Concierge Business Solutions™ was first developed out of necessity – we needed a way to streamline processes and automate the routine tasks that were consuming so much of our daily routine.
With Concierge Business Solutions™ automated process system in place we have freed up our time to network, promote our business, personally meet with potential new clients and to participate in community outreach programs as a way of giving back to the communities we want to support our company.
The concierge industry is exploding and has been for quite some time. Just take a look at this:
Concierge services have been available for decades but were historically only found in hotel lobbies. Today, the concierge industry is growing rapidly and concierges are literally popping up all over the world. In fact, companies and individuals are not only starting to use concierges, but many are making them a part of their corporate benefits packages. Concierge are now everywhere from shopping malls to universities, hospitals, churches, associations, small and large companies, country clubs, condominiums, office buildings, small plane airports and yacht clubs to name just a few.
-International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association
www.iclma.org
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicted personal care services to be the fastest growing industry sector over the ten-year timeframe, 2002 through 2012. The expected growth rate of 28% will include the establishment of single service, multi-service and full service concierge type businesses.
According to statistics provided by the BLS, the demographics of the US will shift to an age-wise, top-heavy population of "older" adults. The predicted age distribution indicates that the youth population (aged 16 to 24) will increase, the middle-aged population (35 to 44) will decrease and the baby boomer population (aged 55 to 64) will increase by 44%.
Add in the factor that the past few years of economic instability means more and more homeowners (even the wealthiest homeowners) are opting to remain in the workforce and take on an additional or third career rather than settle for retirement income alone and you may well find your community full of an older, time-deprived demographic who will likely insist on soft services that free up their time or otherwise simplify their lives.
Now that we're nearing the end of the BLS' predicted ten year growth, it is apparent that this industry is far from slowing down. There are concierge services companies springing up all over the world and as people continue to recognize the value of time and how little discretionary time is available, more and more of them are outsourcing their routine tasks.
According to a recent blog on the ICLMA website:
- The average U.S. worker admits to frittering away more than 2.09 hours a day, not counting lunch, on personal business. This costs companies an estimated $759 billion a year." - Salary.com and AOL Survey.
- The average worker skips 24 minutes of his or her lunch break every day, the equivalent of approximately two weeks more holiday per year (figures from Data Monitor).
- Since 1969, family time for a working couple has shrunk an average of 22 hours a week. U.S. Government
- Workplace stress is costing the Australian economy $14.81 billion a year. Medibank-commissioned research
- Stress related presenteeism and absenteeism are directly costing Australian employers $10.11 billion a year. Medibank-commissioned research
- According to the Health and Safety Executive, 6.5 million sick days are taken every year as a result of stress -- costing £7m per week and £1.4m per working day.
- Approximately 13.7 million working days are lost each year in the UK as a result of work-related illness at a cost of £28.3 billion per year – National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
When looking at these statistics, it is easy to see why time has become the commodity of the century and will be even more so in the decades to come. The popularity of concierge services stems from the fact that people are stressed out, overworked, and need help dealing with life so they can spend their free time nurturing themselves and their families. As good workers become harder to find, businesses are looking for concierge services to offer as perks to keep valuable employees happy.
All of this adds up to the 'why' of starting or building a concierge services business. And as you do, remember that as important as it is to free up others' lives, it is equally important to free up the lives of those of us who own a concierge services business.
That's why Concierge Business Solutions™ is here – to help you free up your own time, to standardize your processes and to hopefully encourage you toward a less stressful and more productive company.