No. 126

Why I Hired a Personal Assistant

I multitask almost everything.

Last week, I spent my mornings on the elliptical at the gym, reading The 4-Hour Workweek. One of my friends had recommended it to me after I mentioned how quickly my business was growing — and how rapidly my personal time had been shrinking. Reading while working out is a prime example of my attempt to multitask to take advantage of my little free time.

The rest of my “free” time is typically split between organizing my business and organizing my life, both of which I’ve been failing at lately.

Feeling like I’m failing at organizing my life was a wake up call.

It’s like I’ve been working a lot rather than working smartly. The 4-Hour Workweek really highlighted that for me.

But I also don’t want to turn my business into an automated machine I’m not part of. I love helping people, I love developing, I love being involved.

I can’t do it all.

My friend Jasmine, a very talented and busy photographer, mentioned on a call last week that she had hired someone to clean her home. Like me, her business has grown quickly, and she and I were discussing the nuts and bolts of hiring help. People had suggested she hire someone to do her editing, but she enjoyed that part of the process. Instead, she hired someone to do something she didn’t enjoy: clean.

I realized I too could outsource the tasks I didn’t want to do.

I started off by making a list of all the smaller tasks I needed to do but have been putting off.

Finding an accountant. Getting quotes from moving companies. Selling my sofa set on Craigslist. Organizing smaller business files.

So I took Jasmine’s advice, advice that was echoed again in a chapter of The 4-Hour Workweek.

I hired a personal assistant.

And she’s awesome. While the book suggested I look for help overseas, I decided that I wanted to try and find someone state-side first. A few hours after positing the position on Facebook, I had multiple inquiries and decided to give one young lady from the DC-area a try.

All has been going really well so far. I already feel more free. It’s like clearing things off my to-do list has also cleared my mind.

I’ll definitely be seeking more help eventually — it’s time to get smarter about how I do my life.

I’d love to hear from you — Have you ever hired someone to handle tasks you were avoiding? How did that affect you? If you haven’t, what would be at the top of your list to find someone to do?

(Note: I did hire an actual person and not my cat. Hugo just likes to keep me company while I work.)

About brandi

Brandi is a digital strategist, website developer, and founder of Alchemy+Aim, a company that helps entrepreneurs and business owners elevate their online presence and enhance their digital experience. Her academic background in theatre, philosophy and physics was the perfect foundation for launching her business, where she’s worked with Brené Brown, Laverne Cox, Judy Smith, and other notable thought leaders since 2013. She is an advocate for using technology in ways that humanize, connect and serve people as well as for asking deeper philosophical questions and teaching others to think more broadly about impact when they create, particularly in STEAM fields.

4 thoughts on “Why I Hired a Personal Assistant

  1. Hey Brandi!

    Great idea…my business is also growing, as is my family! Aiden was born 3 months ago, so now with 2 young girls & a little man, plus the wife, the house, my training, my lessons, i’ve taken on importing a product from Australia!

    How much does such an assistant cost?

    Nice writing as always!

    Greetings, Mark.

  2. I actually think that hiring an assistant is not only smart but brave. There’s a part of me that is horrible at delegating. I’m one of those people that thinks I’m the only one who can do something the way I want it done. So, in other words, go you! I think it’s awesome! You’re growing so fast, business-wise and personally :)

  3. How very exciting to be moving at such a fast pace with your business! I’m sure it’s scary to hand off certain duties and have them be someone else’s responsibility, so I commend you on that!

    P.S. Haven’t talked to you in forever! Hope life and stuff’s all well. :) And your new website design is beautiful!
    x

  4. Hi Brandi!

    Loved reading this! Glad to see you are in charge and going up, and upwards!
    Will shoot you an email about the site / changes, but need to find me help too, looking for a photographer to work with, so will come back soon. Enjoy the weekend xxx
    Maureen

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