Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 I'm Skylar Vers for a k m Mrs. V, and I'm founder of Ageri, which is a lifestyle brand designed to support and enrich the 50 plus woman. And this podcast is all about uncovering the remedies that we masterfully create to our life. I love to explore the magic we all have inside us, and this podcast is about sharing those remedies with you. Hi, will welcome and so excited to have you here today. Gorgeous Bert from M Time. Uh, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1 00:00:30 Thanks, Scarlet. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 0 00:00:33 Well, it's so interesting. We were just speaking around your role, so if you could just share with everyone, um, what you do and who you work for, uh, would be great.
Speaker 1 00:00:43 Absolutely. So I am the COO of a beautiful business called M Time. And what m time does is we hire, we vet, we train, and then we match, uh, women who are predominantly new and returning to the workforce into this role, which we call, uh, being a, which is effectively like a family assistant. And then we pair them with lovely families who need that kind of in-home support with, you know, the daily stresses, um, of being time poor and modern life. So everything from cooking, cleaning, chores, and childcare, the four seeds we like to call it.
Speaker 0 00:01:19 Tell me about what you were doing before you were doing this. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:01:22 Yeah. So I have, um, you know, paid my sins, uh, so to speak by working in a lot more, uh, I guess, um, you know, different kind of industries, not very care centric industries. I was in, you know, banking and finance and, uh, payments and tech and sort of environments that were, um, you know, very much about the shareholder price and, you know, driving more demand and making more money. And I, a few years ago, uh, quite a few years ago now, actually sort of, um, hit a limit on wanting to sort of, um, you know, work in that space and was very always very passionate about, um, women supporting women. And so I came across this business, which is founded by, um, a wonderful lady by the name of Sarah Abolo, who's our founder. Um, and it's been her mission to really kind of create this new, um, ecosystem where, you know, women are supporting women and we've found that, yeah, the chronic stresses that families experience, um, were really only offset by having someone actually come into their home and be there for them, build those relationships.
Speaker 1 00:02:34 So a lot less transactional than may be a marketplace or anything. Um, and the other side of the coin, which we found somewhat organically as we sort of built the business was that the women that we were hiring into these roles, um, had been very much sort of unseen and untapped by society as a whole. So very apparent that, you know, there's, we've still got a long way to go around thinking about care and the value of care, and that women do a lot of unpaid care in the home every single week, all across, you know, all across the world. Um, and so the women that we've been bringing in have had a lot of barriers around either joining the workforce or returning to the workforce. And so I'm, we're very, very passionate about creating Yeah, like these wonderful opportunities for these women. They get financial stability, they get, you know, an increase in confidence. They've got purpose, and they, we really see them sort of really thrive when they've, you know, potentially been out of the workforce for a long time or have had a lot of rejection around kind of trying to get back into employment. And so it's really, um, heartening to see them come in and the families love them. They build these beautiful relationships and everyone kind of wins. It's really, really nice.
Speaker 0 00:03:57 So tell me about the age group. You were mentioning that you have most of the women really in that role as being in their fifties or sixties mm-hmm. And that in fact, they bring such a richness to, can you talk about that a little bit?
Speaker 1 00:04:11 Absolutely. So again, somewhat, um, organically, which was a, a, an absolute blessing, we found that a lot of the women, um, that we were creating these opportunities for were sort of, you know, um, in their fifties, maybe even in their sixties, and had such a, like you said, rich life experience. And that sort of lived experience is not something that can be textbook learn. It's not something that, um, you know, kind of can be developed overnight. And so having these women come in and, you know, seeing them sort of really grasp the fact that, you know, they would say things to us like, I'm just a mom, you know, I've just been at home. And, and we are saying to them that's not a just at all the ability to run a household and, and look after children and, you know, kind of that multitasking capability that a lot of, um, moms will <laugh> recognize in themselves is exactly the kind of, you know, skillset.
Speaker 1 00:05:11 So it's a lot about that. Um, you know, the hard skills of understanding how to, you know, cook a great meal and run some laundry while you're, you know, running the vacuum over or understanding how to do crafts with the kids or whatever it might be. Um, but also those soft skills of, you know, bringing a real, um, warmth and nurturing kind of element to, um, how they care for the families. And so it's absolutely a, a beautiful, rich, sort of lived experience, um, that the women can, can bring in. And so for them it's, it's very rewarding. They feel, you know, valued for, for who they are and, and what they can do.
Speaker 0 00:05:52 So we're talking about ageism. Can you share an example of where one of your clients felt that whoever was coming in at that age and they, you know, was an older woman and they didn't want them there, and how that turned out?
Speaker 1 00:06:07 Yeah, so we have sadly probably more than one example that I could share with you, but one recent one, um, we have one of our monjas, she's, um, probably in her early sixties. Um, she has a lot of family. She's a real go-getter, um, very, very keen to, to take on a lot of matches and, and you know, she likes to work. She loves the feeling of going in and making a difference. And yeah, sadly we had a client who just made an assumption that she wasn't gonna be capable. Um, you know, she sort of made an assessment around her age meant that, you know, she didn't think that she was the right match. Um, and we are very clear at m time, we have a very, um, very clear code of conduct that we expect from our families. We run on this thing called culture of care.
Speaker 1 00:06:56 So we intentionally look after our montier so that they can look after the families. Um, and unfortunately this client was, uh, not open to sort of, um, you know, trialing, um, working with this older lady. Um, and she sort of repeatedly wanted to know for me exactly how old she was. And I was sort of like, it's irrelevant. I don't even know exactly how old she is because to us it's not important. We know that she's great at her job, she has all the checks and balances that, you know, we promised to our customers. So for us, we were like, if this is not, um, something that you can, you know, open your mind too, then we don't think that we are the right service for you. And so we're actually parted ways with the client cuz it was more important to us, um, to know that for our monier, to know that we support them and also just that we're not, um, yeah, we're not at all interested in anyone that, um, yeah.
Speaker 0 00:07:56 I love I love that you did that you supported on that front. So yeah, tell us about, you were mentioning one that did have a positive, you know, that they were worried at the beginning and then, um, at the end they love them. Do you wanna talk about that?
Speaker 1 00:08:10 That's beautiful. Um, so one of our, um, again, she's probably in her fifties, this lady, she has come to us and she has grown in confidence leaps and bounds. Um, we had a family who has three sessions a week with her. So every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, actually picking up the kids from school, taking them to activities, kind of like effectively playing the, the role of the mom in and, you know, those three afternoons a week. Um, and the lady of the home had, was just returning to work. She's in a very senior position, so I think, you know, feeling quite nervous about going back to work. And so there's a lot going on and I think she was just quite nervous that, um, you know, she wanted it to go smoothly. She wanted to be able to go back to work with no stress, knowing that the, the kids are under control.
Speaker 1 00:08:56 And so again, just sort of express some some light concern. In the beginning we encouraged her that, you know, again, we have full faith in in the Monia, she's wonderful. She's raised her own kids and it's completely turned around. They've been matched probably almost for 12 months now. And they absolutely adore her. Um, she's recently had a birthday, the Mons had a birthday, they bought her some flowers, they made her a cake. You know, they really just said to her, we consider you family now. You've had such a huge positive impact. And she said to, to Jill is this lady's name. She said, I, you know, just can't tell you how grateful I am that I've been able to go back to work and everything has just gone so wonderfully knowing that you are here and you're looking after the kids. And yeah, cuz she's like, can't, you know, speak highly enough of her. So amazing. It's really turned around and it's a beautiful, a beautiful relationship and a beautiful bond that they have.
Speaker 0 00:09:52 Fantastic. And I love that. Um, that's a great example that there's this hesitation. Um, you're talking about that, um, the ageism that happens in there and why you believe it's actually gone backwards after Covid. Do you wanna just share what things has happened there?
Speaker 1 00:10:12 Unfortunately, we, we have seen a bit of a spike post covid. We have seen, I guess more broadly that a lot of the families that are seeking support are coming from a place of little bit more desperate. Obviously the labor market at the moment, it's very hard to hire anyone. It's very hard to get any support. Nannies are in short supply or that sort of stuff. So I think there's a little bit of, um, heightened kind of desperation around how do I spin all the plates? Um, but I think, you know, a lot of people are quite anxious as well, and unfortunately it's leading to a little bit of a, I would say, um, unreasonable kind of nature. So people have a very clear picture of what they expect and what they think. Um, and there's been a little bit more, uh, pushback around assumptions on, um, age.
Speaker 1 00:11:04 So, you know, the older lady not being able to be capable to, you know, run my household even unfortunately right to the other end of the spectrum and saying, you know, someone on that's a little bit younger, they don't know what they're doing, clearly they haven't got that LA lived experience. So we've had sort of both ends of the spectrum when it comes to the ages and piece unfortunately. So again, we take the same approach. We try and sort of, you know, support the client through being more open-minded. We've got lots of, um, support in play for, you know, with the customer care team and whatnot. But ultimately it comes down to either they trial, you know, with the Monge, um, and potentially have that same experience with, um, Jill and her family, or we sort of say to them, perhaps this is not the right service for you.
Speaker 0 00:11:54 It's great that you've taken on such a, um, really clear cut approach to not tolerating ageism and bringing back the true kind of value of empathy and the soft skills which are so needed at the moment because people are suffering, they are, people are more anxious and more, there's all sorts of issues happening, uh, in every industry. Yes. Um, so in terms of, what do you think as a society, like if you were someone was to ask you what the solution was, what do you think it is about kind of helping people shift the, uh, reframe ageism? What would you say to them?
Speaker 1 00:12:37 For us, we're very much about, um, trying to, it, it sounds a little harsh, but we often sort of say to families or even society as a whole stop and stop and think about this. You know, we have these women who are, you know, completely unseen, undervalued, often untapped. Um, and as you say, we are desperately seeking that connection. We're desperately seeking that support. These types of skills are craved more than you know, most things. And at a time where, you know, as a society, yeah, we're all really time poor, we're all really stretched and a lot of post covid hangover with the anxiety and whatnot. So stopping and thinking about, you know, the reality of who can play a role in, in supporting and bringing this warmth and nurturing into your home. And often it is that exact profile of an older woman who is being discarded, is being unseen, and actually they are the exact kind of person that has the ideal skillset that that brings that, that nurturing and sort of that, that wholeness to really kind of coming into your lives and, and making an impact.
Speaker 1 00:14:02 So I think if we actually stop and think about who can make an impact, a positive impact, and just be open to, you know, kind of having these relationships, having these engagements, creating this opportunity that often it will revolutionize the way we think about care. Um, there is a care crisis in this country. There's no other way to, to describe it. There is a huge gap, um, which is only gonna get worse as the years continue. And we have this amazing opportunity to think differently about older women and older men arguably, who have this wealth of experience, um, and, and put that value on, you know, the the care and, and the soft skills, um, that come with, um, you know, people who've done this, you know, arguably for a very, very long time. <laugh>, you know, we have, um, an another lady who actually doesn't work with us anymore, but she had been, she'd raised four kids and was outta the workforce for about 12 years and she couldn't get a job. And we just thought, this is, this is crazy. Why isn't anyone looking at her and going, the transferrable skills she had were phenomenal and the families loved her. So yeah, stop and think, stop and think about
Speaker 0 00:15:31 It is so true. And I, and yeah, and I love it. And I think what you're saying is absolutely right is just to, you know, having the conversation. I guess that's what we're doing here, you know, age, which is to, you know, really throwing out that word of ageless, which is kind of the elephant in the room. It's, you know, saying that we don't age, but we do age. And there's a value that comes to that, you know, there's value with aging that we get all that wisdom and experience and skill sets. And it is interesting, I think, you know, just having older people, you know, there is a care factor because there's a different value that comes of others and the empathy, however, I think for a lot of women that, you know, they don't value themselves and I think you've probably seen that in showing them that they have a value somewhere.
Speaker 1 00:16:21 Absolutely.
Speaker 0 00:16:22 And that's about really bringing more self-worth is, I feel, is, you know, for me personally, I think that's what I'm trying to do is to allow people to kind of find their value in whatever the age they are.
Speaker 1 00:16:36 Absolutely. And we, um, part of our training onboarding and then we have a, a support team from Monjas as well, is that we always say to them, you know, to communicate with us as well if they are having some challenges, if they are, you know, having a, a crisis of confidence for whatever reason, um, to sort of reach out to us and talk to us about that. Cause it's absolutely, um, you know, very much a conditioning piece where they've been told repeatedly or they've had experiences over a long period of time where they don't perceive themselves to have any value. They don't perceive their skills to be valuable. And we're saying to you, we're saying to them, this is the absolute opposite. You know, when it comes to particularly our type of space and, and we do see it with a lot of our families once they experience what it's like to have this, you know, it's almost a fairy godmother coming in and, you know, overhauling their lives week to week. Um, we have someone who've been with us for years and they've been with the same for years.
Speaker 0 00:17:44 Tell me, um, just on another kind of angle with her is as I believe ageism is actually, um, I think a lack in our culture of understanding that natural cycle of life. And I think that when people move into different phases or do different work, it's, it's, part of it is, is following our own, you know, where we're meant to be and meaning in life. Do you, do you find, I mean like if you think of all the people who you're working with now that are there, that are in their fifties, sixties, do you feel like, I know you can't probably answer for them, but is there a sense that they're better where they are now? I mean, of course, because they're probably working for you, but I mean, is there a sense that they feel better in some way having gone through if they've lost their job and then it's like, God, thank goodness I lost my job cause I wouldn't have found this. Do you think there's a kind of a life is better feel?
Speaker 1 00:18:42 Yeah, I mean we, so we hire women in their fifties and sixties. We hire a lot of migrant refugee women. So we, we intentionally and sort of organically have ended up attracting and, um, nurturing and, and working, employing, um, a lot of cohorts that are sort of, you know, marginalized, um, in the same way that older women are. And I, um, we've actually done some social impact studies, um, using our employees and they have, um, on all fronts said to us that their confidence has increased. Um, you know, they're feeling like they have a purpose has increased, their financial stability has improved. So for us it's absolutely, you know, such a rewarding part of our business and what we are here to do. Um, we have very intentionally from day one, we actually hire these montier as our employees. So another challenge that we've found from older women who might be part of that sort of gig economy working as, you know, working in aged care or maybe where he's disability support workers, um, is that society sort of, you know, we are very attracted to this sort of go get a side hustle, you know, gig economy, um, model.
Speaker 1 00:20:01 But what that doesn't actually give, um, the workers and the staff is there's a lot of gaps. They're not sure, um, you know, what their income looks like next week. There's no certainty around the work even coming in. There's no, um, connection and relationship that they can build with having the consistency of the same sorts of clients. So this is the kind of feedback that they've, they've given us is that they have worked in those other environments. They maybe worked, one of the older ladies, she was working in aged care and she said just the sort of fractured nature of it, obviously going through Covid, very stressful. So for her, it's completely, yeah, completely changed her life. Now, um, we kind of like to think about it as, you know, they're our part of our team, but also there's a, a community of them. So just that sense of belonging as well and seeing in each other, um, you know, that sort of affinity bias of Oh, you're like me, and, you know, collectively we might be, you know, a little bit older, but we're not, you know, we're not out to paha yet. We're, we're all here making a difference, caring for the families. And so we've absolutely, you know, I I I sh I don't speak on their behalf, but they've absolutely expressed that to us. Yeah, it's very important to
Speaker 0 00:21:22 Us. That's so beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. Well, yeah, no, um, completely support what you do. And, you know, I'm sure we'll be collaborating on some things. Um, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Um, we look forward to having you again and as the process goes on, so thank you.
