Top 5 Reasons to Hire an Executive Assistant
I'm going to make the bold statement that if you're looking to hire and don't already have an executive assistant on your team, above any other role an executive assistant needs to be your next hire.
People often ask which support positions to hire and there are plenty to choose from.
But the roles of support positions such as executive assistant, personal assistant, social media manager, and virtual assistant vary a great deal.
An executive assistant is an indispensable member of your team that I guarantee will allow you to maintain smooth operations in ways you can't even imagine until you fully experience the benefits.
As a small business CEO, you have a lot on your plate. And I always say, if you don't have an assistant, you are the assistant. As the CEO, your role is to be the visionary, the creator, the face of your small business. It's your responsibility to continue to evaluate your operations and you need to have the mental capacity to continually oversee that marketing, sales, and fulfillment are at optimal performance. You don't have time and can't afford the attention it takes to complete tasks an assistant can take care of.
I know it's difficult to imagine having someone else take over things that feel personal such as checking email or making reservations. But believe me, once you realize how often you are devoting your time and attention to the “can you just quickly” tasks and regain the space in your schedule for revenue-generating activities, you'll be so glad you decided to hire an executive assistant. That's why I'm sharing with you top 5 reasons to hire an executive assistant.
But first let me share a story to really give you an example of how you're leaving money on the table by not having an executive assistant on your small business team.
You're never going to believe this. 100% true, though! I had a client who was still managing her own email inbox. She didn't think it was a big deal. But it wasn't a high priority task so it often fell to the back burner. She was checking it fairly regularly but didn't pay much attention to folders and filters. One day during a digital decluttering session she came across an invitation to work with Netflix! Netflix! They wanted to invite her to do a guest spot on a show and she missed the opportunity. Can you imagine the disappointment?!
Yikes.
It might not be an opportunity with Netflix you miss. But opportunities usually come in the form of our own brilliant ideas. You don't have time to dream up and bring to life those brilliant ideas if you are your own assistant.
5 Reasons to Hire an Executive Assistant for Your Small Business
- An executive assistant has strong organizational, administrative and planning skills.
- When you find, hire, and train the right person, you can assign a variety of tasks and feel confident it will get accomplished.
- A local executive assistant will free up your space in your schedule.
- Someone local can meet with you in-person or run a quick errand for you that you simply don’t have time for.
- This person will get to know the ins and outs of your business.
- Imagine having another brain to share the vision of your company and organize the tasks to achieve it. That's exactly what an executive assistant does for you. As you grow, this person can take on some of the responsibilities of training new hires because they know all the behind-the-scenes operations.
- This role it can grow and evolve over time.
- An executive assistant job description can be broad and customized to meet your highest priority needs for your specific business. The attention to detail, organizational skills, and task management ability the right person brings to this role will transfer into any administrative tasks you assign as your business continues to grow.
- Your executive assistant can serve as a buffer between you and unnecessary misuses of your time.
- This person works closely and directly with you, the CEO, which means they know your schedule and can be the point of contact for inquiries. If you don't have space on your calendar, they can communicate that and protect your time.
I have a feeling these top 5 reasons to hire an executive assistant are beginning to show you exactly why you need to bring this person onto your team and how they will save you so much time and money.
Ready to start the search for your perfect executive assistant and create a job description? We'll share ours with you!
Need a little more motivation to take action on hiring an executive assistant?
10 Tasks an executive assistant can take off your plate:
- scheduling appointments
- managing and responding to emails
- completing simple errands
- project management tasks
- data entry
- event research/coordination
- making travel plans/reservations
- putting together presentations
- preparing meeting notes
- creating spreadsheets, forms, documents
Remember: If you don't have an assistant, you are the assistant. You can’t afford, as the CEO, to be doing administrative level tasks.
