There are few jobs available for fourteen and fifteen year olds today, so many girls become babysitters. For Noa Mintz, she took this a bit further. When she was in only 7th grade, Noa Mintz began “Nannies by Noa,” a full-service child care agency that matches up nannies and babysitters with the families of New York and the Hamptons. Mintz began the organization when her mother was tired of all their babysitters, not being able to find the right one. This inspired Mintz to explore the possibility of finding the perfect nanny for every family. She sought to find committed, “New York savvy” nannies. After she helped out a few friends, word started to spread, and with the help of her father on the financial side, Mintz’s business soon became a hit, now serving almost 200 clients today. One of the reasons this group thrives is its thorough process of finding that “perfect” nanny, which includes an application, a resume, an in-person and phone interview with a trained nanny, a reference, and a background check. This has raised the expectations for the nannies, something that comforts prospective clients. Right before entering high school, Mintz hired Allison Johnson as CEO to overseer the day to day operations. Johnson, 26, works in an office building in Midtown Manhattan while Mintz attends school like any other 16-year-old.
The success that came from this young entrepreneur was due to her determination to fix a simple problem. From her own personal experience, she saw the problem, established a solution, and went from there. Her interest in finding a specific type of nanny for every family was an imaginative plan to take the pressure and stress off the families and instead, give them the perfect caregivers. Today, the importance of customer service is key to success in the business world. Mintz understands this and continues to thrive under the guidance of entrepreneurial principles.
For her website, check out http://www.nanniesbynoa.com/
For an interview with her, check out https://youtu.be/YDZsbAnPZU4
This is a totally relatable company to me! While my past “career” so to speak has been really casual, this idea could certainly help young girls grow comfortable in the professional world at such a young age and help them prepare to impact the professional job market in the future.
I agree that customer service is key. Mintz saw that the personality of each nanny is key to each family and I’m inspired by the way she went about creating an optimal way to sift out plausible sitters.