We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nichelle Harvey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nichelle , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

As a parent with a child who is on the Autism spectrum, I have to fight for him on a daily basis. We fight for inclusion and acceptance and awareness. I remember when he was in second grade he was in a class that was not suitable for his skill level. His classroom teacher, speech and OT teacher were all in agreement, except the principal who was not that even involved in his day to day school life. I called an IEP meeting to discuss this concern and was met with pushback from the principal. So I decided to take matters in my own hand by taking the school district to court. I won my case and was awarded a classroom that was fitting for his skills and more inclusive. My business is to provide nanny services for special needs families while at theme parks and on vacation. I help the mothers and fathers to enjoy that much needed break while on vacation. Providing this service shows families that have children with special needs that it doesn’t have to be a challenge when choosing to travel, vacation or enjoy a theme park. I also serve as a travel companion for special needs adults as well, whether they are visiting family in another state or travelling for vacation. We are here to help. The statics show that millions of special needs families and adults alike do not take a vacation or out of travelling because of the lack of support and help. Available. I work with special needs travel advisor and an autism travel advisor to curate the best travel/vacation experience for this community.

Nichelle , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Registered Nurse who works in the ICU. I have a child on the spectrum and was faced with a dilemma one day while on vacation. That dilemma is how I came up with this business idea of providing nannies for families on vacation, and at theme parks, namely Disneyland and Universal Studios. I help families balance and enjoy their vacation without the worry of child care. I help families take the break they deserve while with their families on their getaway. After all, this is the adults vacation too. Everyone should be having fun and making memories, you should be able to relax, go for a date night alone, explore the destination as a couple and enjoy alone time. I think what sets me apart is that my business emphasises special needs clients. I also do cater to my neurotypical families as well, however austistic and special needs families is my niche. I am most proud of the relationship and reactions I have received from families after they return. They are so grateful for the help and the alone time they got on their vacation due in fact to our nannies.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

The story behind how I came up with my start up is not that exciting. I basically used my own savings as capital. I worked a lot of overtime to fund it and I still have to do that sometimes because my business is new and not a lot of people are still unaware that this help exists. So I have to spend money on advertising, I have to visit the destinations to create content, I have to print advertising materials. And a host of other expenses without really making any profit as yet.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think the fact that I am a special needs mom myself, the fact that I can relate to what my clients are going through helps to build my reputation.     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.breakreliefsitters.com
• Instagram: Breakrelief_sitters
• Facebook: Breakrelief sitters and nannies.