Meeting Susanne Torpey fifteen years ago. I was nervous, anxious, and somewhat skeptical. I had read and re-read her online profile a hundred times before asking her to meet over coffee.
No, this wasn’t a dating site. It was a nanny service and I was desperate to find somebody that could help me care for my then 12-month-old. I had no family here in Montana, no friends that could refer somebody, and up to that point I had been my daughter’s only caregiver. I needed help but how could I trust a complete stranger?
Fast forward to today and Susanne is still very much a part of my family. She has cared for both my daughters, she has traveled with us and she has even worked in our family business. I have the most precious collection of gifts that she helped the girls create for me over the years—gifts that preserve their various ages and phases. She is kind, caring and somehow always knows just what is needed. She is, without a doubt, the first person I trust my kids with. So I guess you can say meeting for coffee really worked out.
Was it a huge risk to trust a website with my child? Was I worried about inviting an unknown person into my home? Working with an agency is more comfortable than you might imagine. Today, Susanne is making that process even more comfortable through her own Big Sky Nanny placement agency.
She knew early on that she wanted to work with children in some capacity. After earning her degree in Early Childhood Education, Susanne accepted a nanny position that was meant to be a temporary job until she could decide how to use that degree. Instead, she found her purpose. She loved the close bond that she was able to form with not only the children I cared for, but the family as a whole. She felt appreciated and loved and ended up being part of the families she worked for. In the past 18 years, she has worked with a total of five families (one of which she still nannies for 13 years later).
Since taking her first position in 2002 she has learned a lot and she’s applying that to the benefit of both Missoula families and nannies.
Susanne said, “My number one goal is to take the time to listen and learn what each family needs and expects out of a nanny or babysitter and to get to know each nanny we work with as much as I can so I can make the family/nanny match as strong as possible.”
Susanne recalls working with the placement agency years ago.
“I appreciated the time the owner spent learning about me and finding a family that was a good match,” said Susanne. While it’s important to satisfy a family’s needs, it’s equally important to satisfy a nanny’s. “My experience working as a nanny has taught me how important a strong relationship is between a family and their nanny. They need to have the same parenting beliefs and philosophies, similar lifestyles, and communicate well together.”
Big Sky Nanny accomplishes this mission through an extensive application, interview, and pre-screening process on both the caregivers’ and the families’ parts. This process includes background checks and required CPR & First Aid certifications for nannies as well. They have been so successful in their process and placements that Susanne has recently hired a full-time employee to assist with the operations.
Susanne also recognizes that not every family is looking for a full-time nanny. Some, like me, may simply want consistent care a couple of afternoons a week. Some are not even looking for a nanny, they are looking for the occasional babysitter. In fact, Big Sky Nanny has recently expanded its babysitting services to include the rare night out, hotel and vacation sitters, summer sitters, event supervision, and more. Families simply create a membership profile on BSN’s website, choose a package that meets their needs, review sitters’ profiles, and then click to schedule dates and times.
“This service offers busy Missoula families an extremely easy and efficient way to find quality babysitters they can feel comfortable working with,” said Susanne. Our sitters are not only experienced and qualified to meet each family’s needs, but they are trained to go above and beyond the family’s expectations to provide superior service.”
Susanne’s Big Sky Nanny is truly all about peace of mind, for families and nannies. She wants the process of trusting your children with a new sitter to be easy and comfortable. She wants nannies and sitters to develop bonds with their families that will last a lifetime and for that match to be more than an online profile.