Hi Nick, I know a couple of personal concierges. They are people who do the stuff you don't have time for... whatever that is, personally or in business. my mate Adrian McGowage from someone lifestyle services http://www.someone.com.au/  goes shopping at Ikea and Costco for people, waters their plants when they are away, lets the plumber in when the toilet needs fixing, organises birthday parties for people...etc etc etc... busy people who don't get their "stuff" done because they are so busy.

does that help?

cheers

Roland

Thanks for your question Nick - I run Lifestyle Elements in Adelaide, Australia (and also work with Adrian who is mentioned below!). A personal concierge is like a personal assistant for your life - we tick off your 'to do' list. Most of us have a huge list of things to do that we just never get around to. It doesn't matter if we are perfectly capable of doing it, these things just don't get done because they aren't urgent, but they are still consistently hanging over your head. Alternatively, there may be an urgent situation that crops up - say you lose your luggage and urgently need to get a new suit delivered to a hotel - who on earth do you ring? Why, your personal concierge of course! We are the extra pair of hands, the back up person, and the person with an array of contacts and suppliers at our fingertips to help you - plus we have people on the ground to get stuff done. If you'd like to find out more you can visit the Lifestyle Elements website. We can assist you with services throughout Australia and internationally - and if you just have a question, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Thanks for your contributions below Rowland - I work regularly with Adrian and can also highly recommend him :)

Hi Nick! Although there are several crossovers in the services they offer, the key difference between a virtual assistant (VA) and a personal concierge is that a VA helps you in a professional/business regard while a personal concierge helps in a more general sense (for both home and business-related tasks - or whatever else is on your ‘to-do’ list).

A VA is a remotely-based contractor who assists with general admin, bookkeeping, data entry, email management, customer queries, etc. You may also hire a VA with specialised skills to assist with a project you’re working on. A personal concierge, on the other hand, is hired to help you manage business and life admin. For example, a personal concierge may do your groceries, organise your events, arrange for a plumber to fix your leaking tap, book client meetings, etc. Hope that helps!