Rebecca Howard: Inspiring Agency Owners | Nanny Agency Academy

Danny – Enginehire:
Hey Rebecca, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast today. How are you doing?

Rebecca Howard:
I’m doing good, Danny, and thank you so much for inviting me to be on here. I’m very excited to be here with you.

Danny – Enginehire:
It’s a pleasure to have you here because you do incredible things for the nanny industry. I feel like you’re known everywhere and you’ve been an entrepreneur for 25 years, built and sold a multi-million dollar service business. What is the story behind you, Rebecca, and how did you get to where you are with helping agencies?

Rebecca Howard:
So that is a loaded question that’s gonna come with a long answer. But I love telling my story because I am so passionate about helping nanny agencies in particular, but all service-based businesses. So my story starts—I was very young. I got married when I was 22 years old to a man who was 10 years older than me, and I was working as a nanny.

And I had a nanny job with a billionaire family that was in the news. Bill Clinton was the president at the time. This was the late 90s, and this family regularly had the Clintons visiting their home. You can imagine the type of screening that should have been done on me as a nanny at the time. I got the job when I was like 19. I went through a local agency in San Diego who didn’t fingerprint me or background check me. I even used a fake reference because I had never been a nanny before—just worked in childcare. I used my younger sister as my “long-term nanny job” reference.

Thankfully, I wasn’t a criminal or anything, but I had to be FBI cleared by the family because the president and his wife were at the home often. I remember telling my husband, newly married, 22 years old, that I couldn’t believe the agency had charged thousands of dollars to this family to place me without proper checks. And he said, “That is crazy.” I thought, these agencies are charging a lot of money, I could do this way better. He had an entrepreneurial mind too and said, “Let’s do it. I’ve got you.” So I started down the road of starting my own agency. This was 1999. There was no good internet, no real way to research, and no one wanted to help me. Other agencies didn’t want to collaborate. So I just started—ran some ads in newspapers, built a basic website, and landed my first client. I placed my first nanny and thought, holy bleep, I have a business. Someone paid me $1,500 and I was hooked.

Within four months, I grew the business to $5,000 a month. I left my nanny job on good terms and went full force into my agency. A couple years later, I got pregnant with twins. I ran the business through my pregnancy, even the day after giving birth. My agency income allowed me to stay home with my twins and gave my husband the breathing room to step back from car sales and start his own water damage restoration business.

Everything was going well until tragedy struck. After our third child was born, my husband passed away suddenly when our baby was only eight weeks old. I had eight-year-old twins, a newborn, and was a young widow. My agency allowed me to keep my home and stay independent. Without it, I would have had to move in with my in-laws. I even handed over my clients to Dara from Panné Agency, who helped me grieve and kept things afloat. That experience showed me how important collaboration is in this industry. We shouldn’t be competitors; there’s enough business for everyone if we focus on our “why.”

I eventually took over my late husband’s company, which was losing $600,000 a year. Within 18 months, I turned it into a $5 million annual revenue business. I cut failing divisions, leaned out operations, and focused on water damage. We later sold it. That experience taught me I understood business at its core—I could turn failing companies around. Meanwhile, I kept my nanny agency and, about eight years ago, I felt a strong pull to help women entrepreneurs. Business came naturally to me, and I realized I needed to teach others.

I started Nanny Agency Academy almost on a whim. I posted in a Facebook group asking if anyone wanted to learn how to start an agency. Within hours, 25 women said yes. I built an eight-week course as I went, charging $1,000 or even $200 payment plans. I ran it every three months and it grew. Now, it’s evergreen, with multiple ways to work with us. We even build websites, do branding, run social media, and coach agencies worldwide. The mastermind community is incredibly collaborative, and I love seeing women succeed. That’s my passion.

Danny – Enginehire:
That’s amazing. Just me being a male in this sphere, I have to say it’s interesting that people have let me in as far as they have. You mentioned you had a coach yourself—how has having a coach benefited you, and why did you know you needed one?

Rebecca Howard:
I didn’t finish college, just two years. I’ve always learned better hands-on. About eight years ago, I saw coaches online claiming to make millions. I knew I had something people needed, but I didn’t want to spend 5–10 years figuring it out myself. So I invested $10,000 in a mastermind with coach Jenny Fenneg. It was a big leap—I had sold some businesses but didn’t have huge cash flow. Still, I went all in because I wanted to make a big life change. That decision fast-tracked everything. And now I provide that same shortcut for others.

Danny – Enginehire:
Your team helps agencies with so many areas. Is there one challenge you see over and over again, or is it really all over the place?

Rebecca Howard:
There are two main types of clients. New agencies often don’t know where to start: contracts, insurance, employment models, pricing. They undervalue themselves, thinking they need to charge less because they’re new. Established agencies, even 15+ years in, often struggle with growth: “How do I get clients?” or “How do I increase revenue?” We meet them where they are and show them the path to profitability. For example, many don’t realize the employment model is difficult to scale. Switching to a referral model can boost profitability to 90%+.

Danny – Enginehire:
What are some common mistakes you see agency owners making before they even realize it?

Rebecca Howard:
Undervaluing themselves, charging too little, and thinking the market is saturated. No market is saturated if you’re clear on your why. When your messaging is strong, competition doesn’t matter. Another big mistake: pouring money into ads. Families rarely see those ads—job seekers eat the budget. I’ve seen people spend $10,000 on ads and get one placement. Painful lessons.

Danny – Enginehire:
Do you feel like you have a “secret sauce” in business?

Rebecca Howard:
Yes. My gift is pulling the gold out of each client and showcasing it in their brand. That’s what makes the difference. When you show up grounded in your why, competition is irrelevant. I’ve worked with a snow plowing company in Colorado, a fourth-generation nanny family in Texas, and countless others. I help them build their entire brand story around what makes them unique. That’s my magic—and then I combine it with digital marketing strategies that cost nothing but time.

Danny – Enginehire:
That’s incredible. A lot of candidates don’t even realize what makes them stand out until someone points it out.

Rebecca Howard:
Exactly. That’s what my coach did for me—she showed me my gifts. She said, “People will be transformed just by being in your energy.” And it’s true. I also help people push past visibility blocks. Many are afraid to show their face online, but in a service business—especially with children—you can’t go faceless. Families need to see you.

Danny – Enginehire:
That’s huge, because a lot of owners hesitate to put themselves out there.

Rebecca Howard:
Right. And perfectionism slows people down. I’m a Virgo—I love perfection—but I had to let that go. My posts are casual, often just me after yoga sharing a thought. It works because it’s authentic. Clients don’t care if your Instagram grid is perfect. They care about whether they trust you. I’ve had clients make $20,000 their first month without even having a website, just by showing up online. Meanwhile, perfectionists wait months to launch and miss opportunities.

Danny – Enginehire:
Yeah, sometimes pen, paper, and a phone are all you really need to start a business.

Rebecca Howard:
Totally. And while my team builds websites and branding, the clients who succeed fastest are the ones who start marketing right away. The website is just a bonus when it’s ready.

Danny – Enginehire:
Well, Rebecca, I could talk to you for a long time. Can we do this again? How can people connect with you and work with you?

Rebecca Howard:
So many ways. The best is to DM me on Instagram or Facebook—The Nanny Agency Startup Academy. I also have a landing page with testimonials and offers. I’m on TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook. Message me and I’ll send a calendar link for a discovery call. I offer everything from full “done-for-you” packages—branding, website, social media, coaching—to customized plans. Whether you’re brand new or 20 years in, I can help. And I’m not a high-pressure salesperson. Discovery calls are about finding the right fit.

Danny – Enginehire:
Rebecca, thank you so much for joining us. We’ll do this again because I have so many more questions. I appreciate you giving us your time and wisdom.

Rebecca Howard:
Thank you for having me. I’d love to do this anytime. I have so much to share.

Danny – Enginehire:
Awesome. Well, Rebecca, thank you so much.

Rebecca Howard:
Thank you, Danny.