Some Recent Stories in the News featuring Fini Concierge:

Fini Concierge appeared in the November 29 issue of the Boston Globe

Present Company
By Erin Byers Murray, Globe Correspondent

The holiday gift-giving games are well under way. You've mapped out treasures forthe spouse, the kids, mom, dad. But it doesn't stop there. Every year, it seems, the list of people to buy for grows: there's the helpful neighbor, the baby sitter, the colorist who gets your face-framing highlights just right.

Our multitasking ways only make things more complicated. "Technology has broken down all boundaries of time and space," says Edward Hallowell, psychiatrist and author of "CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap!" "We're one keystroke away from everything that can be bought and we can do so much more in a minute or an hour than ever before."
And so we do, sometimes buying for people we know only peripherally because we think we should or, heck, because time is tight and it's just one more item in the cart. Even professional shoppers agree it may be time to reassess.

"Our circles widen each year, but you have to stop and think about the people you interact with on a regular basis," says Chantal Boxer, cofounder of Fini Concierge, who spends the season shopping for a number of clients who don't have time to do it themselves. "You don't need to give gifts to everyone you know."

But where do you draw the line?

"This is the time of year to make a list," says Jodi R. R. Smith, president of Mannersmith, an etiquette consulting firm. "Pretend you have an unlimited budget and write down everyone you would give gifts to. Cast a wide net. Then start thinking strategically and making changes."
Say you and an old friend from childhood exchange gifts every year but you live in different states and hardly see each other. Smith says: "In one of our frequent e-mails, I might say, 'Hey, why don't I just treat you to dinner next time you're in town?' If there's an established pattern, address it and make a change."

That isn't to say you should eliminate gifts altogether, especially to the people who make your life easier on a daily basis. The dog walker, nanny, concierge, the security guy in your building - many of these people deserve end-of-the-year tips. And that's something you can budget throughout the year, says Smith. "If it's hard to budget that out at this time of year, you might even split the tips up, giving one at the holidays and one on the Fourth of July," she says. "It's not fair to cheat them if you didn't budget well."

Likewise, even a small gift is better than a snub. "When in doubt, give something," says Boxer. "It shows your appreciation but doesn't have to be large. A $25 gift card to Anna's Taqueria is still a great gift." The easiest way to take care of a number of people on your list is to buy a large quantity of one or two items, which you can tie bows around and hand out as you see people throughout the season, she adds.

"It's really about acknowledging people," says Doug Gates, owner of Showroom Boston, a contemporary furniture and kitchen gallery in the South End. "And thanking them for all they've done over the past year."

Gates shows his appreciation to clients and friends by giving them all the same handpicked home accessory. "I usually find something that is beautiful and can work in any environment, such as a vase or a decanter," he says. He then buys 20 or 30 of them.

"The most important thing, though, is the handwritten card," he says, adding that he uses cards made by local company Obsessive Compulsive Design. "That way each one is specific to that friend. It's personalized."

Betty Riaz, who owns the Stil fashion boutiques, says her list has grown tremendously in the four years she's owned - and expanded - her business. Employees, business colleagues, even deliverymen, are part of her circle."You really do have to have a formula. It's a matter of being organized but you have to be thoughtful, too," she says, which is why for the past three years she's gone to pen and writing accessories store Montblanc to buy her employees leather gifts, like credit-card holders, embossed with their initials. The UPS and mail delivery people will get Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts gift cards. She also has seven nieces and nephews who live in California and abroad, so she'll buy them all the same thing, like personalized sleeping bags, which she'll order online to be wrapped and delivered directly.

For Michela Larson, co-owner of Rocca Kitchen and Bar, the holidays remain her favorite time of year, despite the stress of gift giving."I've done a couple things to make it easier," she concedes, especially when it comes to friends. For her "book club" (they don't read many books, but do get together on a regular basis), she says they'll all make donations to a charity in each others' names rather than buy something. "You want to let them know that you're thinking about them without necessarily adding another thing to their life."

Larson also spends one day during the holidays shopping with two of her girlfriends. It started as a shopping trip for their families, but last year they started buying one gift for each other instead. "We wander down Charles and Newbury streets and have a meal together," she says. "It's very lovely and memorable. And it's no longer about shopping, it's about each other."


Fini Concierge appeared in the Winter issue of Upscale Living Magazine

Fini Concierge Hectic Helpers helps you get the job(s) done!
By Matt Robinson

To say that we all lead busy lives is a drastic understatement! Even so, full-time help may be difficult to justify. Thankfully, there’s a very happy, new medium. Its name is Fini Concierge. Fini Concierge is committed to providing clients with the support and assistance they need to better manage their time and quality of life. Their clients also gain two, most precious gifts: time and peace of mind. This company was started by two formerly-harried people — a husband-and-wife team. They came from the real estate and not-for-profit sectors, respectively. Fini Concierge is not some disconnected service. It is an empathetic offering from people who have been there, and who, on occasion, may go back themselves. "We were both busy professionals who basically had same needs as our clients," explains co-founder Chantal Boxer. "We were running in so many different directions with too much to do and not having time to get it all done. We wanted and needed to make a different choice about how to live our lives."

The Dilemma of Taking a Vacation

We just returned from a week long vacation. As small business owners taking vacation is hard. Because Eddie and I are married (and like to vacation together!) and the co-founders of Fini Concierge, when we go on vacation it is a greater challenge to the team than if just one of us was gone.

I know that it is hard for a lot of people to take off, leaving their work behind, whether they own the business or not. But for business owners, and especially small business owners, I think there are several additional layers of challenge when they are away from their businesses. Will things run smoothly if you are not there to support your team? What if an emergency happens? How do you account for loss of revenue if you are not there to generate business? Not to mention the loss of control that we feel.

We took our first week long vacation last year when we only had one staff person working with us. It turned out to be one of the best things we ever did. Not only did it give us a break that we really needed but it also gave her the chance to be in control -- to successfully problem solve, deepen her relationships with client’s and instilled a new level of confidence in her own abilities.

And we’re always so pleasantly surprised at how happy our clients are that we’re going away – provided that we’re coming back! You deserve it! Enjoy yourselves! And have fun! are the sorts of responses that we get to our announcement that we’ll be away. Of course, it’s impossible to turn your brain totally off when on vacation. At dinner we’d find ourselves discussing clients or goals for the next year and even when on the beach I find my mind drifting to things I’ll work on when I get back. But that’s not all bad as it does give you a different perspective on things then when you’re bogged down in the thick of it.

We founded Fini Concierge based on the principles that people should have a choice to live life differently – to have help when and if they want it -- to make life easier and less stressful. We strive to help people feel that they have balanced lifestyles and that includes vacation and time off to rejuvenate and focus on themselves and those that are special to them. If we don’t do the same we’re not living what we are trying to help create for others. So this year, with a larger team to bear the burden of our absence, it was that much easier to leave know that they’d do great without us…and we really enjoyed our time away!

Chantal

Buried under Lights, Garland, Gifts and Wrapping Paper!

Soon after excitedly launching our blog in October, we found ourselves in the midst of the holidays. You’ll have to forgive our blog absence.

Thanksgiving through New Years is a very busy time for everyone, which also means that the Fini Concierge team is called upon more than usual by our clients. We find ourselves buried in gifts, wrapping paper, Christmas trees, lights and holiday cards!

Although many of us (me included) make a vow to start our shopping and card addressing early, most of us break our promise to not make the season any more stressful than it needs to be and end up waiting longer than we should to start tackling our holiday lists. This is why I totally sympathize with some of our clients who are still making requests for help with holiday preparations just days (and sometimes even hours!) before their holiday celebrations.

But despite the stress and rush of the season, it’s actually fun and rewarding to help people with all of their holiday tasks. This year we put up nearly a dozen Christmas trees and hung our fair share of wreathes and garland. We bought countless gifts, addressed hundreds of holiday cards and wrapped dozens and dozens of packages. There were many hours spent in lines to send off packages at the post office and UPS. We helped coordinate several corporate outings and festive holiday parties.

Then of course there’s the clean up. The returning of gifts, the break down and storage of holiday decorations and the last minute travel plans to get away for New Years.

It’s a tiring time of year but at the end of the season we feel good about being part of what is a happy and magical time. We get the chance to help people to surprise a loved one with that perfect gift they’ve been dying for or take the hassle out of buying and putting up a Christmas tree when their time is more happily spent decorating it with their kids. Throwing a holiday bash is possible because someone had some help pulling together all the small details and a co-worker gets recognized with a thoughtful gift because they didn’t have to find the time to purchase it.

The details that we take care of during the holiday season are often those tasks that people dread but we’re a part of the spirit and thoughtfulness that makes the season special.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? How could an “additional” hand help you out during the season?
-Chantal

The Stresses of the Holiday Season

Last week we ate too much turkey and then we, Fini Concierge, put up our first of many Christmas trees for a client. Typically, we put up and decorate more than seven trees a season. Along with the tree requests, we’ve received many gifts lists from clients of items that we need to buy, which only means, that we’re in the midst of the holiday season!

Even though so many people look forward to this time of year, when it gets here they meet it with a certain amount of dread. People feel the extra pressure of all the gift buying, party going, cooking and family hosting. And with all of the things “to-do”, they forget about the spirit of the season.

I watched the numerous news stories starting on Thanksgiving Day about the thousands of shoppers who stay up late on Thanksgiving Day or arrived early at the stores on “Black Friday” to start their holiday shopping and take advantage of the holiday sales. They probably bought things they didn’t need because they didn’t want to miss a good deal.

I used to work with a woman who so looked forward to “Black Friday.” Her family tradition was making the pilgrimage with several women in the early morning dark hours to the shop the stores. She would spend the week before going through the circulars in the papers (this was before the days of finding all information on the internet) to identify the best deals where she could cross off the most items on her holiday shopping list. I would look on with dread (watching herds of people trample each other at the doors of a Best Buy still puts a pit in my stomach) as she gleefully mapped out their day. For her it was a productive day but also one that she most enjoyed for the camaraderie that she had with the women she went with – going into battle and coming out victorious. “Black Friday” shopping was their annual holiday girl’s ritual, equal parts enjoyment of getting a deal and celebrating the time they spent together.

Cooking a holiday meal with family, meeting friends for a night of holiday cheer, bringing the kids to ice skate on the Frog Pond or shopping on “Black Friday”, these are the traditions that truly represent the holiday spirit. Yes, we all have a list of gifts to buy and items to bake, but it’s important to not get lost in the things you have “to-do” and remember why you’re doing it. And, of course, you can outsource many of those “to-dos” to others such as Fini Concierge, leaving you more time to enjoy the festivities during the holidays.

Here’s wishing you much enjoyment of the holiday season!!

Chantal

Who Values Work/Life Balance Anyway? Who Is Responsible For Managing It?

This week Monster.com released a study on the importance that workers and human resource departments place on work/life balance initiatives. The study’s results show that workers place a higher value on work/life balance benefits than their human resource departments.

The Worker's Point of View:

• 89% of employees believe that work/life balance programs, such as flextime and telecommuting are important when evaluating a new job


• More than 75% of workers believe that work/life balance initiatives result in more loyal and efficient employees


• 29% of workers view their employer’s work/life balance initiatives as good or excellent

The HR Point of View:

• 50% of HR professionals believe that work/life balance initiatives to be important for their company


• 61% of HR professionals believe there will be more employer-provided work/life balance initiatives in 5 years


• 56% of HR professionals believe that general work/life balance will improve in future


• 60% of workers say that they spend too much time working
  

It’s a sticky problem. Employers want a few things in exchange for providing a good job and employees want to be rewarded for working hard. Employers want their staff to be productive and loyal, and live happy lives. Employees want their employers to recognize the time and effort they put into making their company successful.

Whose responsibility (the employee or the employer) is it to ensure that an individual achieves a balance between work and “life?" And at whose expense?

Some employees want their employers to offer creative ways to support work/life balance. May be an employer offers flex-time, but in exchange should the employees honor that work/life balance by exploring ways on their own to simplify their lives, so they can work harder at the office?

Employees find all sorts of ways to balance life at home and work. They have grandma or grandpa babysit the kids during the day. They sneak out during lunch to pick up the dry cleaning or have lunch with the kids at home. They arrive very early to work and then leave in the afternoon prior to everyone else. They work a full day then rush out to hit the grocery and department stores before closing. Employees even arrange conference calls in the evening after dinner. It seems with this running around it’s almost impossible to be productive at work and enjoy life away from the office.

The point is most of us can’t do everything that we are expected to and live happily with life/work balance – at least not all of the time.

Sometimes we need to call in the calvary. Concierge companies such as Fini Concierge offer a solution. Employees can outsource those personal projects or everyday tasks that they don’t like to do, don’t feel that they have time to do or realize don’t require their personal touch. It’s a choice to live life in a different way – and a simpler way.

And if you want your company to offer additional work/life balance benefits – make your voice heard to your HR department or your manager. After all, if your company can help you pick up the dry cleaning and get the car serviced while you work for them, then you’ll probably be a loyal and efficient employee.

Tell us: What types of work/life benefits does your company provide? What additional types of initiatives could your employer implement that would make a big difference in your life?

Thanks.

Chantal

Never Enough Time

It’s Sunday morning at 11:00, we have two choices – join our friends, who we haven’t seen in months, for brunch or tackle that long list of errands and huge pile of laundry that desperately needs to get done.

Its 7:30pm on a Thursday night – go to the gym for the first time this week or make it to the dry cleaner in time to pick up the clothes we need for our weekend away…and oh shoot, we’ve been so busy at work that we forgot to make that hotel reservation.

Never enough time and always an endless list of life’s details weighing on our minds.

These were the dilemmas of our everyday lives. And we knew we weren’t alone.

It was on those busy days that we would dream about how great it would be if there was a personal assistant for the ‘everyday’ person. Wasn’t there someone we could call on when we needed some help? Then we could see our friends for brunch and eat pancakes with ease because everything was being handled. Thinking about it was easy, but who was doing it?

We had a vision. We would create the solution.

Since that “A-Ha” moment, its become our life’s calling: helping others escape the torment we often felt . Our model has always been grounded in the idea that we wanted to create a choice, free from hassle or complications, for people to live with less stress and more time to do the things they wanted to be doing. These were and continue to be our motivation for Fini Concierge – a company providing personal assistance on an as-needed basis.

Today, we have three years of experience behind us and know that we’ve helped to change many people’s lives for the better.

We’re excited to share how we’ve helped our clients lead less stressful lives and gain more enjoyment out of daily living. Although we still often struggle to figure out the balance in our own lives (we thought we were busy then!), we plan to share with you what the concierge industry is all about, plus the successes and lessons we’ve encountered on our own journey of building a business.

Can you identify with the torments of busy daily life – with too much to do and never enough time? We’d love to hear your experiences and what solutions you use to minimize your stress and enjoy life more.

Chantal and Eddie