Louise puts quality back into lifestyles

Jun 12 2007 By Iain Laing, The Journal

Some of us feel there are never quite enough hours in the day. Iain Laing meets a former lawyer who is providing help for those who are cash-rich and time-poor to better organise their lives.

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Time is in short supply what with working days getting longer, both husbands and wives working and having less contact with the families who once supported them.

So chores mount up, organisation is crammed into the short drive between home and the office after a stressful day and relaxation becomes a rare commodity.

So Louise Doran, from Sunderland, is making it her business to bring some order to the hectic lives of full-time workers and give them back a little time in which to enjoy their own lives.

The law graduate has launched a `lifestyle management company' to answer the problem. Organised Time has been set up to ease the burden on busy people across the North-East.

"A lot of households now are dual income but are time poor and find it impossible to fit in everything that needs to be done," says the 25-year-old.

"No one wants their weekend to comprise trips to the supermarket and cleaning the house. It's important to get a good work-life balance so you can spend your free time doing the things you want to do."

Now based at The Hatchery at Sunderland University's business school, Louise initially began following a career in law then worked in recruitment and for Young Enterprise North-East before putting her business idea into practice.

Louise's services range from booking appointments, doing grocery shopping, gift-buying and wrapping to organising home filing systems and house sitting when home owners are away.

She will research travel plans, will wait in for appliances to be delivered and walk the dog. She can source cleaning services and will even arrange for flat-pack furniture to be built.

"It's about taking the legwork out of everyday chores and stepping in when people need us. It's like having a PA but only when you need one," she adds.

Louise is also aiming to tap into the special occasions market. "I'm not a wedding co-ordinator but can act as a personal assistant to brides to take care of all the minor arrangements, or for anniversaries and Christening parties drawing up shortlists of venues, caterers and other suppliers," she says.

"The key is building up trust with clients and providing a really excellent service. They have to trust me with their children, their money, their home and their pets so it's quite a responsibility, but so far the response has been really positive."

But she insists the service is not just for those with glamorous lives and deep pockets. Louise says: "Lifestyle management is for those who are not time rich. We essentially do the entire running around for those who don't have time to. We all strive to gain that 25th hour or the eighth day or wish there was a fairy godmother who could sort all of those tasks."

She is working with a mentor from the Entrepreneurs' Forum having joined the nurturing pool run by the North-East enterprise group run by successful entrepreneurs.

"In the Forum you are surrounded by people with experience and knowledge but who were once where I was and understand the challenges of growing a business," she says.

"Coming from a legal background, business wasn't something I knew about. I've spent a lot of time researching the market place and marketing the business. Concierge and lifestyle management companies are quite common now in London but it's still a new concept in the North-East so it's about letting people know the service exists and the benefits it can bring."