Nannypreneurs ~ Whitney Tang

Whitney Tang
Nanny Magazine

How long have you been a nanny, or how long were you a nanny?

While I have years of experience with children from my high school years, I have been a nanny full-time for six years.

What is a highlight of your nanny career?

The highlight of my nanny career was when the little girls I nanny for threw me a Bridal Shower. It was so sweet to see how much they and their moms cared for me and to see how much our relationships had grown.

How did you come up with the idea for your product?

As a nanny, I am constantly searching out new craft ideas, different takes on tough situations, and some type of support. I would become engulfed in Parents and Parenting Magazines whenever my Mom Boss brought them home. I loved being able to read different mothers’ takes on sticky situations and I adored adding their kid friendly crafts and recipes into my daily repertoire. The problem was that I couldn’t find much support in these magazines. No one to tell me whether or not I was underpaid. No other nanny to relate to my struggle with borders and boundaries between a Mother’s love and a Nanny’s love. Why couldn’t I find something like Parents created specifically for me!? And then I realized that if I wanted something like this, then I was just going to have to go out and create it myself. Luckily I found someone else, Jennifer Kuhn (co-founder/editor of Nanny Magazine), who had the same idea, and we have been able to successfully put our minds together to create what is now officially, Nanny Magazine.

What is your level of monetary investment and have you seen a profit?

We have done our best to keep monetary investment to a minimum, but the largest investment has definitely been human capital. Launching a new business takes a lot of time, and what they say is true: time is money. I have passed up other money making opportunities in favor of focusing all my attention on Nanny Magazine. Have we made a profit? Good question. As our complete product, the print magazine, won’t launch until January 2014, I can’t quite answer that. Ask me again in a year 😉

What is the purpose of your product?

The purpose of Nanny Magazine is to provide support and project ideas to nannies across the country. We want nannies to have an official publication all their own where they can get the information they need to be healthy, happy, and successful at their job.

How has the nanny industry received your product/service – i.e. what has been the feedback you’ve received?

The feedback we received thus far has been spectacular. Every nanny we talk to is excited about the publication and has just been waiting for something like it to come along. Our Facebook page has been buzzing since day one with excitement and great expectations. Let’s just hope we can fill the shoes we’ve made for ourselves!

What words of wisdom do you have for others, who may have a product/service and wish to expand its market?

Facebook, Facebook, Facebook. It has truly been an invaluable tool in building hype and engaging followers. I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep your audience engaged with probing questions and fun suggestions. People, especially nannies, love to talk about themselves and see how they compare to others.

What do you wish you had known early on, that you’ve learned going through this process?

Never start a business right before your wedding! We launched the business about two months before my wedding and let’s just say it was a tad bit stressful! Seriously though, starting a business takes time – lots and lots of time. Make sure you have that time before you start up or something is sure to fall out of sight. Lucky for me, I have a fantastic husband who was able to pick up my slack when I just couldn’t focus 24/7. That’s another thing. If you can, go into business with someone who is hard working and just as devoted to seeing the business through as you are. You can share the workload, bounce ideas off of each other, and feed off of each other’s enthusiasm to create the best possible product/service possible. I don’t know what I would have done without Jennifer.