My Bellboy

Entrepreneurial duo Matthew Maks and Kristy Gibbs are aiming to take the hassle out of busy people’s lives with their new business.

Recently-launched My Bellboy allows users to set Maks and Gibbs tasks to undertake on their behalf.

StartupSmart chatted to Maks about how he came up with the idea.

What gave you the idea for the business?

Just like most people today I'm completely over-worked and over-scheduled and I constantly found myself saying that I wish I had a PA who I could turn to to  undertake all of the day-to-day administrative tasks.

The idea of having  my very own PA would mean I could spend more time doing things I wanted to and not the mundane tasks, eg researching the best home and contents insurance package, the most economical flight to Melbourne, anniversary gift for my girlfriend, daycare centre availability for a child or ringing to place dinner reservations.

But this over-scheduled situation was not unique to me, my family and friends were complaining that life would be so much simpler if they had assistance with the rudimentary tasks too - and so the idea of My Bellboy was born to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy life more and not get bogged down by daily administrative tasks.

So, how does the service work?

First the user needs to select a suitable memberships, beginning with a basic package consisting of 15 tasks through to the more substantial, corporate memberships which can be tailored to suit the specific needs of the business.

Members then request tasks to be undertaken by one of our Australian PA's in the cloud via SMS or email.

What kind of tasks do you do?

No task is too big or too small. We can organise, reschedule appointments/reservations, locate an item you are desperate to track down, perform research, find competitive quotes and a whole lot more.

We can do almost any task however, we can’t perform illegal or immoral activities or pay for anything on your behalf.

How are you not overwhelmed by tasks, given that there aren’t many of you?

We have intuitive processes behind the scenes and in the backend of the system.

This set-up allows us to profile clients and then provide them with the most suitable PA, who understands their needs and will be able to respond in an efficienct manner, without compromising on quality.

Our extensive network in retail, sales, hospitality, education help too.

How have you marketed the service?

Our marketing relies greatly on word of mouth. We place utmost importance on giving our clients a seamless, stress-free experience that meets their needs to ensure  they go and spread the word, to family, friends and colleagues, on how great a service they recieved.

The suntan our clients display is another giveaway as My Bellboy frees up so much of their time their able to spend their summer days lazing on the beach.

Next month we begin our targeted social media and search marketing campaign.

What have the challenges been?

Obtaining merchant facilities due to the relatively new and unique concept was not as straightforward as anticipated, however this has now been rectified.

Also educating people about the service we provide and allowing them to understand the value of investment.

With the basic subscription equating to less than $2 a task, which is less than the cost of a coffee to do something which may save you a minimum of 30 minutes makes this service not only beneficial for all, but accessible to all.

What are your plans for the business?

We're currently working on an incentive program for our members. We are teaming up with leading airlines, hotels and restaurants to offer our clients incentives and great perks.