The Betty Brigade

Sharon McRill is owner and president of The Betty Brigade, an expanding personal assistance and concierge company based in Ann Arbor. The Betty Brigade helps busy professionals with moving, home staging, organizing, event planning, pet care, errands – virtually anything that needs to be done but you have no time to do yourself. What made you want to start the Betty Brigade? “I had recently been laid off from a corporate marketing job and had tried other jobs here and there but nothing seemed to fit. I’d fantasized about having a personal assistant to help me with all the things I didn’t have time to do while I was in corporate life. One day while I was watching Oprah on the television, something clicked and I decided to turn that idea into a business concept, and The Betty Brigade was started.” How did you know that starting The Betty Brigade was a good idea? “I started by making a list of things I was good at and reached out to the contacts that I had built relationships with over the years from my corporate job and decided to go for it and start my own business. Then I started getting BUSY. Really busy. I was getting constant referrals. I had to hire an employee to help me keep track of all my appointments and really keep the business end of things in line while I was out helping clients. And it just keeps growing! We now have 15 employees and are as busy as ever!”