3 Paths to Business Growth: Evaluating Your Business Expansion Opportunities 

Is your agency thriving or surviving? Whatever the answer, you’re probably asking yourself about business growth. What steps to take? Which direction to go? After all, it takes time, energy, and plenty of resources just to determine which direction makes sense for business growth. Perhaps you’re considering opening in a new location or offering a different service line? The opportunities to support the care industry are vast, and in this eye-opening session, Lynn Perkins of UrbanSitter and Kristen Stiles of Sitter Pro will tackle the many different ways to grow a care-based business. This workshop will include practical insights and tactics for evaluating business growth strategies, trends in the care industry that fall outside standard child care offerings, and insight into the process of mergers and acquisitions, featuring a rare opportunity to peek behind the curtain and hear about the successes and challenges of the Sitter Pro and UrbanSitter merger. Learn all about what to consider when evaluating and expanding into new markets or new verticals, the right time to expand, and whether merging with another business is worth considering if it can help you reach your financial goals even faster than doing it on your own. You won’t want to miss this one!

Kristen Stiles is Vice President of Enterprise at UrbanSitter, an app that makes it easy for parents to find and book care. Previously, Kristen was co-founder and CEO of Sitter until Sitter was acquired by UrbanSitter in 2019. Sitter created the Sitter Pro app and agency management software to modernize the way local agencies and their customers book and pay their caregivers.  Sitter and Sitter Pro were born out of Kristen’s personal interest in taking the dread out of booking babysitters for her own busy family. Now, she taps her versatile background in business consulting, process improvement, and technology development to help other businesses in the care industry get the technology they need to compete without building it themselves. Kristen graduated with a B.S. In Business Administration from Colorado State University and has held management positions at Hewlett-Packard, Convergys, and Vail Resorts.