Tiesha Sinouthasy, Peace of Mind Nannies, East Providence, RI: 2023 Rising Star Nominee
“Peace of Mind Nannies wouldn't exist without the Center for Women and Enterprise. The support and overwhelming response to my ideas from CWE staff gave me the confidence to start my own business.” - Tiesha Sinouthasy
What inspired Tiesha’s Business?
After college, Tiesha worked as a nanny throughout various babysitting agencies in Rhode Island. Her experiences exposed her to the frustrations parents of children with disabilities would frequently share about the difficulty in finding quality child care. Tiesha’s background in social work prompted her to conduct research, where she discovered a significant gap in services in this area. Inspired to impact the community by addressing specialized care, Tiehsa opened up her business Peace of Mind Nannies to help fill that need for Rhode Island families.
Business Highlight
Peace of Mind Nannies is a babysitting and nanny placement agency that specializes in the care of children and young adults with disabilities in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The agency also provides a la carte background check services for families who find a nanny on their own.
The communities she serves are families, mostly in a two-parent households, typically with infants, toddlers, or elementary school-age children. Parents of children with disabilities typically have children on the Autism Spectrum.
Tiesha is coming up on her third anniversary and her business has grown significantly in the first two years. Peace of Mind Nannies now serves 40% more families than it did in 2021 and has increased revenue by 55%! Her upcoming expansion plans include supporting families on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. To help support this growth, Tiesha looks forward to adding 10-20 more staff to her team of 25.
Her agency values include 1. Inclusion, by ensuring we meet all families’ childcare needs; 2. Diversity, the commitment to a diverse team of child care providers by age, gender identity, and experience; 3. Community, the shared responsibility we have to each other; and 4. Excellence through the high-quality care we provide.
How Has CWE Helped Her in Her Journey?
Peace of Mind Nannies wouldn't exist without the Center for Women and Enterprise. When she was still unsure about starting a business, she attended a business plan workshop at CWE Rhode Island in 2019. The staff member asked participants to share their business or business ideas with the group and once she did, she received an overwhelming response and support from staff and participants. That truly gave her the confidence to start her business! The business plan workshop and subsequent meetings with staff gave her that key foundation for Peace of Mind Nannies. It became her roadmap for her agency!
Tiesha then attended a marketing workshop and soon after worked 1-on-1 with the marketing expert to guide her on brand awareness efforts in Rhode Island. She also attended a legal considerations workshop which led to the speaker becoming her lawyer for the business. Her first accountant was also recommended to her by CWE!
In 2020, she attended many more workshops and attended the virtual Women Business Leaders Conference. In 2022, she enjoyed attending in-person events through CWE which increased my business network in Rhode Island. I also had the opportunity to join them at a local women's conference as a CWE partner sharing all that the organization can provide to aspiring or established entrepreneurs. There, she met an inspiring female entrepreneur which led to them becoming a consultant/mentor to her in October. She supports her with developing internal operation manuals for Peace of Mind Nannies. These will be extremely valuable as we expand this year onto the Cape and Martha's Vineyard and eventually hire a staff member.
Her business impacts the community by providing options to families and caregivers for childcare. She influences the community by addressing the need for specialized care. Peace of Mind Nannies impacts her as an owner by learning how to navigate the systems (schools, after-school programs, daycares) for that population. It impacts her family because running the business is indeed the majority of her time and effort.
Though she doesn't have employees per se, her team of childcare providers is able to access jobs that give them the opportunity to utilize specific child development skills and strategies they learn through receiving ongoing professional development, mentorship, and advocacy.
A testimony from a previous nanny on her team highlights this aspect perfectly. "I have been working through Peace of Mind Nannies for about a year now and I have had a wonderful experience with being matched with my current family. Tiesha has been an excellent mentor to me as she provides valuable resources and checks in to see how I am doing and provides me with actionable feedback based on our talks. I would definitely recommend Peace of Mind Nannies to any nanny looking for an agency that actually cares for their well-being and provides opportunities to learn and grow. I would also recommend Peace of Mind Nannies to any family looking for high-quality childcare for long and short term as Tiesha thoroughly vets her caregivers and is timely and clear in her communications."
This above quote embodies the core of Peace of Mind Nannies! Tiesha is so proud to be a founder of this innovative agency giving back to the broader community that has shaped her growth as a professional.
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