We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Kapci and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Amanda, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Throughout my life, I’ve always tried to play it pretty ‘safe.’ I wasn’t much of a risk taker. I rode horses and played sports growing up; but, even then, I tried my best to not take too many risks. I would describe myself as competitive, but NOT a risk taker. Taking risks is scary! It’s the fear of the unknown. Not having a definitive answer or known destination is scary! One of my favorite sayings is, “The biggest risk you will ever take, is not taking one at all.” Yikes! This is so true! How would we allow ourselves to grow, learn, progress without taking risks. If we always stay comfy or safe, we deny ourselves the opportunity to succeed. When I started my first business, Butterfly Baby Concierge, I took a risk. I knew I had a huge dream. It was a dream that I had dreamt about for years, but never had the guts or the time to put my dream into action. I was a teacher, I loved teaching. It was what I knew and I was good at it. Why change that? But, I knew I HAD to try and see where I could take this dream of mine. In On July 7, 2017, with the amazing support of my husband, family, and close friends; my daughter hit ‘go live’ on my website! There I went, taking a huge risk and a leap of faith!! Butterfly Baby Concierge was born! I knew it would either flourish or fail. I was determined to have flourish! And, flourish it did!!! I ended up placing 100 nannies that year. Which was about 95 more than I expected to. In 2018 we placed over 100 more nannies and added other household staff (personal assistants and house managers) to our placement services. By 2020 I had placed over 300 household staff in Arizona. Word was quickly spreading. I knew I was going to have to have a plan in place to keep up with the demand. I took another risk and hired my first employee to help me. My assistant came on board in 2019 and she allowed me to expand even further. By late 2019, I decided to take another big risk and started the process of changing the name of my business and doing a big rebranding. Knowing that my business name had not accurately told potential clients who we are, I knew I needed to go make this big change. I found myself second guessing it, a lot! Wondering if now was really the time to do it? Would clients find me still? What if they don’t like the new name? What if my SEO goes down after I stitch my name? What if it fails? But, then I remembered all of the risks I had to take to get to where I was and how everything continued to grow and flourish because I took the risk! So, on April 7, 2020 we went live with our new name, “The Nanny Concierge.” So far, I have to say people love the new name and are providing great feedback! I really believe that you cannot grow, you cannot mature, you cannot succeed in business if you don’t take SMART risks. Ones that have the potential to catapult you to success.
What should our readers know about your business?
The Nanny Concierge is a full concierge staffing service. We have a very personalized and thorough approach to our placements. We build long lasting relationships between families and nannies by providing necessary support, useful tools, and encouragement every day.. Being a business owner is not always easy! In fact, it’s far from easy. I built my business from the ground, up. I went off of my passion of working with kids, families and networking. I wasn’t handed an owners manual, I had to build every process, every procedure, and every protocol we have. It took a LOT of time, thought and I say ‘blood, sweat and tears.’ to build. There have been many obstacles and learning/growth opportunities. One of the biggest challenges I have faced is to not take things too personally. Everyone always says, “it’s not personal, it’s business.” Well, when you’re in the business of matching nannies with families, it becomes VERY personal. I spend countless hours interviewing, screening, communicating, networking, and running background checks; to properly and fully vet each and every candidate we place with our clients. When the position does not goes as planned; that’s so incredibly tough on me as a business owner, as a friend, and as a mom. That has definitely been the hardest thing to learn and grow from, when things don’t go as planned. But, I never give up. Thankfully, I was born determined. I see things through to the very end and I will make sure our nannies and families have the VERY best for all of them. It is so important to me to have the nannies we represent in safe, healthy, supportive working environments. And, to have our clients and their families have the very best nanny in their home who best suits their families needs, expectations and personality. That’s why I do what I do every single day and I LOVE it so much! Watching the bond that happens between a nanny and a family is so beautiful. It encourages me to keep going and to keep helping families and nannies find each other!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I was born and raised in Scottsdale. I often say, “wasn’t I lucky to be born in my favorite city?” That is the honest truth, I LOVE Arizona. There are soooooo many places I LOVE to go to and visit, it’s seriously hard to narrow it down. Here’s my list….. Richardson’s (Any of the Richardson’s restaurants really) Cave Creek Hiking in the McDowell Mountains Listening to live music on the patio at the Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale The Vig The Phoenix Zoo Prescott or Sedona day trip Staycation at the Hyatt Regency
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people who I would love to dedicate this shoutout to! There have been so many people whom I have learned from since I was a child. My grandpa started Banker Insulation in the 70’s with his friend. He was the first entrepreneur I watched and learned from as a child! I LOVED going to his office and playing “office” with all of the supplies (I actually asked for office supplies for Christmas one year!), sitting in his chair, talking to the employees…..it was so great!!! I did not know it then, but those little glimpses into the world of business molded and shaped me into the businesswoman I am today.
Website: www.thenannyconcierge.com
Instagram: @thenannyconcierge
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-kapci-7738a0141/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenannyconcierge/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-nanny-concierge-scottsdale?osq=nanny