Fairfax Station Business Asks: Who Couldn't Use a Valet?

Everyday Valet

• Services:  Personal and corporate concierge services
• Launched: September 2010
• Address:  P.O. Box 7352, Fairfax Station
• Website: http://www.everydayvaletva.com

Two Fairfax Station moms got the idea for starting Everyday Valet when a working couple who let their car registration lapse jokingly asked if they could take of it because they didn’t work.

"Yes, but you’ll have to pay us," quipped Jennifer Broderick.

But then Broderick and her friend and neighbor Debbie Williams got to thinking that there had to be lots of other people burning the candle on both ends. So, in September of 2010 they launched Everyday Valet, a personal and corporate concierge service that will do pretty much anything to make their clients’ lives easier.

“Our mission is to help maximize your free time while minimizing the stress of everyday life,” is Everyday Valet’s motto.

“We pretty much can do anything,” Williams said. And they do, from mundane tasks such as shopping, car inspections and waiting for the cable technician to the unusual, such as replacing a fish that had died so that a child wouldn’t know what happened to helping a man plan a romantic marriage proposal.

Other services include event and party planning and organizing, and you can give their services as a gift.  Everyday Valet will even point you in the right direction for services they don’t perform such as lawn care and house cleaning,  

The women say their life experiences have served them well in their venture and they complement each other.  Broderick is the gift wrapper, for example, while Williams has a flair for pulling building permits for a redesign firm, one of their corporate clients.

Broderick, who has two daughters ages 10 and 8, has done fundraising and event planning for non-profits and Williams, the mother of sons ages 18 and 14, most recently earned a degree in psychology.  

They also have done a lot of volunteer work in their children’s schools and sports.  And they know what it takes to run a household.

“We’re living it and we saw the need,” said Williams.

So they are quick to point out that anyone can use Everyday Valet, which charges $30 per hour, and a flat rate of $15 for the monthly Costco shopping trip, which includes delivery. Even stay-at-home moms can’t be in two places at once, Williams notes.  Indeed many of their clients work part-time or have a stay-at-home parent.

For now it’s just Broderick and Williams doing the work, with careful planning and occasional help from their spouses and children. But things could get hairy after they get on Plum District, which offers daily deals aimed at moms.  In October they’ll be offering a buy one Costco shopping trip, get one free deal.

“They may not buy Costco but we’re excited about the exposure,” Broderick said. Most of their clients have come from word of mouth and referrals; they started by emailing virtually everyone they know.

But they say no matter how they grow, good customer service is their No. 1 priority. Their clients are very appreciative. Amy Gillies works at George Mason University and has used Everyday Valet for such errands as Costco and getting her car inspected.  She said it’s great to get those things done before the weekend.

“They give excellent customer service and they’re very thorough,” said Gillies. “I think I’m really getting a great value.”

One in a continuing series on how local residents are pursuing their version of the American Dream.