Meet Vicki Rawson of North County Concierge in Encinitas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vicki Rawson.

Vicki, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I moved to California from the UK in 2009 with my husband, son, and daughter for a two-year adventure! It was an amazing opportunity for us to transfer here with my husband’s company and experience living in beautiful San Diego. Roll on 11 years and we now have our green cards and are settled for good. I was lucky to be able to stay home and raise my kids when they were young, but I knew I wanted to get back to work eventually. I wanted a job that I would love, but that could also bring value to other people’s lives. While raising my kids, I had watched families around me struggle to balance busy work and home lives. Whether a household of two working parents, a single parent, or a family caring for aging loved ones, it’s stressful to juggle the demands of day to day life. Weekends are consumed by running errands, catching up on housework, scheduling maintenance, organization projects, and a multitude of other to-dos! Life is so busy these days and there’s an expectation, that you need to be able to do it all without help, and that includes the Pinterest-worthy birthday parties for your kids! I spent several years doing my research and soaking up as much knowledge as possible from some international concierge groups and coaching programs I was part of, whilst waiting for our green cards to be approved. I started North County Concierge in September 2019. My business provides personal assistant and errand services to the North County San Diego area. I help busy professionals tackle their never-ending to-do lists so they can have more time in their lives for what brings them joy!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, I don’t think anyone that has started their own business would say it was a totally smooth road! I’m learning and building my knowledge every single day. I have a background in event organizing, project management, and customer service but I had no marketing experience when I started. I thought that all I would need to do is put up a website, post on social media, and go to a few networking events and the clients would be banging down my door! It was not quite that easy. Don’t get me wrong – I was lucky to pick up some clients quickly, but I’ve learned that it takes a long-term consistent marketing plan to continually build and grow. So, that’s a work in progress!

North County Concierge – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our goal at North County Concierge is to create close working relationships with our clients built on trust, efficiency, and attention to detail. We’re not just an errand service; we work with our clients to find ways to improve their overall quality of life by helping them develop a better balance between their personal and professional responsibilities. A typical session for one of our clients could include personal errands like dropping off dry cleaning, handling returns, shipping packages, taking the family dog to the groomers, or picking up groceries or a birthday gift. We might also schedule a plumber, arrange a quote for air conditioning, take the car for an oil change, or meet the cable repairman at the house while a client is at work. We have a great list of vendor referrals on hand, so not only do we save our clients hours of time on research, we can also coordinate and manage all of those household projects when they can’t be at home. We also provide “peace of mind’ home checks to clients heading out of town.

We provide organizing services and moving assistance. We can help our clients declutter and organize any room in their home from the closet to the garage. We deal with taking away their donations and consignment items, as well as purchasing any storage and organizing items needed to complete the task. If a client is moving to a new house, we can assist with packing and unpacking and help coordinate movers, cleaners, and maintenance services.

Some clients hire us for short term projects such as planning a party or event. We can handle everything from finding a venue, hiring vendors, and buying decorations to helping with event set up and clean-up. We provide help for Seniors who want to maintain their independence but need a helping hand or a companion to visit on occasion. We can run errands, pick up groceries and prescriptions, and help them manage their mail and bill paying.

Many of our clients are small business owners that need help with certain tasks for their business but do not want or need to hire a permanent staff member. We have one client that only needs us to visit once a month for filing and general admin and other clients who want a few hours each month of virtual admin assistance. Bonus – we’re also a tax write off! I think the way we work closely on a regular basis with most of our clients, sets us apart from other errand services. Our specialty is building trusted, connected relationships with our clients by providing the services that help them lead less stressful and more fulfilling lives.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
A love of helping others, alongside great organizational and time management skills has enabled me to provide a service to my clients that they both value and appreciate. Consistency, determination and a willingness to continually learn and grow are definitely required to start and build your own business!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.northcountyconcierge.com
• Phone: 8582205921
• Email: vicki@northcountyconcierge.com
• Instagram: @northcountyconcierge
• Facebook: @northcountyconcierge

Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.