What ended up as a $100,000 business began simply as Kimberly
Porrazzo's personal search.
"I became pregnant and planned to return to work [after the
pregnancy], so I started looking for a nanny," explains the
owner of Southern California Nanny Center in Lake Forest,
California. "I wanted [a nanny that could provide] individual
attention for our child in our own home."
But Porrazzo was frustrated with the services offered by nanny
agencies and instead went looking for help on her own. There was
nothing available.
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"That's when a light bulb went on. Here was a need not
being met," says the 42-year-old Porrazzo, whose background in
human resources and computer marketing communications conven-iently
included interviewing, hiring, firing and training. In 1992, using
just $300, she created The Nanny Kit, a self-published manual that
helps parents select a nanny. She began marketing the kit through
seminars held at community colleges, local medical centers and
other locations.
"After my presentations, parents would come up and ask if I
could consult with them," says Porazzo. "Initially, I
went to the homes of the soon-to-be parents and spent a couple
hours outlining a strategy that was suitable for them. The Nanny
Kit was part of the package." According to Porazzo, the
personalized consulting service quickly became too much to
handle.
She figured there had to be an easier way. She decided to give
parents a list of candidates they could call themselves--her
customers were enthusiastic about the idea. This led to the
creation of a database of nannies prequalified by Porrazzo which
she provided to parents for a small fee. "But that became too
cumbersome as well," says the mother of two. "I was
working more hours than I wanted to. People would also say, `Why
can't I get into your database from my computer?'"
That question flipped on light bulb number two--the result is
the Southern California Nanny Center Web site (http://www.sandcastleweb.com/nanny),
which went live in 1996. Parents subscribe to the database which is
maintained and updated by Porrazzo. "I liked that much
better," she says. "It was very efficient."
An appearance on the Today Show gave Porrazzo a higher
national profile and brought in calls from people all over the
country asking whether she had similar databases for their areas.
"I wasn't prepared at that point to expand
nationally," says Porrazzo.
So in 1997, she packaged the whole kit and caboodle as a
homebased business opportunity with a protected territory, designed
for stay-at-home moms seeking part-time work. She currently has
people operating in San Francisco, Minnesota and New York, and
recently sold her Southern California territory.
In April, the self-published manual that launched the business
was picked up by Penguin Pub-lishing. The book is now available at
major booksellers. "It's funny how things change,"
says Porrazzo. "The whole process evolved on its own. All I
did was listen to my clients."
And to her father, who used to tell her that if she found a need
and filled it, she'd get rich. This entrepreneur knows it's
just a matter of time--and a few more evolutions in the
process--before she makes her father's advice come true.