April 23-26, 2009 proved to be very rewarding to me in my life as a nanny. I was attending the International Nanny Association's 24th annual conference in Dallas, Texas. There were two speakers who "spoke" to me: Dr. Lynne Kenney and Jeff Crilley.
Dr. Kenney spoke about how nothing is yours truly till you give it away to someone else. She spoke about how important "branding" yourself is as well. I took that to heart throughout her keynote speech and her workshop later on the "Middle School Minefields." Dr. Kenney spoke on how you can "sprinkle the seeds" of knowledge through various things that you do. You just have to figure out what knowledge you are cultivating. I knew right then and there I wanted to "brand" myself as a nanny who shared financial information with other nannies on how to save for their future, save money through coupons, giveaways, discounts and getting out of debt.Jeff Crilley spoke on "Free Publicity" it was an amazing workshop for myself. I have been involved in direct sales for the past four years. I found several crossover items in his talk with what I learned from some of the top direct sales trainers in the industry. Communication is the key. Picking up the phone and speaking with someone,versus emailing is key too. Bundling items together for someone is awesome. In the direct sales world we called that "upselling". Mr. Crilley was using the bundling in reference to responding to news articles and how bringing the media a "poster child" along with a deeper story helps one's cause get further recognized. "Poster Child" is being referred to as a "real life" example of whatever the story is speaking of. We heard Mr. Crilley speak the day after the Iphone application of the "Shaken Baby" was pulled after the cries from the public. The "Shaken Baby" application paved the way for the media and others who have branded themselves or have knowledge in the department of Shaken Baby dangers to make light of how serious this truly is.Throughout my years as a professional nanny I have been to many conferences, workshops, and nanny meetings. We always hear of ways to improve our resume/portfolio, how to land the job we want, and child development etc. Rarely do we hear how to deal with our financial issues. Nannies come in all kinds of packages some are live in, or live out and rent, and some are married etc. Regardless of their living situation most financial planners I have heard or come across don't understand the dynamics of the live in nanny or the career progression of the nanny. Being a professional nannies, we are not eligible for 401ks, employee stock purchasing options, group medical insurance and other benefits offered in corporate America. We don't always have the knowledge of how to set up an IRA, individual medical insurance, purchasing stocks, mutual funds, savings accounts, obtaining three plus months of emergency savings and
As a professional nanny of fourteen years, who has lived in, I have found myself in the "financial money trap." I was/is in the trap of debt, no retirement of any size and just spending money because I didn't have a mortgage, a car payment, or utilities etc. For the past two years along with my brother who loves financial stuff and so forth, I have been working slowly on getting myself out of debt, starting my own Roth IRA, putting money away for emergency funds if I find myself out of work, how to save for the yearly conferences regardless of how much they cost and putting myself on an spending allowance.
I have come to realize that other nannies could benefit from the things I have learned, the traps I have fallen into and working to get out of those and that is how "The Financial Nanny" was born in Dallas, Texas at the 24th annual INA conference. I hope my experiences can help you gain financial knowledge for your future and present.
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