What: GoNannies is a job site for prospective nannies, mother’s helpers, housekeepers, personal assistants, elder care workers, household managers and personal chefs
Expected pay: minimum wage to $35 per hour
Husl$core: $$$$
Commissions & fees: listing is free, but if you want to communicate with site visitors who have not paid an employer fee, you’ll need to upgrade your membership, paying $11 per month.
Where: Nationwide
Requirements: Be 18 or older, able to pass a background check. Relevant experience is a plus.
Review: GoNannies provides matchmaking services between families that need child or adult care — or household management, cleaning or cooking — and the workers willing to do it. Theoretically, there is no charge to post a profile and use the site. However, families are unable to contact workers unless they pay a membership fee. And workers are unable to apply for jobs from families that are not yet members. That said, the membership fee is $11 per month, which on the low end for similar services. Your credit card will continue to be automatically charged every month until you tell them to stop, however. So don’t forget to cancel your subscription once you get a job.
We found no complaints, other than one gripe from a nanny who got taken by a check fraud and thought the site should have done a better job warning people. Let us warn you: If a prospective employer sends you a check that’s for more than the cost of your services and asks you to refund the excess to them “after the check clears,” DON’T DO IT. This is a popular scam that is prevalent on both job and sales sites (like eBay and CraigsList). This story at CBS News explains how it works.
Other child and adult care sites worth checking out are UrbanSitter, NannyLane, Bambino, and RideZum. If you’re really ambitous, you can start your own daycare center with the help of Wonderschool.