Today we invite Jim to the show to discuss his 20-year career working as an Estate Manager in the USA. His roles have spread across Dallas, New York and Florida which is where he now calls home. He has an interesting story as he made the choice to switch careers and move into the private industry later in life and has already had a successful career working in public relations. It’s interesting to hear about his challenges working with UHNW clients and also why he loves this industry so much.

Supported by our sponsor Kelly Dixon, Estate Management Systems and her fabulous new podcast called Dear Billionaire. Use discount code LIFE 25 for any of her products or services on her website.

Today, we bring the conversation back in-house, this time discussing all things USA. Jessica is our USA specialist and is currently managing a large number of US based clients across LA, New York and Florida. There are aspects of the private industry which differ between the US and the UK and Europe and so it’s important that we delve into these different markets separately.

A number of dilemmas were sent in from some of our US listeners which we spend the episode discussing, ranging from information of our fabulous communities – of which we now have 3 and we’re looking to launch 3 more soon! We then discuss the dreaded term ‘hybrid roles’, where did the term come from, why it now seems to be a common thing and what we can do about it.

Supported by our sponsor Kelly Dixon, Estate Management Systems and her fabulous new podcast called Dear Billionaire. Use discount code LIFE 25 for any of her products or services on her website.

Today, we invite a long-time friend of Silver Swans to the show. Phoebe has been involved with our UK House Manager community since the start and has attended almost all of our events. She is a seasoned House Manager having started are career working onboard superyachts. She was able to transition reasonably smoothly into a land-based PA and House Manager position in Australia and has been working back in the UK ever since. She shares her experiences and offers great tips to others looking to start their career in this industry.

Phoebe is about to embark on her own exciting venture, offering a consultancy service to UHNW families who may not need a full-time House Manager or maybe who have a full team but who are stretched and who need to outsource project work or tasks to support their House Manager. Having done it all before, with her creative flair, she is well-positioned to be that extra pair of hands.

Supported by our sponsor Kelly Dixon, Estate Management Systems and her fabulous new podcast called Dear Billionaire. Use discount code LIFE 25 for any of her products or services on her website.

Silver Swan returns for our 4th season! This season we plan to invite a number of different guests to share their stories of working in the private sector and alongside these episodes we will be releasing Silver Swan episodes where I will be talking to different members of my team about the market in general and discussing different dilemmas which are sent in by our fabulous listeners. If you have an issue at work or a situation which you don’t know how best to handle, then email it in to us and I will discuss it with my team.

Today, I chat with our UK private household specialist Laura and we discuss how to get into the private sector, what the difference is here in the UK between a House Manager and an Estate Manager. We also discuss recruitment as a career and what her highs and lows are of recruiting for UHNW individuals.

Supported by our sponsor Kelly Dixon, Estate Management Systems and her fabulous new podcast called Dear Billionaire. Use discount code LIFE 25 for any of her products or services on her website.

As 2022 draws to an end we have taken the opportunity to pull out our personal highlights of Season 3. Over the last 22 episodes, we have had an array of guests from all over the globe, sharing their stories, their highs and lows and their most challenging client request. I don’t think our guests realise just how inspiring their stories are to others in the industry and especially to those listeners who are trying to get into the private sector. Learning how other people have carved their career really helps others plan their own route through the industry.

I personally have loved every minute of hosting this podcast. As the Founder & MD, I don’t often get the opportunity to talk to candidates on a day-to-day basis and it’s invaluable to me, as an agency owner, to have a true understanding of the current marketplace. As an agency, we are obsessed with adding value to the private sector and hearing from people within the industry first-hand enables us to ensure our service offering and various initiatives are what people actually need!

I would like to thank everyone who has listened to the podcast over the last 3 years along with everyone who has given me their time to come and be a guest and share their story. This podcast would be nothing without you!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from us all at Silver Swan xx

Silver Swan is excited to launch our training services in partnership with Mathieu Barbe at Service Excellence Training. We have onboarded the highly experienced Mathieu as our in-house trainer here at Silver Swan and we now offer on-site bespoke training for all our clients worldwide. We are huge believers in the power of training and hiring good people is not enough if you want a highly effective team, it is essential that there is an effective onboarding and training program in place also.

Today we delve into Mathieu’s extensive career working with UNHW clients worldwide from cruise ships to super yachts to private residences and large events. There isn’t much he hasn’t done and his transition into training has enabled him to train some fantastic teams in some incredible locations. If you have a newly hired team then they will all be great individually but they won’t work cohesively without any kind of training to bring everyone’s experiences together to form a standardised level of service. Equally, if you have a well-established team, don’t underestimate the importance of regular upskilling of your staff. We recommend annual training for well-established teams to keep things fresh, enhance skills and keep staff engaged and developing.

Silver Swan can now offer tailored training programs depending on your needs.

Today we talk with Jarryd who is a member of our Palace Manager community in the UAE. He is embarking on a very exciting new challenge where he and his wife will be managing a very large VIP residence in Dubai. 

Jarryd started his journey in the private staffing sector after spending 5 years working at an incredibly luxurious and gloriously beautiful safari resort in South Africa. They ran a very impressive portfolio of lodges alongside a large team whilst working closely with many UHNWs who were visiting on holiday. 

This prompted them to make the move into private staffing where they took on a domestic couple position for a client in India. They’ve done such an incredible job they are now working for the same family but in Dubai. 

We are looking forward to hearing more about his journey and learning about any future employment opportunities he’s going to have moving forward for those looking for work. 

Thank you to our sponsor Kelly Dixon at Estate Management Systems who has launched a new service called Private Service Support Team (PSST). They provide all the systems, tools, and support for the private service industry. From online systems, do-it-yourself training modules, and now, her recently launched membership platform to support the private service professional. 

Use discount code LIFEINPRIVATESTAFFING25 to receive a 25% discount.

Silver Swan has recently launched a concierge company to offer not only dedicated service to our UHNW clients but to offer support to our fabulous House/Estate Manager communities. These roles are already challenging without the last-minute or often crazy requests of the Principals – you are no longer alone! Instead of feeling that you need to find a way to make the impossible happen, just email [email protected] and we’ll help.

Powered by the incredible, global team at The Atlas Club, the service is truly 24/7 with no request being too big or too small. Today we invite Lisa, one of the co-founders of The Atlas Club to come and discuss how the company came about and what their service offering includes. Lisa alongside her equally fabulous business partner Ciara, has been providing a lifestyle management service to many UHNW individuals and families worldwide for the last 10+ years.

Thanks also to our sponsor Kelly Dixon at Estate Management Systems with a NEW product available. HOW TO MANAGE A MANSION training course is now available split into 11 separate $250 modules enabling you to pick and choose the modules that are most relevant to your role. Use code LIFE25 to receive a 25% discount.

Today we are talking to a highly experienced European private chef who was one of the lucky ones to win a green card through the green card lottery and move over to New York. His story is inspiring having worked his way up from the literal bottom of the kitchen ladder up through the ranks in Michelin kitchens before transitioning over to the private sector when in New York. He has now been working for the last 10 years as a private chef and shares his views on how the role of a chef changes when you make that transition.

Thanks also to our sponsor Kelly Dixon at Estate Management Systems with a NEW product available. HOW TO MANAGE A MANSION training course is now available split into 11 separate $250 modules enabling you to pick and choose the modules that are most relevant to your role. Use code LIFE25 to receive a 25% discount.

We are often asked whether formal Butler training is essential for a successful career as a private butler, today we have Thomas on the show who has been working as a Butler Trainer all around the world for many years. We discuss what a typical course looks like, what you can expect and what content is included. It’s interesting to hear his insights on working as Butler in Europe versus China. He also has lots of experience working with UHNW clients himself so understands the industry inside out. Thomas is looking for his next challenge, so feel free to reach out to him if you are looking for a trainer like Thomas!

Thanks also to our sponsor Kelly Dixon at Estate Management Systems with a NEW product available. HOW TO MANAGE A MANSION training course is now available split into 11 separate $250 modules enabling you to pick and choose the modules that are most relevant to your role. Use code LIFE25 to receive a 25% discount.