Molly Fedick

Ever miss your high school baby-sitting gig? Wish you had connections to good families in Boston looking for a new babysitter? Well, you're in luck! Her Campus Harvard sat down with recent Boston University alumna and entrepreneur Molly Fedick. Molly has founded The Babysitter of Boston, which is kind of like Gilt Groupe for babysitters. Intrigued? So were we! Read on to find out more, and check her out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Babysitters-of-Boston/108984752494111?ref=ts.

Or, you can check out the site itself at http://www.thebabysittersofboston.com/.

Her Campus Harvard (HCH): What inspired you to start The Babysitters of Boston?
Molly Fedick (MF): Because I babysat all through high school, I knew I enjoyed hanging out with kids and that babysitting would be a fun and flexible way to make extra money in college. The problem when I got to BU, though, was finding families--I didn't know anyone in Boston! That's when I turned to my school's job board and Sittercity to find jobs. This process though, was very time-consuming and frustrating. A problem I found with both these resources was having ZERO clue who each family was, which made me uncomfortable. That being said, I had some pretty bizarre experiences meeting families!

Another problem was that because babysitting pays more than typical college jobs, almost every job would be filled before I even had time to respond. I had to constantly monitor Sittercity and the BU job board and respond the SECOND a job was posted. This made finding a family a job in itself!

I did, however, eventually find several fabulous families, as did a group of my friends who also babysit. What ended up happening was us "trading" families--if I couldn't babysit for my regular family on a Friday night, I would have my friend Elise or Kaelin or Maggie go in my place. The families felt comfortable with this arrangement because each girl came highly recommended from me or one of my friends, whom they trusted with their children or in their home.

I always thought it would be great to have this sort of exclusive, safe network online. So many girls I knew wanted to babysit, but they didn't have the time to devote to maintaining a Sittercity profile or applying to different babysitting jobs all the time. On the parents' end, they were overwhelmed by the number of responses they would receive once they posted a job on a school job board or on Sittercity. One mom reported getting over 500 responses! Imagine trying to wade through all that when you have a four year old and newborn twins to take care of like this particular mom did. Totally impossible!

When I graduated in May 2010, I started looking for a job, but always kind of knew I would do something off the beaten path. I have had a lot of internships (CosmoGirl, Time Out New York, The White House) and knew I was not good with bosses (I have always wanted to "do my own thing"), so figured it was a good time to start my business, when I had an idea and nothing stopping me. The rest is history! 

HCH: What were some of the logistics of staring your own online company?
MF: The logistics involved in starting a web business are pretty straightforward. I was lucky in that my two web designers, Nick Riotto and Peter Ross, started their own successful website, ChoiceCamps.com, a few years before me. They have been able to tell me exactly what I need to do (filing for a MA business license, for example) and how to avoid mistakes.

I'd say the biggest thing I have to be careful about in terms of the business side is making sure I am in compliance with tax codes, laws, etc. I also try to be very organized about everything (bank accounts, bills, etc.), and l decided to get another phone, just to keep everything separate.

HCH: What were some of your biggest challenges?
MF: The challenges are literally never-ending! In this phase of the business, I run into something new every day! Everything from opening a separate business bank account to applying for a business credit card to learning how to construct a privacy policy is new to me. I never thought about these things when I was thinking about starting The BofB...I only thought about the FUN stuff!

My dad always taught me to "trust the experts" in anything I've done, and this has been invaluable advice. Anytime I run into a problem I don't know how to solve--how to handle by business accounting and payroll, for example--I ask someone whose job it is to understand that particular area. It is surprising how willing so many of my friends--also post-grads--are to help me out! I've got one friend, Lauren Hurney, who is acting as my accountant. She works at State Street Financial during the day and is working on my business nights and weekends. 

HCH: So how does the site work?
MF: The site works like this: both babysitters and families must be invited to join via invitation code. Once they have the code and log onto the site, they fill out a profile and I either accept or deny them.

Payment for parents is entirely online. They book a babysitter just like they would book a plane ticket--for a specific day of the week and specific hours. They then pay for those hours with a credit card, and the babysitter is paid later by me.

Reviews are pretty much the same as you would see on any site--anyone who has hired a particular babysitter is encouraged to write about her in the "reviews" section. That way, other parents can log on and see who was reviewed by whom!