The Easemakers Podcast

In a high net worth household, security is a top priority. If you support a celebrity, a dignitary, or a well-known corporate executive, you may be highly familiar with VIP protection and security services or work alongside a secret service or executive protection agent. But even households without a dedicated private security team need to get ahead of vulnerabilities and ensure they’re taking proactive security measures.This week on the Easemakers Podcast, Estate Manager and Executive Protection Specialist Scott Sanders shares how private service professionals can take basics steps to ensure their own preparedness and protect the wellbeing of everyone in the household.During our conversation, Scott shares tips on building a relationship with law enforcement and other local authorities, executive protection training, and how to reduce personal risk — from having a basic skill set in first aid to improving residential security and sending security advances when you’re traveling.Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.  Enjoying the Easemakers Podcast? Leave us a rating and a review telling us about your favorite episodes and what you want to learn next!The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, modern household management software and services built for private service professionals and the households the support.

Whether you're asking for a raise or negotiating your salary for a new role, navigating money conversations in private service is challenging.As the Founder and CEO of Personal Touch Career Services, Career Coach Donna Shannon has supported countless private service professionals through the job search process with writing services and coaching, and she's passionate about helping PSPs land the salary they deserve.This week on the Easemakers Podcast, Donna shares how to advocate for a 20% pay increase, the #1 thing holding private service professionals back, and the #1 thing you can do to go into salary negotiations with confidence. Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.  Enjoying the Easemakers Podcast? Leave us a rating and a review telling us about your favorite episodes and what you want to learn next!The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, modern household management software and services built for private service professionals and the households the support.

Rey Flemings, Co-Founder & CEO of Myria, discusses what principals really want: unique experiences, home ambiance, and exclusive experiences. Kindness is a core value for Myria, and recognizing respectful principals is crucial. They also talk about surprising challenges in the luxury service industry, changing trends in luxury consumption, and the importance of philanthropy and reputation in the private service profession.

Hybrid roles are a hot topic in the private service industry. Every week, household staffing agencies post new job descriptions for nanny-family assistants, house manager-chefs, etc. Some seem reasonable, and others leave private service professionals shaking their heads, wondering how any one person could be expected to take on so much work.Why are we seeing an increase in demand for hybrid positions in private service? Why are principals looking to hire for hybrid roles in their households, and what's the role of household staffing agencies in this trend?This week on the Easemakers Podcast, Jenni Vaughan shares the other side of the story. After spending 15 years in private service, she joined Domestic Match as a recruiter, and today serves as the domestic staffing agency's Estate Staffing Director. In this conversation, she shares her take on hybrid roles, why she believes hybrid roles aren't a threat to traditional roles (because those aren't going anywhere), and what private service professionals should know about what goes on behind the scenes.This conversation builds on a panel from the Estate Management Conference, which is available as a recording to Estate Management Network pro members at estatenetwork.org.Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.  Enjoying the Easemakers Podcast? Leave us a rating and a review telling us about your favorite episodes and what you want to learn next!The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, modern household management software and services built for private service professionals and the households the support.

Catherine Smith and her husband Stuart Smith have built a career in private service side by side.They were living in the Virgin Islands when they stumbled upon a job in private service. For two years, Catherine managed the house while Stuart managed the property. Then, a hurricane changed everything — setting them on a new path to building their own fractional estate management business in their home state of North Carolina.In this conversation, Catherine shares what it's like to grow your career alongside your spouse, and stories from their experiences managing properties in the islands and developing their own company.  Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.  Enjoying the Easemakers Podcast? Leave us a rating and a review telling us about your favorite episodes and what you want to learn next!The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, modern household management software and services built for private service professionals and the households the support.

Memorial planning is a tough subject, but it's even trickier for estate management teams. Jeff Lambert has seen the impact of being prepared — first in a family office role, and now as a consultant. He spent 24 years with the RDV Corporation, a multi-generational family office in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, he spent 10 years leading the planning and implementation of the funerals and related memorial activities for Richard and Helen DeVos. But according to LHT Consulting Group, where Jeff now guides households and family offices through the memorial process, 9 out of 10 family offices do not have a funeral or memorial event plan in place. In this conversation, Jeff shares why it's important for everyone in the household to be prepared, how to have difficult conversations around memorial planning, and his advice for private service professionals during the memorial process.Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.  Enjoying the Easemakers Podcast? Leave us a rating and a review telling us about your favorite episodes and what you want to learn next!The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, modern household management software and services built for private service professionals and the households the support. 

In our final episode of 2022, members of the Easemakers community share what they've learned this year, what they're grateful for, and what they're looking forward to in the New Year. Thank you to Jared Miles, Jean Weiss, Shelby Boudreau and Brooke Lawrence for being a part of this special episode, and to everyone who's been a part of our show this year! Thank you to our guests for sharing your words of wisdom with us, and thanks to all of you for tuning in, leaving us reviews and ratings, and joining the conversation in the Easemakers community. You make this community (and this podcast!) special, and we're grateful to all of you for supporting and encouraging each other. We'll be back in 2023 after a short break, and we look forward to more wonderful conversations in the New Year! In the meantime, subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to catch up on all our past episodes, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.   The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, household management software and services built for discerning households and the private service professionals who support them. From Kristin, Mo, Jacco, and the entire team at Nines, happy holidays! Wishing you all the best in the new year, and looking forward to continuing to work together to move the industry forward in 2023. 

You want your household staff to work together seamlessly — but sometimes, different communication styles get in the way.In years of working with teams of household staff to make sure everyone's trained properly and working together seamlessly, Tejai Singh has found some unexpected resources to help team members understand each other better. When she starts working with a new team of private service professionals, she has them read books that are typically used to fortify interpersonal relationships, like The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.In the latest episode of the Easemakers Podcast, Tejai shares why she encourages a team retreat to help team members understand each other, and how she applies The Four Agreements (be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, and always do your best) with teams of private service professionals. Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.   The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, household management software and services built for discerning households and the private service professionals who support them. 

A new generation of principals is starting to hire household staff — so what does that mean for private service professionals? In this episode of the Easemakers Podcast, Philippa Smith, the Founder & Managing Director of Silver Swan Recruitment and the host of the Life in Private Staffing podcast, shares what she's learned about younger principals, and how PSPs can stand out in the hiring process. Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.   The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, household management software and services built for discerning households and the private service professionals who support them. 

Like most estate managers, Bobbie Halminiak learned everything she knows on the job — which means she's learned a lot of lessons the hard way. In this episode of the Easemakers Podcast, Bobbie shares the story of one the biggest challenges of her career, how she stayed persistent to find a solution, and what she learned about working with vendors along the way.  Subscribe to the Easemakers Podcast to hear from more experts in the private service industry, and join the Easemakers community to talk to other estate managers and PSPs on a regular basis.   The Easemakers Podcast is presented by Nines, household management software and services built for discerning households and the private service professionals who support them.