Nanny agency goes to ‘moon and back’ for high-end clients

LunaChild Collective go ‘to the moon and back’ in search for nannies from out of this world

Nanny agency provide personalised service for VIP and high-net worth clients

Sisters Lucy and Charlotte Boulton have successfully launched a nanny agency targeted high-income and celebrity families to provide childcare with a difference.

Backed by the Entrepreneurial Spark programme, the duo, originally from Wigan have set Manchester-based LunaChild Collective have used their experience jet-setting around the world for work to provide unique service to their clients.

Lucy, 28, has been a professional nanny for 10 years, travelling across the globe, from the UK and Ireland, to Switzerland and America.

With this experience and excellent contacts, she decided to combine her two pleasures, childcare and yoga by taking a yoga teaching certificate and forming LunaChild Collective.

Her younger sister, Charlotte, 25, had studied a psychology degree at Edge Hill University, but after struggling to secure a job following graduation, she moved to Geneva, Switzerland and held various jobs in the hospitality industry and training as a personal trainer.

In March 2016, the pair quit their jobs and set up their new venture, investing £10,000 of their own money to help build a website, attend trade shows and do some marketing. They also plan to develop an app in the next year and a half to help improve their clients’ experiences.
 
The agency particularly looks for individuals with education qualifications, plenty of experience and unique skill sets, whether that is vegan cookery, yoga, dance, art or horse riding.
 
Charlotte said: “It’s not just about keeping the child alive anymore. Families want nannies who can ski for when they go on holiday.

“Many want nannies with a degree in education and nutrition. One celebrity client wanted a nanny with an art degree for her children to get them away from iPads, so we found a nanny who had a first-class honours degree in art.

“Mandarin is in high demand at the moment and massive in London.”

The company does not just offer nine-to-five childcare, but can help families search for maternity nannies, to stay with them for up to three months, travel nannies to go on holidays so parents can get a break and private tutors who take on the role of governor or governess and provide full-time home-schooling or weekly visits.
 
One nanny joined a family on their multi-million-pound yacht in the Mediterranean to teach yoga for one hour per day.
 
The two fitness-loving businesswomen will attend the Monaco Yacht Show in September to speak with yacht charters about helping families to hire nannies for two weeks during their holidays.

Lucy, whose decade of experience has turned her into something of a ‘super-nanny’ figure, offers another service as part of the company.

The trouble-shooting she provides helps parents to develop routines for their children, manage behaviour, manners and respect, and handle anxiety and nutrition.
Parents will contact LunaChild Collective to hire Lucy for two weeks to help show them and their children in the right direction.

“Some parents need help from outside the family,” said Charlotte. “Lucy will fly out and spend two weeks with the family and teach them how to implement new behaviours and boundaries.

“One family from Dubai specially requested Lucy. They already had two nannies who were brilliant at looking after the children but were not good with discipline and routine.”

The company’s vision for the next year to 18 months is to increase its client base and launch a diary app.

“We want to take our nanny diary online to connect parents with their nanny.
 
“They will be able to use GPS to see where the nanny is and track how much exercise the child has taken, what they have eaten and even track medication or if their child has any injuries.

“The nanny will be able to upload photos securely which can be accessed by the mother and father.

“We also hope to launch our own yoga training programme which all of our nannies can take, as well as other people in the education or childcare sector.”

Charlotte noted that some schools are now adopting yoga and mindfulness sessions to handle poor behaviour, in replacement of detention.

She said: “By the end of 2017, we hope to have turned over just short of £100,000 and have a net profit of £30,000.

“In the next year and a half, we would hope to have opened another office in Geneva because I have good contacts there.”
 
The pair may have taken a risk quitting their previous jobs, but with some of their clients earning up to £100,000 per year, the industry certainly looks lucrative.