Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Chandra.
Laura, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Boston Nanny Centre (BNC) opened its doors in October 1988. My mother Barbara Chandra started the business, after working as an elementary and preschool teacher. She had always wanted to start her own business and partnered with a neighbor who was the Director of a local preschool. A year later when her neighbor could no longer commit to the business, Sylvia Greenbaum came on board as the second co-owner. Since its inception, the business has been run out of my mother’s house.
The first nannies that BNC placed were from the Midwest. My mother was from Wisconsin and would fly out to meet college graduates looking for a change of pace. Many of them would stay with us (when I was school aged) for a few days until they settled with their families.
For the most part, the nannies lived-in with the families. Since then, the model has changed. Most of our nannies are live-out (though we do still place live-in as well). The core components of our business have remained throughout – a commitment to the highest level of service and excellent childcare standards. At a time when there were few agencies and no online services for finding nannies, my mother and Sylvia made sure that BNC offered a fair replacement policy, never placed unqualified nannies in homes, and took a great time and care to find appropriate matches for families. Each family simply needed to select the candidate that aligned with their family’s personality and needs.
We have always offered support through the full placement lifecycle – whether it is one year or one decade. These services set us apart in the market.
My mother retired in 2007, followed by Sylvia in 2014. Since then, our dedicated employee Jen Russo has run the business. In that time, Jen has developed a reputation in the nanny community as someone who cares deeply about her nanny placements and provides excellent advice to both families and nannies. She has been with BNC for 12 years.
In 2016, I stepped in to learn the business. Over the years, I had worked in the office – during summer breaks in college and then for a year after college – but it took me some time to come back to BNC. In the interim, I got my Masters in Financial Planning from Bentley College (now University) and worked in the field until recently. I had my son, as a single mother by choice. After my maternity leave, it seemed the perfect time to step into a role at BNC.
Many things about BNC are the same as they were 29 years ago. We still spend time listening to our families about their needs, talking them through the hiring process, and using our skills to find those great matches. We still are highly selective in our nanny identification process, only taking those that have quality experience and references that speak to their commitment to the nanny profession. We meet one on one with every nanny and create an in-depth portfolio for each candidate that we present to the families.
There are also many differences. As Millennials become parents, they are more interested in the online model. We are adapting our systems to meet this new age by transitioning from mailing portfolios to emailing portfolios to, now, creating an online portal system for families. And as parents become more cognizant of the needs of the post-partum family, we are now offering additional services like post-partum doula support and newborn care specialists. These experienced and trained women help families adjust to having a new baby and deal with issues such as post-partum depression, feeding challenges, and creating better sleep habits for the family and the baby. They also will do the smaller, but equally important things, like put away laundry and those dishes that just seem to sit in the sink so the parents can get some much-needed sleep!
As the world of small-businesses has changed, with the influx of big box stores and online services, BNC stays committed to the experience of the client.
Has it been a smooth road?
Boston Nanny Centre has evolved from making only a few placements the first year we were in business to be one of the leading agencies in Boston and a model for newer agencies. However, since the rise of Care.com, it has been more of a challenge to stay competitive. Online services offer our clients access to nannies at a fraction of the cost. They don’t, however, offer most of the services that many families value in finding someone to care for their children. Finding a nanny is a time consuming process, filled with reading through a candidate’s work history, determining whether the details line up (schedule, pay, experience with the correct age group, etc.), interviewing, verifying references and running a comprehensive background check, navigating making an offer and setting up payroll, creating a contract, and most importantly, keeping a positive and productive relationship active throughout the life of the placement. These are the things we do for clients that an online service simply cannot provide. We think that by taking this weight off of families and by being an ongoing resource for them, we have been able to not only stay in business but excel in our industry.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Boston Nanny Centre is a nanny placement agency. We specialize in long-term placements that focus on full-time, part-time, live-out or live-in nanny placements in the Greater Boston Area. We are known for having qualified nannies (we accept fewer than 20% of applicants into our candidate pool), providing excellent on-going support to both families and nannies, in addition to long-term placements, we also offer temporary support for families in need of care for evening and event care and short-term assignments from one day to months long. We also offer post-partum support for both parents and babies (post-partum doulas and newborn care specialists).
We are most proud of the level of service we provide, evidenced by the number of both families and nannies who return again and again to use our services. We have nannies that we have placed over decades of their career. As we begin our 30th year in business, we are able to guide families through the complicated process of being an employer to someone as he or she becomes part of the family. It is a delicate balance and can help shape a child’s future and we understand that. We believe that we can help families and nannies navigate the relationship so that everybody has a positive and impactful experience.
We are also proud of the fact that we advocated for and helped pass the Massachusetts Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights in 2014. (https://www.2016.domesticworkers.org/news/2014/domestic-workers-bill-of-rights-passes-massachusetts-house).
We testified in support of the bill to create protections for nannies and other household workers. It also helps to ensure quality care for the families hiring those employees. Nannies know that they will be an advocate for them throughout their time working through one of our placements.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Boston is an excellent place for a nanny agency. Parents, especially those that work in the healthcare or tech fields, are put in an incredibly difficult situation in a city where daycare schedules often don’t work with their schedules.
Pricing:
- Full-Time Placement – $3500 (6 month replacement policy, payment not due until end of 30 day trial period)
- Part-Time Placement – $2950 (6 month replacement policy, payment not due until end of 30 day trial period)
- Screening Package (Interview, references, background check for outside candidate) – $675
- Temporary/Overnight/Event Care – $40/day
Contact Info:
- Address: Newton, MA
- Website: www.bostonnanny.com
- Phone: 617-527-0114
- Email: laura@bostonnanny.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bostonnannycentre/
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