Hiring a Personal Assistant

Nothing is more exciting than an increase in sales when you run your own business. Starting, managing and supporting a business takes hard work and perseverance, and when you finally start to see the product of your efforts, it all seems worthwhile.

There are problems with having a large workload, however, and although you might be grateful for the business, you’ll find yourself spread too thin in a matter of weeks. When business owners try to do everything themselves, they become overloaded by too much to do every day.

Thankfully, there is an answer to that problem! Corporate executives who work from fifteenth-floor corner offices have secretaries and administrative assistants to handle some of their work, so why shouldn’t you? Even if you work from home, you can still hire someone to send out invoices, answer e-mails, make phone calls and build spreadsheets. A personal assistant can take some of the burden out of your life and alleviate a surprising amount of stress.

What does a personal assistant do?

Depending on the type of business your run, a personal assistant can be responsible for a myriad of tasks. As with any position, personal assistants usually excel at particular forms of administrative support, so before you begin the hiring process, look carefully at what you’ll need and expect from your assistant.

In many cases, the personal assistant takes on the role of secretary, handling your correspondence, invoicing and billing. Others work in more of an administrative capacity by taking care of filing, bookkeeping, marketing and data entry. You can also find personal assistants who will run errands for you while you work, such as picking up dry cleaning, ordering lunch during a meeting, fulfilling your grocery list and picking up associates at the airport.

How do I find a personal assistant?