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Doers do what you don't have time to do

For a fee, two local personal concierge services can help fill in those gaps in your life.

By JOYCE WITT
Published January 6, 2006

Marilyn Ludwig of Valrico was having surgery and needed a companion in the hospital after her surgery ended. Her children didn't live in the area, and she didn't want to bother her friends.

She called a company, NeedSolvers+.

"Wow, that's perfect," she thought.

NeedSolvers+, a personal concierge service in Valrico , and Time Flies Ltd. of Brandon are part of a small breed of new companies who will run errands - from picking up laundry to holding your hand in the hospital - for a fee.

Everyone from busy moms to corporate executives are taking advantage of delegating errands to a personal concierge, boosters say.

The concierge companies also take care of regular home needs like pet sitting and house cleaning, while taking on more challenging tasks like party planning and helping you move.

Many companies are even offering personal concierge services to employees to help balance the demands of work and personal commitments. They've found that offering this type of service can boost productivity.

The benefit?

Letting someone else run tedious errands can simplify someone's life and provide time for more important things.

Although hiring a personal concierge is a fairly new concept, the demand for the service is rising.

"The concierge business is exploding right now," said Sara-Ann Kasner, president and founder of the National Concierge Association. "There has been tremendous growth."

Although the association doesn't yet offer statistics about the industry, it estimates that the number of services in the United States is rapidly increasing.

After working as a nurse for 14 years, Jennifer De Vorss of Valrico knew there had to be a way to help people who do not have enough time to enjoy their lives.

"People these days are losing sight of the really important things in their lives because they have way too much to do," she said.

That's when she decided to open NeedSolvers+, a personal concierge service that provides time saving solutions for busy people.

"It's like hiring your own personal assistant," De Vorss said.

"I am having a lot of fun with this business," she added. "I look at it as not only gaining customers, but making lifelong friends."

NeedSolvers+ runs the typical errands, but it offers other services such as wedding and special event planning, moving and home health care. The company's customers are people and businesses in Valrico, Brandon, Riverview and Tampa.

De Vorss says she sometimes gets unusual requests.

"One day I got a call from a bride who was at her wedding dress fitting. She needed some panty hose but didn't know what size she wore. I had to go to the bridal shop, help her figure out her size and then go buy the panty hose for her," she said.

Before starting her company, De Vorss found that there weren't many concierge services in Florida. The majority of the companies are in bigger cities like Chicago and New York.

Another concierge agency in the Brandon area is Time Flies Ltd., owned by Shannon Carlton of Valrico. She opened her business in 2003 after realizing that there are a lot of working moms that don't have the time to do the things they need to do.

Although her customers were individuals in the beginning, Carlton now has small companies as clients too.

"There are a lot of small businesses that can't afford to pay a full-time personal assistant," she said.

Ludwig says busy moms and executives aren't the only ones who benefit from a personal concierge. She thinks it would also be a great help to elderly people.

"We live in such a mobile society these days where families don't always live close by each other and can't help each other out. A personal concierge is a wonderful service to have," she said.

[Last modified January 5, 2006, 08:51:07]