With the number of families living in the Kensington & Chelsea area and nearby, here’s news of a service that will be very useful to them!
The Babysitters of Kensington and Chelsea (BOKAC) was set up in 2010 by West London resident Anna Cameron. Unlike many traditional babysitting or childminding services, this is the first (that we’re aware of!) that gives parents the opportunity to find, book and pay for a babysitter online – it couldn’t be simpler and quicker! The ease of this service will no doubt come as a welcome relief to all busy parents who will relish the chance to take some of the hassle out of finding a suitable babysitter.
BOKAC currently lists over 15 babysitters on their site, with a full profile for each that shows their childcare experiences, interests and testimonials from previous clients. It’s a great way of easily finding a babysitter – from a selection – that you think would be suitable for looking after your kids. Each babysitter has also been interviewed by BOKAC’s founder, Ms Cameron, before joining.
A simple timezone and pricing structure is also in place for those looking to book one of the babysitters. There are three timezones for which you can hire a babysitter – morning (7am to 12pm), afternoon (12pm to 7pm) and evening (7pm to 2am the next morning). It costs £10 per hour to hire one of the babysitters, and there are no membership charges, booking fees or even transport costs as all sitters live in the local area! There’s also a calendar displayed against each babysitter’s profile so you can see when they’re available or if they’ve already been booked up.
Before setting up BOKAC, Ms Cameron used to regularly babysit for local families as a means for earning some extra money to alongside her recruitment job, helping her manage London’s high living costs. Little by little, Ms Cameron found herself with more families to babysit than time and started recommending friends to clients as well. After attending a one-day “How to set up your own business course”, she realised that an online babysitting service could well prove to be a successful idea.
Anna Cameron
After investing her savings and launching BOKAC, Ms Cameron ran the business remotely from LA (where she had relocated to in September 2011), interviewing sitters on return trips to London. This set up had no adverse effect on the business – not only did the number of babysitters registered to BOKAC double, but so did the numbers of families using the service. Relocating back to London in December 2012, Ms Cameron is now concentrating on growing the company, and has found that working for herself is something that she’s incredibly passionate about and motivated by.
More information on the Babysitters of Kensington & Chelsea can be found on their website. If you have any questions, please contact Ms Cameron via email or on 020 7193 2925.