Friday, October 07, 2011

Rent-A-Grandma?

You thought all the new ideas have been taken? Well, guys like Todd Pliss show you how your experience in one field can lead to the next great small business idea. Todd Pliss was working as a tutor to child stars like the Jonas Brothers when he started hearing complaints. They weren't about groupies or the paparazzi or bad lighting--they were about child care.

Yeah...easy enough to bank on the rich right? The idea is interesting, however. The complaints that younger sitters and caregivers are unreliable is one of the biggest concerns. He thought who would be more responsible than "grandma"? She won't sit around texting the night away, or inviting boys over will sh? Of course not. That's when he decided to start recruiting women over 50 to to become sitters. Beats looking for Software Engineer Jobs.

After Rent-A-Grandma was profiled on Fox News in March 2011, Pliss received more than 300 calls asking if he was franchising the concept. He decided to give it a shot: In May, he offered franchise territories in 36 states. So far, he has sold units in Dallas and Houston. He hopes to have 15 in operation by year's end and 20 more in 2012. full story