Agency Spotlight: Bell Family Company

Each month we highlight one of our agency partners, and get to know a little more about them and their insights into the household employment industry. This month we spoke with Lindsay Bell, Founder and President of Bell Family Company..

Agency Vitals

• Founded in 2008
• Headquartered in Manhattan, the agency serves all of the NY Metro area, plus parts of Long Island, Brooklyn, Westchester County, and Connecticut
• Specializes in on-demand babysitting, live-in and live-out nannies, and corporate backup care

How did you get started?

I had been a babysitter since I was old enough to do so. After moving to New York from Ohio eleven years ago, I started babysitting and couldn’t keep up with the demand. So I got my friends involved; word of mouth kept things going, and then I decided to open up an agency.

What is your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge is balancing being a CEO and entrepreneur with being a mom to an infant. I feel very fortunate to be in this industry, but being an agency owner while also trying to care for a young child can be difficult. I think they call it being a “Mompreneur.”

What strategies do you use for recruiting candidates?

We rely heavily on referrals from both caregivers and families. Our babysitters must be referred to us in order to work with us. We’ve found that when a sitter is referred, they understand the importance of behaving respectfully and professionally, as they want to make the person who referred them proud. Nannies come to us through referrals as well, but we also recruit on college campuses and through other trusted childcare sources.

What do you look for to make successful placements?

We look for caregivers that love children; those that love sharing their energy and ambition with the children they spend time with. We have firm rules and high expectations; our goal is to pair an exceptional family with an exceptional care provider. The industry is oversaturated with options; it’s up to us to make placements that can really make a difference in both the family’s and the caregiver’s lives.

How do you distinguish yourself from online job sites? / How do you show your value?

We don’t consider the online job sites to even be in the same realm. Sites like Craigslist and others leave it up to the family to ensure a safe and professional hire. This takes lots of work and can be scary if you don’t know how to do it; families that go this route are essentially trying to run their own mini-agency.  Traditional agencies, on the other hand, can sift through the candidates and do all the legwork. Families have told me they’ve tried online sites; they get so overwhelmed and have no luck finding a good placement. This lets them see the value in a company like ours.

How do you help families understand paying their employee legally?

We discuss this with them as much as possible, providing a hefty amount of information up front, including the legalities of being a household employer and the data on current child care rates. The decision is then theirs as to whether they will pay “on the books” or not.

How has GTM helped your families and your agency?

Having a trusted resource like GTM is a crucial part of our business. We try and stay up to date on new laws and regulations, but because GTM is the expert at payroll and HR, they are a valuable partner. Our families have found the experience with GTM to be seamless, easy, and clear. Families are busy and don’t have time to stay on top of these issues, so we rely on GTM for accurate information, which they provide.

What are some fun facts about your agency?

We are truly a family company. My mother checks all the references for our nannies and conducts preliminary phone call screenings. She has been an educator for 30 years, has five kids of her own, and knows the industry well. My two sisters also work here with recruiting and running our social media accounts. My husband was our company’s first investor and is on our Board of Directors. Having a family business means working with people who I not only trust, but also feel very comfortable around. It’s a great way to run a business.