As you have hopefully seen our “Meet Nanny” series,we wanted you to get to know our NannyFusion members too! Through many of our networking experiences the development team has had the privilege of working with many of ourNannyFusion members. We wanted to share more about them with your our readers. Professional networking is a vital part of the nanny industry, we hope that this will help strengthen your professional networking with our NannyFusion members. Today we share with you some fun information about Judi Merlin of A Friend of the Family.
Company Name A Friend of the Family Staffing Corp.
Contact Judi Merlin
Website www.afriend.com
Facebook: A Friend of the Family
Twitter: FriendofFamily
Years in business? 28
What does your company do? Childcare and Adult care,Temporary, Short Term and Long Term, Back Up Care for Corporate clients, Group Care
Member of what organizations? We are a member of INA since 1986, APNA since 1993. DEMA
Tell us a little bit about how you got into this business? When my youngest child was entering first grade, I realized I was going to be out of a full time job. I could not imagine doing anything that was not related to families and children. I started A Friend of the Family with only a vision-to bring professionalism to the in home care industry. We have all come a long way, bu I am still working on the professionalism part today.
What is one of your favorite memories since you have been in business? My favorite memories involve being with a phenomenal group of fellow agency owners who have a generosity of spirit and who are willing to help each other grow. We all mentor each other with great respect and admiration.
What advice would you give to someone considering opening a nanny placement service? Come to a convention and talk to a lot of nannies and agencies, ask a lot of questions. Know your own strengths and weaknesses. Make sure you have a passion for the business that you want to create.
What changes would you like to see in the nanny industry? The change I would like to see is a change in our culture where we actually value children and families. A culture where children’s needs are put first and teachers and nannies are respected as an important part of society. Where we put our money where our mouth is. We could learn a lot from some European cultures on how society create ways to value the family and how to make life better for families
What is the most important piece of advice you can share with our readers? Please don’t be so busy taking care of everyone else that you neglect to take care of yourself. Put yourself at the top of your to do list. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to care for anyone.
What was your first job? At 11 years old, I was a counselor in training. My job was to help special needs children to fit into the group. Needless to say, I did not know what I was doing so it was a learning experience.
When you aren’t working, what do you enjoy? Being with my children and grandchildren. My grandchildren are 2, 3, 4 and 6 and they are the most fun people I know.
After you retire, what would you like to be doing? Still learning and growing, reading and writing and being a part of my children and grandchildren’s life.