SPOTLIGHT Interview with Ms. Jones: Household Manager & Personal Assistant for UHNW Families, Royalty & Celebrities

Jeannette Jones

This week's featured service industry professional is with Jeannette Jones, Certified Household Manager and Founder of Purveyors of Time. For the past 20+ years, Jeannette Jones has managed the lives, events, and properties of some of the world’s most-visible people.  Thirteen years ago, Jeannette decided to take her carefully-honed craft and bring it to a larger audience, providing personal assisting and property management services to those fortunate enough to own a second (or third) estate in Los Angeles.

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Why did you decide to turn your passion into a business?

Chillin' in the G4

I decided to turn assisting into a business because I saw that there was a need for services like mine on a part-time/as-needed basis and that sometimes people who had secondary homes in Los Angeles didn’t necessarily need a full-time personal assistant or house manager but did not want to leave their beloved household unattended.

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Since this is not the typical format for hiring household staff, how were your services received?

On assignment in Venice

Because it was a new type of business model, which most had not heard of, it was slow to grow; but it did not take more than a few years to flourish into a thriving business. Our clients really seem to find great value with the fact that we are there for them whenever they need but that they do not have to pay a full-time employee’s salary. 

They appreciate that their home is looked after as if it had a full-time caretaker. They also really enjoy that when they arrive to their vacation home (or secondary home), it is stocked and prepped for them with their groceries, sundries, and any other necessary items that make it feel like they never left home; and, of course, they take comfort in knowing that they have a personal representative available to respond in the event of emergencies.

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What are the benefits of hiring a company like yours to manage people’s homes?

On assignment in London

There are several benefits to hiring a company like ours. Firstly, there are the carrying costs associated with staffing a fulltime employee. Aside from the obvious expenses like salaries, taxes, and other miscellaneous liabilities, like providing equipment (e.g. computer, cell phone, etc.), and any other perquisites an employer would typically offer, can really add up. Additionally, you must consider having another person in your home full time and providing a dedicated in-home workspace for that individual. Most people who have secondary homes do not have the specific need for a full-time house manager to be staffed on-site. 
 
Some secondary homeowners will opt for the typical property management company that also oversees many other homes and rental properties as well. These companies can often come in and provide the bare minimum of services with employees who are not professionally trained. For discerning homeowners, for those who typically work with a team of trusted advisors, for those who are traditionally accustomed to employing an estate manager, and those who have certain expectations of their properties, our services just make a lot of sense for those individuals and families.

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What are some of the services that you provide?

On location in Paris

With a service such as ours, a family can hire us to come in and provide as much or as little assistance as they would like. Aside from managing homes, some of the additional benefits that we have provided our clients are:
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• Prepping the home for the principal’s arrival
• Planning and executing events for hundreds of people
• Delivering cars to FBOs so that the principal has a vehicle upon arrival and can hit the ground running
• Creating estate and inventory manuals
• Overseeing all vendors who work at the property
• Paying outstanding accounts payable 
• Coordinating all aspects with the estate manager to be sure that the property is being run to expectations

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Any final thoughts on the private service industry?

Even though our beginnings started in Los Angeles, and we still continue to assist a select few families in the Los Angeles area, we have moved the majority of our operations to the Pebble Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and the Monterey Peninsula where the secondary-home market is booming (approximately 60% of the homes are held by absentee owners). Besides, it's just a beautiful area to be.
 
For more information visit www.purveyorsoftime.com.