Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Lancaster-Weiss.
Hi Kristin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
“There are two things that hold most women back, fear and fatigue.” (Carla Harris). (My services help working moms with the “fatigue” part!)
My background and upbringing are unique as I did not live the first 16 years of my life in the United States. I grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as my father was a G4 pilot for the Saudi Royal family. My mother worked as an elementary school counselor at a private school funded by Saudi Arabian airlines. It was an invaluable learning experience because, as a kid, I was exposed to many different expatriate cultures; my best friends were Korean, British, and Filipino. I only had a little exposure to US pop culture or movies (Michael Jackson and Madonna were banned from selling music in Saudi Arabia, and movie theatres did not exist in my compound!). But I noticed how common it was to ask for help on my compound; whether it was landscaping help, housecleaning help, or childcare help, my mother always had a handful of helpers. We were grateful and lucky to be able to employ the help we needed locally. As a result of growing up abroad, I’m obsessed with trying new international food (my current favorite is Indian food), local businesses & southern customs, foreign languages, and cultural differences as a way to understand & navigate work relationships and share the benefits of cultural exchange as a working parent. In my current role as the Greenville au pair sales director, I’m an Advocate and Community Leader for working moms and dads to interview au pairs in the Greenville & Spartanburg local community. We always hear that it takes a village to raise a child, but what are the options to find the village in our community? We often look for daycares, nannies, mothers’ helpers, and babysitters with never-ending wait lists and unclear screening processes. These options often don’t serve families as well as they could. An overlooked option that you may have never heard of is employing the support of an au pair.
What is an au pair?
An au pair is an exchange student from a foreign country in the United States on a J1 cultural exchange student visa to help a host family with childcare tasks and learn English. Au pairs live in your home and offer up to 45 hours of childcare weekly as part of Department of State guidelines.
After having my first child, I realized the need for the village everyone was talking about. Kids are unpredictable, and there needs to be more paid time off to cover the chaos of managing a growing family. My mom could juggle everything because she worked at my school, which is an advantage almost none of us working moms have. Especially when your child is an infant, and your husband has a job that requires him to travel often, I had to make the time for all the unexpected doctor’s appointments, snow days, sick child days, and other unpaid work. Much of this fatigue falls on the mom, who typically must choose between the cost of daycare (2 full-time infants can run over $40,000 a year) and her career. I’m in business because of this “invisible work” and the “second shift” labor that often impacts women’s careers more often than men’s.
Au pair services allow women and men to continue to be ambitious, achieve career fulfillment, increase financial stability, and delegate some household activities that might otherwise hold them back from career success.
The benefits to the au pair include:
- Free room and board
- A weekly stipend ($215 a week)
- The chance to attend family vacations and experience American culture.
The au pairs I work with are adventurous and brave souls embarking on exploring a new country. In addition to schooling, they contribute to local society and economies, bring global understanding, and they continue to spread goodwill towards the U.S. when they return home at the end of their contract. These personal connections can have a more significant impact and understanding than policy ever could.
What’s the reality of growing a career with an au pair?
I was a full-time Senior engineering program manager at GE Renewable Energy when I had my first child Adley. At age 37, with an already established career, I was advised by an executive leader in the business that I should consider employing an au pair to help juggle family life versus work life if I was going to continue on my fast track to upper management (I wondered if he would say the same thing to a man that he said to a pregnant woman). As much as this felt sexist, it wasn’t wrong.
As I was researching daycares in Atlanta, I realized the higher-end, full-time infant care centers cost $1800 monthly per child and required me to sit in extra rush hour traffic (adding time to my 45+ minute commute) to drive the child to the childcare center and then pick up the child on time or face late fees.
My job and my husband’s travel schedule often led to unexpected late hours, and I knew I couldn’t guarantee I would be there on time; this led me to start researching au pairs which were a similar cost to a full-time daycare center and had the added convenience of living in your home so I would not have to struggle to get my daughter into a car seat on time, dressed, hair brushed with snacks all of that mental burden and the sicknesses that came with daycare just seemed like a hassle to me.
With an au pair, I could let my infant sleep in and hang out in pajamas all day, not worrying about germ exposure or late fees related to daycare; plus, I got a date night occasionally, which was great for my marriage! This helped me accelerate my career as I could be a more reliable employee and could count on my au pair as a trusted partner and family member.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I loved my au pair and the schedule flexibility so much that when I moved to Greenville in 2019, I jumped at the opportunity to help socialize and educate about this cultural exchange program because I believe in the benefits for both the host families & the au pairs. My au pair is truly a part of our immediate family, and I value the chance for my au pair to teach my children cultural diversity and inclusivity as well as Spanish (at ages 3 and 5, they love to learn!)
Growing a community of host families in Greenville from zero to 18 in 3 years has been exciting and challenging. I try to put myself in my host family’s shoes and make sure I understand their key needs or problems that an au pair can help with (carpool lane, kids’ laundry, or weekend work schedules) and explain what is too much responsibility for an au pair to manage (Deep household cleaning, Emergency Medical appointments, or in-depth Homework/Tutoring on subjects the au pair may not have the training to provide). As part of my role, I help new host families interview the au pairs, book travel & J1 visa, complete academy & CPR training, gain their South Carolina driver’s licenses, and attend local cultural events supporting SC small businesses. During 2020, many visas were delayed due to embassy closures, and it was a challenge to travel to the United States from overseas locations. Host families are also unsure of how to select the right au pair for their families. My best tip is that you do not want to hire “someone just like you, your best friend.” Still, you want to hire someone with the proven experience you need, such as a strong driver or swimmer who shows long-term plans to work with kids as a career, with a nurturing and kind spirit and solid evidence of full-time work in a preschool or daycare setting. Or an au pair who has grown up in a large family with many children and is the oldest sibling is often prepared for the role with real-world experience. Ask the au pair, “Do they enjoy being around children, engaging in arts and crafts? What would you cook my child for lunch?” You don’t need an advanced degree in child development to help young children learn. The one-on-one interaction and verbal communication are most important (and, of course, a love of children!).
Embracing diversity and global understanding in the workplace and at home leads to better-performing teams and happier parents. The dream of living in the United States for some au pairs must be balanced with the reality of homesickness and loneliness for the first two months or so. One of the hardest struggles for an au pair is the assimilation into a brand new culture, making new friends, and learning English, driving laws, and local customs. My main struggles as a host family sales and orientation leader have been learning social media, including local digital marketing and influencer partnerships on Instagram and Facebook. I’ve purchased social media boot camps and used LinkedIn to learn a lot over the past three years! I only had this content marketing skill set starting this host family cluster.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I have 20 years of professional experience in software development, military consulting, and industrial manufacturing. I have 2 master’s degrees: an MBA From Boston College and a Master’s in Information Science from UNC Chapel hill. My Superpower is developing and hiring global teams and mentoring young professionals in their career paths and choices.
I’ve been a host mom to an au pair for 5 years since my daughter was 3 months old, and working as a sales lead & au pair events coordinator for about 3 years since I moved to Greenville, SC in 2019. I love this Upstate community for what it offers to both young people and host families. We have a great mix of nightlife, breweries, and outdoor activities & parks, with excellent weather and easy access to the mountains and hiking.
I’ve always worked best in customer-facing roles, being adaptable & resilient and creating communities and workplace culture. I am personally invested in the development of young people and believe that traveling and working internationally, as well as learning fluent English, opens doors for an au pair. After two years of being in the au pair program, the au pair gets invaluable work references, an international network of new relationships, and the participant is more fluent in English, which leads to more career opportunities for the au pair.
Who else deserves credit for your story?
My clients – the Working parents interested in a global perspective have been incredible supporters – they share the values and interest in this! Referral partners. Others said, “she’s so good with your kids,” which validates this business.
My neighbor Christina Colton always sets a high bar for project management, personal branding, and high-end events experiences/planning at Faith In Humanity Consulting (local to Greenville as well!): https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-colton/ & https://fihconsulting.com/ 864-553-2929
Cherisse Salisha Young Photography ((5) Cherisse Salisha Young Photography | Facebook & Jenny Macy Photography: Greenville Family Photographer | Jenny Macy Photography – quality photography is important for getting any traction on social media (Instagram and Facebook), and these photographers are the best family photographers locally! Cherisse helped me capture the engagement photos of my au pair from Brazil, and Jenny captured headshots for my current aupairs to use on their LinkedIn profiles.
Upstate International: I am passionate about creating cross-cultural understanding, and this non-profit organization in downtown Greenville helps foreigners with Language skills & creates an inclusive community for those far away from their home country: https://upstateinternational.org/
Bold Move International, Janiece Robinson – professional speaking & Leadership training: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiece-robinson-9884a77a/ & https://boldmoveintl.com/
Your Personal Brand Coach – Digital Marketing Content & Personal Branding strategies: Juliet Peay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliet-peay-copywriter/ – LinkedIn & Sales Copywriter – Websites, Emails, and Sales Pages that Convert (yourpersonalbrandcoach.com)
Pricing:
- https://www.aupaircare.com/host-families/program-costs
- Program pricing is similar to full-time daycare costs because it is an alternative to infant daycare or preschool hours. The 45 hours per-week maximum is more flexible because the schedule is set by the host family and can include early mornings, nights, evenings, federal holidays, vacations, and weekend coverage.
- Our agency pays the highest stipend to au pairs in the industry.
- The average monthly cost is $1750 for an Aupair.
- Pricing includes airline travel, visa costs, background checks, and emergency medical insurance for the au pair.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/greenvillenanny/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenvillenanny/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aupaircaregreenville
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H9XdkZji2A
Image Credits
Cherisse Salisha Young Photography and Jenny Macy Photography
