babysitter online service business

Ektor · 10-17-2009, 11:24 AM

Hi everyone, I have a question about protecting your business.

How do these sites protect their business. Once you have used a babysitter what prevents you from hiring the same one every time and never using the site again? Why pay a subscription while you can just work with the same sitter? If the site doesn't charge subscription but had electronic payment for service and the through that paid the sitter, it would still have the same problem. Why not use the babysitter once and then be like "why work for this site, work steady for us and you make all the money"? What do these send-to-your-home site do to make money? Where do they make profits from? What do you think is the best way to profit:
a) charge subscription
b) no subscription but percentage of money to babysitter

Thank you

Fadzuli · 10-17-2009, 08:10 PM

OK based on that model..

Baby sitters come and go. The reason people come back is because they know that the website have helped them get more baby sitting opportunities.

If you have been in business for a long time you know that the baby sitters will come to a point that they have too much clients hence they would refer the rest to this website to search for other baby sitters.

What goes around comes around. If the website serves its purpose and deliver it, people will definitely come back again.

How to monetize this kind of site?

1) Charge every poster a fee for posting the job.
2) Find a partner that can write articles and tips on Baby Sitting. Effective baby sitting. Sell this as an Info Product.
3) Create a ranking system for those high Ranked Baby Sitters.
4) Create a blog section, where clients can criticised the Baby Sitters. This will keep the traffic going definitely.
5) Create an elite Baby Sitter membership site. People have to pay to access the information. This way you can attract the higher end crowd.

Ektor · 10-18-2009, 09:41 AM

than you, that really helps a lot

Goldnote · 10-18-2009, 12:44 PM

You have some stiff competition. Just check out care.com and see how they do theirs.

entrepreneurrebel · 10-20-2009, 09:00 PM

Most of these companies don't have the customer pay a fee and goes to the babysitter.

hippie_wantab · 10-20-2009, 09:22 PM

I actually used care.com once. It is really crummy for people that don't live in huge areas. I also found it frustrating that even once I payed for the service, I wasn't given the phone numbers or email addresses of the potential babysitters. I still had to contact them through the site which didn't help me when I needed a sitter ASAP!

Maybe you can figure out a way to make yours better by addressings those problems.

Good luck!

creadionizor · 10-21-2009, 08:13 AM

I think running a company like this will be hard because as soon as the baby sitter gets familiar with the parents, the parents will hire the babysitter without using the site.....

Thus parents will only use the site once or twice and baby sitters maybe like 10 times until they got enough work...

entrepreneurrebel · 10-21-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creadionizor

I think running a company like this will be hard because as soon as the baby sitter gets familiar with the parents, the parents will hire the babysitter without using the site.....

Thus parents will only use the site once or twice and baby sitters maybe like 10 times until they got enough work...

Yes but look at the babysitter industry. I dont have facts but it is an industry that regulationless and allows for anyone atleast in the US to be sitter (not a nanny or child care).