I always knew it took a village, so I wanted to build one.
How drive and hard work at 19 paid off for the savvy owner and director of award-winning babysitting and nannying agency platform Peas in a Pod, Emma Wright-Smith.
Growing up as the eldest of four siblings, I fit the archetype of the ‘bossy eldest daughter’ basically since I could remember. My brothers would still tell you to this day that listening to me was the only way we would ever get out the door. As a big family, we were always leaning on friends and relatives for the support that every family needs. That was until one day my middle brother injured himself so severely, he was facing the next six months in a wheelchair. This is when Stacey came into the picture – our very first nanny.
Even at the young age of eight I could recognise how important support was. My brother needed mum, and mum needed someone to help juggle the remaining three of us. In those next six months Stacey became a part of our family, the extra help made more of a difference than we could have anticipated. I really began to look up to her, seeing the care she provided for us as she became an integral part of my family overcoming this challenging time.
More than 10 years on from that moment I was approached by the original founder of Peas, with the offer to buy her business. It makes sense to me in hindsight why I never really faced any moments of serious doubt. Even when they did emerge, it was always brief – I had always been a career, I knew it was the right thing to do. There I was, 19-years-old, second year at The University of Melbourne, two days after landing my first nannying gig with Peas and I was about to be the owner. To say a mixture of emotions rushed through me would be an understatement. I was excited and the adrenaline rushed through me because I knew my world was about to change.
From an early age I had the privilege of watching my dad become his own boss, building his business from the ground up. While buying a business wasn’t actively on my radar at the time, my parents had often described me as someone with the same entrepreneurial sense whether that be referring to my milk-bar side hustle of pocketing five cents from every gobstober transaction in year four, or the slightly more legitimate piano school I started in year ten, being desperate to make my own money. I always had a certain drive about me, never content with the lull, thriving off busyness and that’s what’s landed me where I am today.
Just a month after buying the business I was traveling through Asia with friends. In order to keep the business running, I would wake up at 5am each morning to call parents! I came home to full time university, working 25-hour weeks for my nanny family, maintaining a social life and all the while growing Peas. Little did I know how important that drive and work ethic would be. When Peas came into my hands, we had 50 sitters, most of whom were all connected to the previous owner. I had to reshape the business entirely, and on my own. Since then, I’ve expanded the team and brought on four amazing employees who are all nannies themselves to help with the ever-increasing demand. We have over 350 sitters on the books now, a booking system linked to an app and a completely redesigned website.
Nearly five years on I am so grateful for the work and time I put in at the early stages, setting myself up for success now. Often when people ask what it is like being the owner of a small business at such a young age, there’s this underlying notion that it’s all sacrifice, and while there is absolutely sacrifice, I would say without hesitation that building Peas up to what it is today enriched my early 20s in a way I could almost not describe. I would not be the person I am today without this business.
I am immensely proud to be the owner of a business that is not only completely women owned and operated, but also operates with the mission to make women’s lives easier. While we absolutely love our Peas dads and are so happy when they’re the ones reaching out to us, 95 percent of our clients are busy working mums. To be a working mum you need reliable, trustworthy support and that’s what Peas offers. Our vetting process is what ensures that level of reliance and comfortability for our Peas families. What separates us from the other agencies out there is our word-of-mouth system. Essentially, it’s like asking your friend where she got her great sitter from but a larger, Melbourne-wide, scale. When it comes to finding good care for your kids, trust is so important, this is what we’ve been working to naturally build over the past seven years. Although it doesn’t always feel like it, Melbourne is a pretty small world and here at Peas every single sitter on our books is referred by a member of our Peas community. That trust and comfortability goes both ways, we want our sitters to feel safe going to our families’ homes.
The relationship between a nanny and their family is so incredibly intimate, establishing and building a relationship that goes both ways. We’ve witnessed over the years nannies staying with their families for five to six years. Families go out of their way to support their nannies who’ve done sensational work, often introducing them to industry connections or helping them get a foot in the door for something they are passionate about. Nannies have had the opportunity to go on once in a lifetime holiday with their generous families, becoming a lasting figure in a gorgeous little one’s life. Watching what Peas has done for nannies and families across Melbourne has made every long night, every burnout and every doubt worth it. As I embark on my fifth year as a business owner my biggest learning is that I will no longer sell myself short. I know what my business offers to families and most importantly women and it is incredibly valuable. We’re building the village for the families of Melbourne.