From babysitting to picking up groceries; Q& A with Super Useful Human
I recently spoke with Alex McNeil from Super Useful Humans about what her company is all about. The company is based in Brooklyn and from my conversations and feedback I have gotten on SUH I felt that we needed a bit more of an understanding of what SUH is all about. I truly think they are a dream of a resource for a parent.
MB: How Did SUH come about?
SUH: About 2 and a half years ago I got a babysitting job. Both parents had lots of things to do, associated with their jobs, projects, kid's schools, and household chores, but not enough time to do them. I found myself doing just about everything for them at various times, and then being recommended to the neighbors, and soon enough my original family suggested I start doing this "for real."
I grew up in a small town, on a farm, with 20 plus cousins. Doing a little bit of everything has always felt very natural to me. My mother runs a small business and my father has a laundry list of successful endeavors (answering the question "what does your dad do?" has never been easy) so I've always been around total, productive chaos. . .SUH seemed like the only natural thing to do. I also liked the idea of bringing together a virtual community based on the one I grew up in. If you needed help all you needed to do was ask around, and sooner or later a friendly neighbor would show up to help you for a fair price for quality work. That neighborly feeling is something I hope I can bring to Brooklyn families through SUH.
Soon enough I was fully consumed- so it was just a matter of convincing my roommate, Brendan, to drop out of school and become my business partner. Since then it's been a matter of slowing building- finding the best people to work with and to work for.
MB: What services do you provide?
SUH: I like to say "anything that isn't rocket science" - meaning we'll take on pretty much any task you come across that doesn't require immense specialization. In the past we've done everything from:
Mac and PC repair
Data back-up
Hung and catered gallery openings, and then delivered art sold
Moving help and coordination (getting in touch with moving companies, hiring trucks, dealing with delicates, arranging rooms and unpacking, etc.
Worked a booth a comic con
Substitute teaching at the college level
Assisted artists, photographers, film crews, and other professionals on set
Walked dogs
Picked up groceries
Prepared meals
Air B'n'B management
Apartment management and assistance (let in repair people, supervise technicians)
Amazon store and order fulfillment (including storage of stock)
Also that being said- we're expanding into the specialized world, we've just gained a few impressive team members and are now working on matching their skills to the people who need them. We're talking everything from kickstarter pros and social media experts, to helping with financial management.
MB: and you babysit, which is how I first heard about SUH?
SUH: We've got a killer team of childcare people- all handpicked by me. Our caregivers are people I meet through families I know and trust and have worked with, my oldest friends, occasional family, and other close connections. They're all reliable, trustworthy, responsive and energetic.
MB: What areas can we find you?
SUH: We're located primarily in Williamsburg and Fort Greene. However, we have team members from Ditmas Park to the Bronx- so we've got it all pretty solidly covered.
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