BOSTON — We all lead busy lives—but how do you value your time?
A local woman who created a personal assistant company two decades ago found that lately, a number of professionals and dual-income families are outsourcing things like household chores and vacation planning—placing a higher value on time than ever before.
Dani Murray is a professional problem solver. She created Boston Personal Assistant—a personal concierge service—20 years ago. It was when she was working for a luxury hotel on Newbury Street that she started running errands for guests and realized the demand was high enough to start her own business.
“It was March of 2006 that it was like $7 to put a website up on Yahoo,” said Dani Murray, Boston Personal Assistant Director of Operations. “So I was like, give it a try.”
Her business first mainly catered to high-end clients, but now she’s helping families in and around Boston with organizing, planning, and anything else they need to get their time back.
“It seems like the common element at this point is that people are frustrated, and they really want to find some solution to make sure that they actually have the balance that they’re looking for,” said Murray.
Murray and her team serve more than 100 clients. She’s noticing they’re outsourcing day-to-day logistics or chores, so they don’t miss those life moments.
“It’s like you take something off my plate so that I get to get you to that softball game that I missed last week, or to my child’s play at school,” said Murray.
Research from PYMNTS.com suggests more Americans are willing to spend money on services like personal assistants, grocery delivery, and home maintenance to free up their time. In fact, a recent PYMNTS Intelligence survey found that 67% of consumers used at least one convenience service in 2025.
“Saved me from some pretty big work disasters that I couldn’t have handled because I was dropping kids at school,” said Liz Dehler, a client of Boston Personal Assistant.
Liz Dehler uses Boston Personal Assistant in her personal and professional life. As a working mom of two kids, she knows the smallest things can make the biggest difference.
“You can spend more time with your kids,” said Dehler. “You can spend more time with your husband, your family, things that are really important because life goes by so quickly. You can really get stuck on those smaller things that can be overwhelming, and they can pile up.”
The extra help also allows her to focus more on her job.
“My clients can be number one and not laundry or getting groceries or food prepping or many of the other things that can be helpful in the house,” said Dehler.
From household chores to planning a wedding in three weeks, Murray has done it all.
“We got asked to drive three hours to a beach for a bucket of sand,” said Murray.
The goal is to give clients that peace of mind when everything around them seems chaotic.
“There’s a lot expected of us right now,” said Dehler. “And even though the world is crazy, that doesn’t seem to be slowing down. We seem to have more on our plate. And to be able to outsource some of this with a company that does it in such a smart way, in such a flawless way, and makes it easier for next time to think ahead.”
Another sector growing for Boston Personal Assistant is elder care, with a lot of busy professionals using assistants to check on their parents. Murray is looking to expand her business to meet the need in other markets. Prices vary depending on the services, but Boston Personal Assistant offers packages starting at $140 a week.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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