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 Superwoman Takes Care of the Little and Big Details By Sherri LaReaux Too much to do and not enough time to do it? Call Ellen Epstein to do it for you. Owner of Concierge America, Epstein would be well-suited in a cape and superhero outfit. There's practically nothing this Washington woman can't or won't do for her clients. Like most business ideas, Concierge America started simply enough. Back in the days before website shopping, a friend who was recently appointed as ambassador to the European Union asked Epstein to go to Neiman-Marcus and pick up a certain dress for his wife. "There must be a market for people who aren't members of the State Department," thought Epstein, and with a friend, the idea for an ex-patriot concierge service blossomed. Advertisements in European publications piqued interest in the company-several clients trickled in, such as an ex-pat in Mogadishu who requested Christmas gifts from the L.L.Bean catalog. But Epstein and her partner realized they were only scratching the surface. Epstein read somewhere that the White House operators needed only four calls to find anyone in the world. "I wonder why it takes them four," she told her husband. "I could do it in two." So she decided to utilize her skills and broaden the spectrum to cover domestic needs as well. These days, Epstein, a member of the National Association of Professional
Organizers (NAPO), is a one-woman show. She handles the personal affairs of busy
people, seniors who need extra organizational assistance and travelers. Her key
ring jangles from the weight of 30 different keys--people trust her to pick up
the mail, pay bills, and check the answering machine. She draws the line at
cleaning other people's homes, however, though she can interview and hire a
cleaning professional if a client wishes. "Sure," Epstein said. "I can take care of any problem you have." Since then, she has passed on the names of six or seven women, including another client for whom she instrumented a move into the DC area. While no wedding bells have sounded for the gentleman yet, "He's having a great time dating," says Epstein. "He has liked every single one of the women I set him up with." The matrimony request is far from the oddest challenge Epstein has ever
encountered. "I had to get somebody a glass eye," she says nonchalantly. Another
client hired her to find a machine that would insert tea into tea bags. Epstein
laughs about the time a client asked for her help importing a rare bird from
Honduras-no easy task, as different ports have varied regulations on whether the
imported animal can be the actual bird, an egg or the semen! And then there was
the time she was contracted to secure 400,000 barrels of oil overnight, every
single day, for three years. Whether it involves mundane tasks people just don't want to do, or
intriguing projects that require serious detective work, Epstein's job isn't
suited to everybody. What is it that makes her so effective at getting things
done? She says she's learned that most people connect to others quite like
themselves, whether professionally or socially. According to the Harvard Six
Degrees of Separation Study, most of us tend to move "vertically" through
society, associating with those who share common interests. "Movers and
shakers" however, connect with people of many different backgrounds and
specializations, moving "horizontally" and serving as people connectors. As a
result, they make excellent problem solvers because they can find people with
the right skills for tackling any problem.
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