Sharon and Richard Arnold. Successful Soul Mates, Small Business Owners, Extraordinary Professionals. We understand the WOW factor. And we “officially” started our career in the professional property caretaker business when we were chosen in early June 2014 as the new caretakers and hosts for the beautiful Silk Cotton Villa in St. Thomas, USVI. (Note: the header image above is the view out of the villa’s great room looking down on Charlotte Amalie)

We’re not only a married couple (together since 1990); we’re best friends and business partners. Long before there was Caretaker.org or WorkingCouples.com and the phrase “Work. It’s better together.™” ‐ we knew it was true. We started a marketing services company in 1994 and have worked together over the years to make it a successful firm that has helped to provide us with a nice living and the quality of life we wanted. We’re professionals. We know how to take care of clients and people. We know the value of the WOW factor.

We love to travel together. Everyone loves a vacation and we’re no different. Where we are different is the type of vacations we have done – special places and many with special friends. Over our years together, many of our best vacations were scheduled on or near our wedding anniversary in the spring season. Together, we have traveled Belize, England, and France, barefoot sailed the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and done numerous road trips across America built around visiting the many fine wineries it offers. In fact, we were married in Napa Valley, CA and immediately boarded a hot air balloon to celebrate. We both were born with traveling shoes on.

We have been researching and following the above mentioned websites for about 4-5 years; learning and researching the property caretaker and couple’s job business. And although Richard’s mom was in a nursing home in Atlanta, GA during those years, we did apply for some positions but mostly in the southeastern part of the U.S; primarily so we could still be close to her in case anything seriously bad happened.

By applying for positions that interested us and going through the application and interview process over the last few years, we have learned some important lessons related to this unique lifestyle. We have done Skype interviews, phone interviews, traveled to the locations for interviews and were offered about a half-dozen positions. It wasn’t until Silk Cotton Villa was offered that we agreed to accept the position as the start to this new chapter in our lives.

As we go forward, it is our goal to share through this blog how we got started; from the first discussions between us, through the interviews and mistakes, and up to the present as we experience life as the Caretaker / Hosts at Silk Cotton Villa.

So follow us and let us know what you think. Make comments. Ask questions. We will eventually get around to answering you.

Sharon & Richard Arnold