Is It Time To Hire An Assistant?
By Paul Esajian on April 10, 2015
So, you have closed a few deals and are starting to see your lead generation pick up. You are spending your day on current projects and deals, but you know you need to continue to grow your business. The time to market and follow up with leads just isn’t there anymore. You are getting into a bad habit of stopping and starting many different projects at once. You are beginning to feel yourself getting pulled in a dozen different directions. If you are leaving work on the table because you don’t have enough time in your day, it may be time for an assistant.
You don’t need to have a busy business to hire an assistant. Many investors will balk at paying an assistant because their production does not justify it. Time is the most important asset you have. If you are spending your day on tasks that are pulling you away from generating business, you are not spending it wisely. Hiring an assistant should free you up to do whatever it is that you do best. Spending money for an assistant to prepare a mailing for you while you sit on the beach isn’t the goal. You should spend time looking at properties, running numbers or networking. The number of deals you have closed isn’t as important as how you spend your time.
There are many skilled people out there looking for part time work. Once you decide that you need an assistant, you should determine what you want them to do. You may need help with data entry or direct mail organization. Following up with contacts and setting appointments could be your issue. Running around to town hall and gathering documents could take up too much of your time. Focus on tasks that take up the most unproductive time out of your day. The better you know what you want out of an assistant the more descriptive you can be in your search. A blanket ad looking for an assistant will cause you to waste time speaking with potential candidates. Have an idea of exactly what you want before you begin your search.
Social media is a powerful tool. Between your own personal network and social media you should be able to find someone in no time. You can always create a post on Craigslist but you want to try to find a referral first. As your business grows you will ask your assistant to do a lot for you and you need to be able to trust them. A simple post on social media should give you many options to choose from. Working with friends or family is not always the easiest thing to do but it is better than working with strangers. It is important to have a clear description of what the job entails before any work begins. Never make promises that you know you can’t keep. If all you need is a few hours a week there are many people who are willing to do just that. Start your search in your own network and go from there.
The first question that a prospective assistant will ask is how they are going to get paid. You should establish if they are going to get paid on a weekly basis and if so how much. One option you have is to pay them per the task you need. Like anyone else on your team good help is hard to find. If you feel that an assistant can help grow your business you should spend money to keep them. A couple dollars more an hour may not seem like much to you but may be important to them. If they are doing a good job treat them to an occasional lunch or offer some money for gas. You don’t have to do these things but a happy assistant will be a much more productive one.
It is important not to go with the first candidate you talk to. Even if they are only part time you should treat them like any other regular employee. Take a look at a resume and ask for references. Sit down with them and conduct an interview. You don’t have to make it a formal meeting but you need to know you click. If they constantly call you and ask questions on everything they do this is more harm than good. The ideal candidate is someone who has experience and can work without you having to look over their shoulder. It may take talking to a few people to find the ideal candidate. Don’t settle for the first person that you talk to. You don’t want to have to hire someone new every month. It is important that once they start you are on the same page. This may mean spending more time in the beginning to reinforce how you want things done. If you have an issue with how they are doing things speak up and tell them. The whole point of an assistant is to make your life easier not the other way around.
A good assistant should help keep leads coming in and deals closing. There are many times in business when you need to spend money to make money. Hiring the right assistant is one of them. The best investors know their strengths and weaknesses and have a team around them to help where they are weak. Look at your day and see where you are spending your time. If you are wasting time on unproductive tasks, it may be time for an assistant.