Mother's Helper - Help Is Here.

Phone (703) 574.2852
Cell (917) 913-6799


MOTHER'S HELPER SERVICES & PRICING

PACKAGES:

Traditional
A Traditional Mother’s Helper tends to be in their late-teens early twenties (18-21) and works up to 45 hours per week in shifts of 4 hours total each day (Early Morning, Afternoon, and Early Evening shifts). They can do light housekeeping, take care of children and help with errands and household chores so long as they are accompanied by the parent of the household in which they are serving.
$25/hour, 4 hour min.

Deluxe
Deluxe Mother’s Helpers tend to be in their early-twenties and can include retirees (21- 69). They are considered to be experienced and able to take full charge of a household. They may or may not have specialized training in childcare/child development. They can work up to 60 hours per week in shifts of 6 hours total each day (Early Morning and Early Evening shifts). They can do light housekeeping including laundry, take care of children, do grocery shopping, meal preparation, and help with household and external errands either with a parent present, or, independently, using their own means of transportation.
$35/hour, 6 hour min.

Specialist
Like a Deluxe Mother’s Helper, a Mother’s Helper Specialist specializes in a particular need. Examples include working solely on post-partum assistance; assisting the new mother with care for newborn babies during the first few months of life with particular attention towards post-partum care for the Mother. They help new mothers with basic baby care and may also do light housekeeping, run errands and baby-sit older children. A Mother’s Helper Specialist can also be well-versed and possibly have formal training in caring for newborns, twins/multiples, as well as special needs children. Specialists can also serve as a companion for an older person in need of extra assistance. Overall, specialists are Deluxe Mother’s Helpers with benefits. In addition to light housekeeping, running errands, transporting to and from appointments, they offer quality interaction with the client, concentrating on one particular need or service.
$60/hour, 4 hour x 4 day/week min.

Event Specialist
An Event Specialist is typically over 18 and assists the Mother with special event and occasion meal prep, event set-up, hosting, clean-up and event break-down. They typically have experience in the hospitality & food, and entertainment industries. While they can supervise children with another parent present, they are best served helping the Mother with event details rather than caregiving.
$50/hour, 4 hour min.

A LA CARTE MENU

Housekeeping
$40/hour, 3 hr. min.
Meal Prep
$20/hour, 2 hr. min.
Babysitting
$20/hour, 3 hr. min.
Errands
$20/hour, 3 hr. min.
Companionship
$25/hour, 3 hr. min.

 

Best of luck to you and your business. I was a nanny in Maryland for 10 years and I never saw that kind of money. I was more what you call a specialist. I am an american girl who ran errands, did children's laundry, homework with children, traveled with families, bath the kids, grocery shopped, prepared dinner, worked 8-10 hours a day etc, etc etc. I wish I would have seen $60 an hour. Now I stay home with my children and know that I could not afford your services. Good idea I just think the prices a little on the high end.

 

That's probably because the person doing the actual "mother's helper" work is probably getting paid half of the hourly rate listed.

 

Thank you both for your reply. I very much appreciate, and welcome, community response.

My pricing model is based on several things;
- I do a thorough screening/background check on all applicants, and there is a cost over $100 per applicant in doing so
- I do in-person interviews with all applicants
- I contract with my employees legaly, am licensed and bonded, and, need insurance coverage; again, all costs I incur which are in the thousands of dollars
- I want to pay my contractors competitive hourly rates (in some instances, contractors make more than half of the price quote)
- I based my pricing model on similar business in the Loudoun County area as to not go above or below market rate
- I provide each contractor with a welcome package and training outreach materials, as well as a training workshop; again, at my cost

In order to provide this valuable service to Loudoun Community members/families, I need to ensure that my contractors make money. I also need to ensure that I price accordingly so that I don't go out of business, i.e. I too need to be profitible.

If I am not profitible, then, community members will continue to be on their own, selecting, at random, childcare and domestic providers who they find on free listing services, etc. This is a risk that the family is incurring as most individuals who post are not qualified, certified, or receive proper training, nor do they undergo background checks/screenings etc.

I believe that families are entitled to services that are safe, not time-consuming to find, and, are of high quality and value.

Best,
Mother's Helper, LLC

 

these prices are outrageous. mother's helpers typically make 5 an hour for a young teen, and experienced sitters over 20 get 10-12 an hour.

 

it must be nice to be rich =) Wish I could make 125k/yr changing diapers and cookin! =)

 

wow

 

WOW! I have a B.S. degree in Biology, and I'm going back to school for my second degree....even then I still won't see that kind of money ($35-$60/hour).

 

Paying a young teen with no experience for a mother's helper at your rate gets you what you pay for; an inexperienced teenager who doesn't even have a drivers license but yet is in charge of watching your children while you are inside your house with the children and teen out of sight. By all means you are free to pay, and get, what you pay for.

Paying a mother's helper who does have experience (including CPR, childcare training and even experience with special needs children) to child-sit, housekeep and do meal prep, on her own without a parent present, at the rate you are offering/suggest, might be what you have been able to get away with, but I am sorry to say, I believe you are taking advantage of your employee(s).

Part of my job is to advocate for experienced childcare/daycare providers and educators; placing them in households (getting them work) while ensuring that are fairly compensated and not taken advantage of. I have worked with plenty of daycare providers and educators, and we all know how severly underpaid and under-appreciated they are. And to boot, they mostly come from low-income families, so they are doubly taken advantage of. Just because they are forced to accept low wages and continually are being taken advantege of doesn't make it right. I have seen plenty of online ads suggesting that a daycare provider or nanny watch a child, do light housekeeping, etc. for @ $5.00 - $10.00 an hour. That is what is truly outrageous. My contractors have sought me out because I am the only one who will proactively advocate on their behalf, finding them work and ensuring that they get paid what they deserve.

Best,
Mother's Helper

 

<<<<<it must be nice to be rich =) Wish I could make 125k/yr changing diapers and cookin! =)

And the male-mind speaks out. Thanks for weighing in Boomer.

 

You are basing your facts that I alone make 100% profit, not taking into account loss. I charge enough to make a small profit after payroll, taxes, license fees, advertising, etc. etc. from the revenue I bring in. I don't get the whole fee. Please read my post re: revenue model or, pick up a book that deals with profit/loss against revenues.

 

Sample pricing of similar services: Just an FYI for those of you unfamiliar with services and rates w/in the domestic profession: membership alone is over $60.00

https://www.gonannies.com/Employer/Services.aspx?Type=Wizard

Best,
Mother's Helper, LLC.

 

What do you suppose the Bradys paid Alice to do all of those things? Probably not enough!

 

The nerve of someone to charge that much for babysitting! What's next? Charging $5 for a cup of coffee? Nevermind...

mothershelper123, good luck with your new venture. I will keep you and your business in mind!

 

Those prices are outrageous. You should probably recategorize yourself as a nanny service instead of a mother's helper type service. My day care center charges less than that. These are the types of rates that a live in or live out nanny service would charge. $20 an hour -- 4 hour minimum, that is $400 a week.

 

Serenity: if you run a daycare, you have a ratio of @ 1:6+ 1 provider to 6, children; my service is one-on-one. We have different business models for very different services so you are trying to compare apples with oranges. And, it is indeed my business for people who want quality and consistency of service, so I can name it whatever I choose. I have defined, very clearly, what levels of Mother's Helper categories of service are offered; while some categories offer Nanny-like services, others do not. Additionally, Nanny's typically work long-term. My service is for someone who needs help for shorter periods of time, giving me shorter periods of notice. All of that is reflected in my pricing strategy.

Your service is limited in terms of waiting lists (i.e. you can only accept a certain number of children and indeed probably have turned away children and their parents) and your turnover in providers, unless you are the only home care provider and don't employ (i.e. in-home provider), is very high because, as I stated before, these women are being paid @ $5/hour to watch 12 kids. This turnover is usually upsetting for the children's parents at the daycare, and, you can even see on this post board, that that happens frequently and is cause for much concern and upset. That too is reflected in my pricing model.

And for the post regarding charging $5/cup of coffee, unless you make your coffee in your bathtub, or, are getting it at McDonald's, Starbucks, Caribou, etc. charges @ $5.00 per cup as a baseline price, even more. And, it isn't just babysitting, so, please thoroughly read the post before responding.

For those of you who feel my prices are "outrageous"; you clearly are not my customer, and me, not your service of choice.

Best,
Mother's Helper LLC

 

I would take a licensed, screened, bonded, and well trained care giver over one lacking the aformentioned when it comes to children, disabled, elderly or anyone needing assistance with homecare, errands, etc., etc. It is unfortunate that our society places so little value on those we're willing to put in our charge - so yes, you get what you pay for. Just as 123 mentioned, you can go to the free help listing and pay $5/hour (now that is criminal)!

 

Both sides should try to be less judgmental. There are a lot of working parents out there who do not earn much more than this service is charging, and plenty who don't even make that much. If it's impossible to afford - don't accuse them of criminally choosing to skimp on caregiver pay.

And for the people who have plenty of money, let them hire whatever service they see fit without calling it outrageous.

There's Target and there's Neiman Marcus, to each his own.

 

I definitely think $60 an hour to assist with special needs children is outrageous unless that person is also providing home nursing care as well - in which case, even with Virginia's abysmal services for the disabled, there should be some insurance coverage.

For a senior Verbal Behavior trained therapist with a BCBA certification to come to your house and actually provide therapy to a child with autism runs between $60 and $80 an hour. And that's someone actually providing *services* to the child!

Respite care from that same person with no therapy taking place runs $40 an hour.

For less qualified personnel with no college degree but a couple of years of experience, halve those prices.

And those are prices at the HIGH end of things in this county.

 

The market will determine what is outrageous and what is not. It's a beautiful thing.

Anyone find these things outrageous around here? $5 for a cup of coffee, $20 for a pizza, $750k + $8k in property taxes you never recover for a home with a tiny yard, commuting 2-3 hours each day...