From finding tickets to a sold-out show to house-sitting, no task is too small for the Personal Equilibrium team. Rebecca Fisher reports
Life is exciting for Jane Burridge. Every day the phone rings with new challenges, which could see her trying to find tickets for an England rugby match or the perfect Christmas present for someone’s wife.
She could be described as a Superwoman or a fairy godmother, but Jane’s preferred title is Lifestyle Organiser, and it involves her sorting out all the things you need to get done while you enjoy more spare time – a bit like a concierge.
Her company, set up in July this year, is called Personal Equilibrium because it aims to bring more balance into your life.
She said “if it is legal and ethical we will give it a go. One man had run 17 marathons and wanted us to find a way to frame his medals so they would become an heirloom. We often find house-sitters, cleaners and chimney sweeps, and are very good at getting people out of trouble, for example, if they have left their keys or glasses at home.”
One of Jane’s current challenges is finding out whether she can charter a plane, and she is also focusing heavily on tickets for rugby matches and Christmas gifts.
She said “We specialise in tickets for all sorts of entertainment, whether the event is sold out or not. We have tickets for the Six Nations in the Spring and England versus the New Zealand Barbarians at Twickenham in December.”
For Christmas Jane can arrange personalised cards, gift suggestions or a personal shopper service including giftwrapping and delivery, the perfect tree delivered to your door and even decorated, a freezer stocked with food or well-recommended caterers, and transport to ferry you to and from parties.
“We are aiming to save people time, hassle and risk,” said Jane. “Time, because you can call us with one thing or a whole ‘to-do’ list, hassle because you don’t have to search through the internet or Yellow Pages, and risk because our suppliers are people we have either used ourselves, know, have had recommended, or have been vetted by us.”
Jane, from Chobham, previously worked for IBM for 18 years until she was offered an early retirement package.
She said “I saw it as my chance to do something completely different. For a large part of my 18 years I had been very hassled, working really long hours. My husband, Steve, did the same so we hardly ever saw each other.
“I had a cleaner, a gardener and someone to do household maintenance, but we still didn’t have enough time to do the things which were important to us. I thought I could do something to help executives and entrepreneurs whose lives are so busy their feet never touch the ground.”
Jane works with two colleagues, Karen Hicks from Guildford and Janet Hall from near Godalming, and the company focuses on people who live or work in Surrey. They pride themselves on finding quality, independent suppliers, artisans and craftspeople rather than using national chains.
Jane added: “We want to give people peace of mind and time to focus on things that are important, whether you want to spend more time with your family or at the gym. I find it very satisfying and exciting to sort things out for people.”
Personal Equilibrium works on a membership basis, with different levels of membership providing different levels of service. It starts from £35 per month. One-off requests and a pay-as-you-go service are also available.
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