke services and uniquely tailored custom holiday experiences.  Founder Albert Oliver worked for the massively successful luxury concierge company Quintessentially two years ago.  His goal is “…to provide elite service and experiences but without elite price tags.”

A sizeable investment from investor Matt Haycox will be used to enhance brand visibility, marketing and PR which will help the concierge company reach new clients.  In recent years, Haycox has helped thousands of businesses with funding everything from factory machinery to desktop computers, new buildings to acquiring stock, all the while creating thousands of new jobs and money for the British economy.

Haycox states, “One Hundred Lifestyle is the kind of brand that I’d want to use in my personal life and therefore I feel they are something I can relate to and add value too. I jumped at the chance to getting on board when Albert approached me for funding and advice for scale to build the business up. He’s a bright entrepreneur with a great future ahead of him.”

Why Starting A Concierge Business in 2017 Is Brilliant!

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Businesswoman Leaves Corporate World to Start Luxury Concierge Company

In 2013, Kara Candler weighed the pros and cons of starting a concierge service and decided to take the jump.  Since then, her company Tick Tock Concierge has worked with Sony and Warner Brothers helping run errands for team members while they’re in the middle of their shoots.  Four profitable years later, Kara has no regrets.

“My grandfather was a big part of why I wanted to start my own company, carrying on his legacy is important.”

Candler’s grandfather, Hilliard Ward purchased the first lumberyard in Asheville, NC in the late 70’s. He later went on to finance a grocery store chain named “Ingles.” Fast forward to 2016, it’s one of the largest grocery store chains in the United States.

“Both my parents are entrepreneurs so telling my parents that I was going to leave a really secure corporate job was hard. They know how hard it is to run your own business and wanted me to think twice about it to make sure.” Candler weighed the pros and cons and decided to take the jump.

“It’s a serious decision. Leaving benefits and security behind is hard and because of my background there is pressure to succeed in my community as well.” Kara’s grandfather was a beloved well-known figure in Western North Carolina, respected by everyone who met him. He paid college tuitions and donated large amounts anonymously to the community. “I’m proud of him,” Candler says.

In 2013 Kara began her luxury concierge service which caters to businesses and individuals, errand running and organizing on their behalf so that her clients have more time to spend however they’d like.

Within three years, her business has expanded to four cities and two states. “Having great friends, mentors and family surround me has helped. People are starting their own businesses all over the world, so why can’t I?”

The concept of personal concierges has grown in the past five years as individual’s work hours have increased. Candler first heard about the concept in 2012 and began to do market research to see if it would be successful in Asheville, North Carolina. She studied websites, talked to other businesses and read articles on the upcoming trend. She says Asheville was getting great press nationally and realized if she didn’t seize this opportunity, someone else would.

After creating her business model, she approached family friends and asked them what she could do that day to save them time. “I would ask for business straight up. What’s at the bottom of your to-do list?  I’ll handle it.”

Candler’s favorite part of her business is the opportunities she has had to develop professionally.  She’s learned team-building and communication skills and how to deal with customers and clients on a daily basis and resolve conflict and tension professionally. “My clients are all ages and working with each generation is very different.”

Her advice to those thinking of taking the jump is to listen to that “nudge” or inner- feeling and moonlight to test out if this is what you truly want to do. “I felt restless in my corporate job.  It made the feeling more strong.  I really just put it out there and was moonlighting. People don’t talk about it enough but it’s okay to moonlight. I recommend it. Get your website done, get your ducks in a row so you’re all set when you’re ready to take the jump, you have a plan in place.”

 

Read Keys to Starting and Operating a Successful Concierge Business to learn how to start a concierge business today!  Low startup cost…quick, easy income!

Source:  Huffington Post, writer Ashley Mason Brown

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Great Advantages of Owning a Concierge Business or Errand Service

There are several advantages and perks to owning your own concierge business or errand service. Here are just a few reasons:

 

Make Your Own Lane – The personal and professional satisfaction of being your own boss.

Most entrepreneurs would agree that being self-employed and running a small business is consuming, risky and sometimes pretty stressful.  But there’s nothing like creating your own lane and building your own enterprise from scratch.  We are energized by our growth,  independence and self-reliance!  It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?  Even when there is risk involved and anxiety surfaces, an entrepreneur understands the value of overcoming setbacks and obstacles along the way.  Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?  Take this assessment and find out!

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Running your own errand service kicks your creative engine into high gear.

Every day presents a new challenge with the unique requests you receive from your clients. Ever been asked to arrange for an 18-wheeler to be converted into a wedding chapel? It happens! Believe me, in this line of work, you discover your creativity, resourcefulness and talent in finding different ways to meet the needs and desires of your clients.

And if you’re the kind of creative who is stimulated by a challenge, this is the right business for you.  In every type of business, there is always that one customer or client who pushes the envelope just to see what you can do.  Concierges always come charged up and  prepared to battle any obstacle!

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You create bigger opportunities for yourself.

By nature of the business, you attract many people of different backgrounds and professions, whether they are customers or vendors you contract with to help you coordinate and provide services (i.e. car detailer or event planner). This broadens your database of resources, contacts, and clientele, which eventually also refer more clients back to you.

Owning a personal concierge / errand service can offer more advantages than increased income.  For starters, you enhance your resume portfolio easily by 70%.  How? By demonstrating your problem-solving talents to service your customers, you prove your value as a major asset to any employer.

Through your business, you provide a vast array of services to benefit your clients.   Most of the time, you wear many hats – coordinator, manager, customer service, executive assistant, administrator and ambassador, just to name a few.  But remember that each time you switch hats, you prove your ability to excel at multiple types of tasks.  Potential employers place a premium on candidates who can switch gears at sudden notice, and do so gracefully.  So, the next time you’re updating your resume, do not hesitate to include the abundant responsibility you carry not only as a business owner, but also as a pet caregiver or travel advisor and coordinator, or miracle worker!

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You get paid to do what you love.

If you enjoy helping people reduce stress of modern daily living in and be more productive in their personal and professional lives, then you are making the right choice in owning or starting a concierge business.  I can’t even tell you the countless times my clients have expressed sincere gratitude and appreciation for the simple luxury of saving them time!  You really do make a difference in their lives.  In time, you become an extension of your clientele’s personal and professional network – occasionally, even an addition to the family!   It has been a truly rewarding experience for me. I feel so fortunate to have found a way to build personal and financial wealth doing something I enjoy.

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Owning a Concierge Business or Errand Service or Lifestyle Management Company is never boring.

Many personal concierge businesses and lifestyle management companies are contracted by affluent individuals or families to provide first class world-class service on their estate. Often times the client will have the personal concierge travel with them to luxurious places around the world.  You get to experience a lifestyle that you may not be able to afford on your own. And even better, get paid a handsome salary at the same time!

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What is a “Corporate Concierge” and what does a corporate concierge business do?

A business concierge is an individual or service that provides convenience and luxury services very similar to a hotel concierge, except in a corporate environment. So, you can imagine the type of services provided are pretty broad. Typically, as a business concierge or “corporate concierge”, you can expect to deliver such services as coordinating dry-cleaning pickup and delivery to the work site, mobile detailing, shoe and jewelry repair, travel arrangements, event ticket procurement, and so on. Most services are targeted for completion by the end of the work day as an added convenience to the employee or tenant.

Corporate concierge services are often added to a corporation’s work-benefits package as an incentive for new talent. This employee perk has also proven quite effective in increasing employee productivity and morale. Just as in a hotel, corporate concierges are located onsite for easy access. A full menu of services is provided to each employee with hours of operation and contact information. Many of the larger corporate concierge businesses use an online portal through which employees can utilize the service.

Learn more at Concierge101.com

How to Start a Concierge Business – Look Inside – Keys to Starting & Operating a Successful Concierge Service

…Look Inside the Top-Rated Manual That Will Launch Your Business from Home Today!

Here are just a few topics covered in this book…

• How to Start Your Own Concierge Service

• Identify Your Target Market

• Determine Services to Offer

• How to Find Clients for Your Concierge Business

• Business Structure & Taxation

• Protecting Your Concierge Business

Legalities
Contracts
Insurance for a Concierge Business              

• Growing Your Concierge Business

Advertising & Marketing Plan
Networking
Business Portfolio
Marketing Tools & Strategies

• Personal, Corporate & Residential Senior Concierge Services

Concierge Business Plan
Concierge Business Pricing & Rates
How to Find Customers or Clients
Administration & Operations

• How to Start a Luxury Concierge Business

• How to Promote Your Concierge Service

• Handling Difficult Requests

• How to Stand Apart from the Competition

• Concierge Resources

  Visit Concierge101.com and get started right away!

Source: How to Start a Concierge Business – Contents – Keys to Starting & Operating a Successful Concierge Service

Desire for Flexibility Drove Entrepreneur to Start Her Own Errand Business

If you ever wanted to clone yourself to get more done, a woman in Ramsey is the next best thing.

Brooke Hopkins Tateossian started The Suburban Concierge to help people run errands, wrap presents, purge closets and more.

“It’s easier to explain what I don’t do than what I do,” the mother of three said of the home-based business she started six months ago.

“I will not drive and I will not clean.”

“I tell my clients they can do anything but not everything.”

She always tells her clients that everyone needs help and no one should feel bad about asking for it.

“I tell my clients they can do anything but not everything.”

People today juggle multiple community roles in addition to a job, spouse and children and they don’t want to give anything up, she said.

“I love making their everything happen for them.”

She has clients on monthly retainers that have their Amazon presents shipped directly to her home.

“I wrap the gifts, buy cards and drop them off,” she said.

She also tries to anticipate her clients’ needs.

“I’m a good listener.”

She works on a monthly retainer or by the job and also offers packages on her website.

Learn how to start an errand business at Concierge101.com.

“I try to be flexible. Clients are surprised by what I’ll do.”

It was a desire for flexibility that drove Tateossian to start her own business.

With three children 8-14, she was ready to leave her recruitment career and wanted more control over her daily life.

Her in-laws were the inspiration behind starting a business offering concierge services.

“They drop off dinner twice a week, babysit. People were always jealous. It made me realize how much easier my life is because of them,” she said.

Her clients are busy moms and executives. Lately, people have said they’re planning to buy her services as a gift for people who are elderly or sick.

“I love it and I get excited about it every morning when I get up. This is the best thing that’s happened to me career-wise in a long time,” she said.

To learn more about The Suburban Concierge, see its website , call 201-410-4183 or email brooke@thescnj.com.

Source:  The Lyndhurst Daily Voice

Cindy Capitani

A new concierge company says it will cater to luxury travelers’ every business need

A personalized concierge service dedicated to high-end travelers promises to take the stress out of conducting business overseas.

Learn how to start a concierge business at Concierge101.com.

Bleisure Malta will cater to luxury individual and group travelers who need to have business facilities within reach even when they are on holiday.

“Trends show that today’s high-end travelers can’t quite disconnect from the office while on holiday in the way they used to,” says Bleisure founder and director Stephen Place. “This means that they may need to cancel something last minute to work on an urgent piece of work, to hire a boardroom at short notice for a conference call, or to organise their sight-seeing around existing commitments or networking.”

The company promises to help clients book flights and accommodation, organise transport and private tours, source meetings assistance, organise entertainment and hosting and craft business or networking opportunities.

Beyond that, the Bleisure Malta team also offers relocation services to people hoping to set up a new life or business in Malta, including work permit paperwork, VIP health packages, film location scouting and even advice on schools, education and the local lifestyle.

“Our aim really is to help luxury visitors enjoy Malta on their terms and in the most exclusive way possible,” Mr Pace said.

 

Source: High-end travellers get a top-level concierge service – timesofmalta.com

Forbes Lists the Top Luxury Concierge Websites For The Super-Rich

R.L. Adams at Forbes.com

Learn how to start a concierge business today at Concierge101.com

 

Welcome to a world laced with stunning opulence, replete with unrivaled service, unforgettable one-of-a-kind outlandish experiences and simply unimaginable excess for those with the good fortune that’s afforded by these all-access-pass concierge sites.

However, don’t get me wrong, concierge services aren’t merely meant solely for travel. In fact, all of the best concierge companies in the world not only help their members book travel, but also aid them in managing and maintaining their celebrity-esque lifestyles, while providing a refined level of digital personal assistance for an unfettered ease of comfort, convenience and accessibility to their lives.

Who has the time to manage their second or third home, help book that superstar singer for their wedding in the Mediterranean, or remember an employee’s birthday and send a personalized gift? Imagine being able to send a WhatsApp message to your luxury concierge, telling them what you need, and a short time later, it’s done.

This type of hands-free virtual service and attention to detail is possible in today’s marketplace thanks to the proliferation of technology and the extensive personal and business networks developed by some of the world’s most in-the-know concierges. Yet, don’t expect your personal concierge to come cheap. Depending on the level of attention you’re seeking, annual fees can easily range in the low-to-mid five-figures. And that’s just to be a member.

However, if you’re looking for an unparalleled red-carpet experience, look no further than these select few concierges that not only deliver on service, but also a technological footprint that provides convenience and accessibility to the world’s upper-middle class and elite jet-setters. These companies are the cream of the crop, the best of the best when it comes to white-glove service and an anything-goes-get-it-done attitude.

What Are The World’s Best Concierge Companies

Today’s complex and intricately-woven digital world is filled with companies that are vying for the attention of consumers in an increasingly-crowded space. While most businesses have their work cut out for them, the luxury segment and one-percenters are becoming harder and harder to reach and win over.

Like other industries, building a solid brand presence in the luxury concierge space is a monumental undertaking at best. Couple that with the necessity to deliver true value to consumers that are used to getting what they want and when they want it, and it almost spells out a recipe for disaster.

For that particular reason, becoming a go-to name in the luxury concierge-services space is filled with strife and ripe with challenges. Yet, to the victors go the spoils because some of the world’s best concierges are reaping the benefits and enjoying the sweat equity that involves demanding and expecting more from yourself each day than you expected the day before. That’s most certainly how champions are created.

Quintessentially Group

Originally launched in 2000, in the heart of the United Kingdom in London, the Quintessentially Group is one of the world’s foremost luxury concierge services with offices in 63 cities from around the world, and 33 sister companies that provide an intricate network of access to the world’s most exclusive brands and experiences.

The brain child of co-founders, Aaron Simpson, Ben Elliot and Paul Drummond, the Quintessentially Group’s well-to-do and in-the-know global fixers provide an all-access pass to the elite looking for preferential treatment and white-glove service in every aspect of entertainment, travel and commerce.

The winner of some of the world’s most prestigious travel and concierge awards such as Conde Nast’s Best Concierge Company, the Leading Hotels of the World’s Top Producing Agent and World Travel Awards’ Europe’s Leading Luxury Lifestyle Club, Quintessentially is no stranger to the so-called cream of the crop.

The company’s client list is vast and filled with celebrities and notable individuals across numerous fields, yet they remain tight-lipped about specific names citing the importance their clients hold for privacy and discretion. With an average net worth of $5 million dollars and up, the company is accustomed to dealing with those that demand and expect the very best of the best.

Quintessentially’s technology and on-demand services platform also give it a cutting-edge advantage in a marketplace filled with upmarket suppliers. From restaurant reservations, to VIP access at events and nightclubs, luxury travel, day-to-day errands, unique lifestyle experiences, relocation services and even home management options, the company offers a wide range of options in three unique tiers of membership that range anywhere from $5,500 per year for a standard membership, to $45,000 per year for the elite level.

Its vast contacts and partnerships with companies like eliteLYFE, one of the world’s most highly-acclaimed leading luxury villa rental providers, luxury car rental businesses such as GoRentals, private jet charter companies, superyacht charterers, leading hotels and resorts from around the world such as the St. Regis and Four Seasons, amongst many others, make Quintessentially Group one of the best providers for concierge services on the planet.

Its utter commitment to delivering true value to its clients is a hallmark of the service that’s allowed the company to expand its global footprint immensely in the past decade or so. While average spends from clients per request hover around the $1500 mark, many of their members have been known to spends hundreds of thousands of dollars, to upwards of a million dollars and more, on a single request.

Some of the most outlandish requests that the company has filled has been:

• Closing the Sydney Harbor Bridge to allow a member to propose to his fiancee
• Arranging for dinner on an iceberg
• Flying a member’s dog in comfort on a private jet
• Organizing a complete James Bond experience that included a kidnapping on the streets of London

Knightsbridge Circle

Claire Kennedy started her journey in the luxury travel industry in 2002 while working for American Express Centurion in the United Kingdom, the purveyors of the so-called Black Card. Working her way up the ranks, she became Centurion’s Senior Relationship Manager, dealing with their highest-value clientele.

However, it wasn’t purely a business relationship that she had formed with the company’s card members; many of them had become her highest-esteemed friends. This became evident to Kennedy when she took maternity leave from her job in 2012, at the same time that two of her colleagues had decided to start their own venture called, Knightsbridge Circle, which attracted some of the highest-net-worth individuals on the planet.

In 2013, Kennedy joined Knightsbridge Circle, a team highly-devoted to providing the best travel services and experiences that money could buy, bringing with her the strong relationships she had developed from over a decade of service to some of the most elite clients from around the world. But it wasn’t until 3 years later that she bought in as 50% partner, Today, she is the co-owner with its original founder, Stuart McNeill, in what is arguable the most exclusive concierge company on the planet.

Today, Knightsbridge Circle caters only to a select group of clients that have an eye-watering average net worth of $800 million dollars, with an annual membership fee of approximately $25,000. However, don’t expect to easily join this closely-knit circle. This exclusive, invitation-only concierge service has a long and illustrious waiting list.

Yet, for those that do manage to join the fray and become part of the most ultra-exclusive concierge company in the world, they can expect to reap the benefits of such a highly-esteemed team of travel enthusiasts and anything-goes specialists. Some of the most outlandish types of requests ever filled by the Knightsbridge Circle team include the following:

• Renewal of wedding vows by the Pope himself
• Private viewing of the U.K.’s Crown Jewels in Tower Bridge
• Arranging a private dinner for guests before Leonardo DaVinci’s ‘The Last Supper,’ at the Dominican Convent
• Playing a round of golf and enjoying a private dinner with a former champion at Augusta’s National during the Masters
• Private ritual conducted by Monks at the Grand Temple in Bangkok for a member
• An ultimate weekend in a Beverly Hills sprawling estate that included dinner prepared by the acclaimed chef, Daniel Boulud with entertainment by Jennifer Lopez and a late-night DJ session performed by none other than the superstar, Avicii.

John Paul Group

Founded in 2008 by David Amsellem, the John Paul Group has become one of the pioneering leaders in concierge services to a global group of well-to-do clientele and corporations. At the outset, much like many other of the world’s most successful concierges, the basis was a deep-rooted passion for service and hospitality, with a vision to enhance the lives of members by delivering the most trusted service on earth.

With an average net worth of its members of approximately $1 million, and an acquisition in July of 2016 from Accor Hotels along with a prior merger with Les Concierges back in late 2015, John Paul Group has expanded its footprint to over 1,000 concierges based out of 12 separate hubs, while operating on 5 different continents.

The focus for the company has largely been on its proprietary behavioral-profiling technology that gives its representatives an accurate snapshot of its members and their preferences based on exhaustive algorithms that look into their likes, dislikes, and travel patterns. At any given moment, John Paul Group’s well-devoted concierges can tailor a specific request based on this significant technology.

What’s most intriguing about this technology is that it provides an analytical data-layer atop phone calls, emails, SMS and other client communications to analyze and extract information about the member’s preferences. The company has wrapped this proprietary system into a white-labeled program that they also use with some of the world’s biggest corporations.

When it comes to putting through a request, John Paul Group’s members have numerous options. Similar to other concierge services, members can use WhatsApp, SMS, WeChat, mobile apps and other technology to place their request and subsequently track their requests directly with their assigned personal concierge. During every point of contact, the system analyzes requests, helping to further evolve the member’s profile.

This focus on the underlying technology has created the foundation for a business that has grown tremendously over the past decade, allowing it to tailor every specific request to the needs of its members while being extremely proactive in the process. It’s also enabled the company to deliver highly-targeted email blasts, resulting in astronomical open rates and sales conversions.

When it comes to some of the more outlandish requests filled, the company has done the following:

• Delivered 30 live penguins to a “Black and White party” organized for one of its British members
• Welcomed a stuffed zebra at Charles de Gaulle airport on behalf of one of its U.S. members, which was purchased during a Safari trip in Botswana, but was being shipped to one of his homes in Paris

Pure Entertainment Group

Founded in 2008 by Steve Edo, Pure Entertainment Group is a luxury lifestyle and concierge company based out of Montreal, Canada, catering to high-net-worth individuals. The company focuses on bespoke travel packages, luxurious-lifestyle experiences and personalized concierge services for both private clients and corporations from around the world.

The foundational mission at Pure has always been one that’s focused on both value and quality in their delivery, over quantity. They know that their clients are expecting the best of the best, and it’s their job to go out of their way to not only ensure those demands are met, but also that they far exceed the expectations of even the most discerning clients.

With members hailing from all points of the earth, they also believe in discretion and privacy, keeping their roster of clients close to the chest. And for those that are looking to join this elite-membership group, expect to pay anywhere from $12,000 per year to upwards of $35,000 per year just for a membership. But that membership can certainly afford some privileges.

Like other top concierge companies, Edo’s Pure Entertainment Group has spent years and years developing close personal and business relationships, and vetting companies and brands from around the world to ensure that they deliver the utmost value to their astute membership base.

With an average net worth of $5 million dollars, and a typical spend per request of upwards of $30,000, over the years, Pure Entertainment Group has fielded some outlandish requests such as the following:

• Arranged a Caribbean getaway at a luxurious beachfront villa for 12 guests featuring a Michelin-starred private chef, personal butler and 20-minute private beachfront firework displays
• Wedding congratulations video from an A-list celebrity, personally congratulating the newly-wed couple by name, stunning the crowd in attendance at the 1,000-person event
• Private after-hours viewing tour of a well-known gallery and museum in Venice, Italy that included a candlelit romantic dinner by an Italian Michelin-starred chef, which also included a personalized-guided tour of the 20th-century masterpieces on display in the museum