It’s no secret that households are spending less on their “wants” and preparing for the worst. Everyone is watching their budget. So how can a Personal Assistant win more clients when many view their services as a want instead of a need?

Start with  understanding what your clients time is worth. Unfortunately, many people view their time as being “free”. The truth is, everyone’s time is valuable. If your client were to take time away from work or a vacation day to run errands, what would that cost them? Their home time is simliar. Help them understand that by allowing you to complete a task, they may very well be saving extra money and gaining time.

As a personal assistant, you would be handling errands and running around town for your client. Doing so will save them the expense of Gas, wear and tear on their car and time sitting in traffic. All of this adds up. Saving your client time puts money back in their pocket as well. It allows your client to spend more time with family, work or doing something else they didn’t have time to complete before.

Keep a running tally of the time you have saved for clients. While this isn’t an exact science or formula, I have found it’s a nice way to help sell the your service. Typically I will bundle the amount of time into categories and put “driving time” in it’s own category. I can them present a weary client with number that show for a given month I saved my XX clients 7 hours of driving time, 3 hours of shopping time, 3 hours of time standing in lines etc. Numbers help clients put things into perspective. Attach a dollar value and you can see quickly see how much time really costs.

Work/Life Balance is Just Good Business!

It would be nice to think that the companies on the leading edge of work/life balance programs are simply being good citizens and doing the right thing!  But, the fact is that these programs make good business sense.

In addition to increased productivity and employee satisfaction, companies can retain valuable employees in a competitive environment, and attract new employees with these programs. 

Every generation in the workforce today reports that work and life balance is one of the top issues for them and that they want to work in a company that supports their desire to have more balance in their life. 

Whatever the reason for the movement, we should be glad it is upon us. 

Who are the companies with programs, what do the programs look like and what results have they achieved?

You might be surprised to know that these companies cut across all industries in the private and the public sector.  Here are some examples of program components:

Ø      Elder care programs consisting of resources directories, counseling, elder care services and educational services

Ø      Expanded telecommuting and ‘telework’ programs that allow employees to work from home or other locations

Ø      Part-time and job sharing positions for employees come off disability or recovering from health problems, or for parents who wish to spend time at home with their children or with aging parents

Ø      Fully accredited child care centers in or near the workplace

Ø      Babies in the Workplace programs that allow a child to remain with a parent in the workplace until the age of six months or whenever the child starts to crawl

Ø      Alternative work schedules and FlexTime work schedules that allow employees to work hours other than 9:00 to 5:00 in order to better meet their personal needs

Ø      Family Advocacy Programs held at lunch-time on managing personal finances, parenting, stress management, anger management and elder care issues

Ø      Outdoor recreation, walking paths and fitness equipment for employee use during and after work.  Some companies even provide grills, row boats and other equipment for employee family use.

Ø      Support groups for elder care, new fathers, holistic health, spousal abuse, single parents,  adoptive parents, parents of teenagers parents of blended or merged families, caregivers, and grandparents raising grandchildren alone.

Ø      Nursing Mother Rooms for breastfeeding moms

Ø      Enforced scheduling and use of vacation and personal days to ensure that the employees takes time off from work

Ø      Cross-training in positions to ensure coverage so that employees can take time off without the company suffering

These are just some of the examples of programs in government agencies, hotels, banks, corporations and union environments around the country. 

Human Resource Management companies and universities study the effects of these programs and publish reports to support and encourage their growth.  And the really dedicated companies keep finding new ways to encourage balance. 

In many cases, this effort still has to trickle down into the company.  Older managers or those supervisors who feel they are being shortchanged on work may frown upon these initiatives and studies find that programs put in place without adequate manager and employee training rarely have the same impact as a program that includes communication via seminars, training, written manuals and frequent follow-up. 

Work/Life Programs benefit the company by increasing productivity and focus on the job, reducing job turnover and increasing employee satisfaction.  Employees will miss less time from work, because they will not be sick as often. 

Families will be more supportive of the employee’s job and company choice because they know the company supports the employee’s personal needs, and their efforts to sustain good health and to manage stress. 

Instead, a company will run better and will find it easier to attract and retain good employees.  Companies will get a lot of support and good press from employees and managers, alike - and the company may even end up in one of those University Case Studies.  A role model for others to follow!

In your efforts to attract new clients as a personal assistant, don’t rule out business whether small or large. Armed with the information I’ve provided above, you can put together a simple marketing plan that will attract businesses and keep their employees happy.

Start simple. If the company is apprehensive about using your services, offer a trial. Give them 2 weeks to try your services at a discounted rate. At the end of 2 weeks, have the employees that used your service provide feedback to you and report those comments to the company. Happy employees will help sell you to the company.

First and foremost, I want to thank all of our readers that provide valuable feedback each month and ask some really great questions. It’s been a pleasure to help each of you that are striving to open your own personal assistant business or personal concierege service.

I have some really good news that I just couldn’t hold back any longer. Personal Assistant Resources is growing and in the upcoming weeks we are going to be adding some very special features. Plan and simple, we are going to begin providing a wealth of informatin, tips, tools and tricks that will help you grow your personal assistant business like never before.

Want to learn more? Simply signup for our Getting Starting as a Personal Assistant Guide. You may not be getting started, but instead growing. This guide will help you, but even moreso, it will help us tell you when the huge makeover is taking place. It’s something you will not want to miss.

I encourage all readers to signup soon because updates will be going out within the next few weeks and will not be initially posted on the site. Only the insiders will know about everything that is coming up.

See you there…

The holiday season is quickly approaching and now is the time to prepare. There are events to plan, gifts to buy and wrap,  travel arrangements to be made and much, much more. How will you help others?

The holiday season is the number one time for personal assistants and concierges. Some people may not realize how they can benefit from a personal assistant and may not understand how affordable your help can be. Your first step for the upcoming holiday season is to tell potential customers how you can help them. Give them ideas.

To start, you may want to advertise through flyers or postcards and make sure you list some of the things that you can do for your clients. It will generally take 2-3 weeks for someone to actually respond to your advertising campaigns. Now is the time to begin those efforts.

Second, prepare you elevator speech and always have cards ready. Don’t be shy about telling people about your business. It wasn’t long ago that we were at a busy store standing in line behind a mother and her 3 small children. She had her hands full. We took a minute to make some small talk and suggest that we could possibly make her day a bit better by spending time playing with her children and enjoying her free time. She loved the idea, especially when she found out how affordable it was. We now run errands for her once a week.

When you get the chance to speak with a possible customer, you need to suggest to them how they can use your time. Many won’t know where to begin. Here are suggestions for the upcoming holiday season:

• Provide shopping services for the holidays. This would include gift shopping.
• Gift Wrapping. This is the #1 service we provide during the holidays. Our customers like a personal touch, more than you can receive at the busy malls.
• Event planning and preparation. Many people just hate to plan a meal, pick up the groceries and get ready for an event. While I don’t recommend being the event planner and doing the cleaning, you can easily take care of errands and picking up groceries to help your client.
• Holiday Decoration. Decorating for the holidays used to be a fun family event. Families are so busy these days that they just want things “done”. Helping with the decorations can save your client lots of time. This is also a great job that you can use your own assistants for.
• After the holiday cleanups. This would include packing up decorations, returning gifts and addressing thank you cards.

We’ve found that many of the clients we work for during the holidays continue to use us through out the year. Some have even become weekly regulars all because of the service we have provided for them over the holidays.

How can you provide delivery service without charge your clients more? 

Gas prices are increasing each day and it is estimated that the price of gas will rise to $5.00 a gallon by the end of the summer. Much of a personal assistant’s business involves driving, delivering and picking up. So how can you still provide a cost effective service without passing too much of the cost on to your customers?

Schedule your week

One of the easiest changes you can make to your business without increasing your prices is to schedule your week. If you have repeat customers that have a schedule, try to make stops for all of your customers within the same area. For instance, make 1 stop to the dry cleaning store for all customers at once instead of multiple. If your grocery shopping, think about packing coolers in your car and shopping for all customers at once.(Be sure to carefully organize this process). Just this 1 change can significantly affect the amount you spend on gas.

Limit your days to “Zones”

If you have multiple clients in different parts of town limit your travel days to zones. For instance, if the far west end of town is 35 miles away, that is easily 70 miles round trip. Don’t make the journey more than one or two times a week. Instead, decide that Tuesday and Thursday is your “west end day” and handle anything in that area for those clients local to that zone AND any errands that need to be run for clients living in other “zones” to that area.

Outsource and get help

The summer time means that college students are available as well. You may look into hiring some college help that lives in further away areas or as I mentioned, “zones”. You will still need to pay them mileage and for their time, but you will also save money on not having to drive to that area your self.

These are just a few ideas that we have experimented with and have worked for us. You may want to try them yourself and see how well it works. Of course, this will require very good organization skills and time management, but that’s a trait that every personal assistant must have to be successful anyway.

Tips for a Personal Assistant - Ideas for Summer

Summer is quickly approaching and the kids are almost out of school.(At least here). While most people are getting geared up for some relaxing weekends, a Personal Assistant should be preparing for one of the busiest times of the year.  When the kids are home, working parents have less time to get things done, that’s the perfect time for a Personal Assistant to step in and help.

Here are 6 ideas for boosting your business during Summer

• Vacation Planning - Help your client plan the perfect weekend get away, with or without the kids.
• Vacation Errands - Right before the vacation, busy families have a million things to get done. Make sure nothing slips through the cracks by taking care of their errands or helping out.
• House Sitting - When the clients are away… watch their house.
• Errands, Errands, Errands - With the price of gas going up, families are going to be looking for alternative to driving all around town. You can make the best of it by knocking out several clients errands at once. Make sure you adjust your prices for the price of gas increase.
• Party Planning - What’s summer without a Bar-b-que? Put together the event for your client.
• Pack up for winter - If your clients are like me, I store my winter clothes and get out the summer clothes about this time, but I hate doing it. Helping your client store their Winter clothes and getting ready for summer is a something they would be greatful for.

Enjoy your Summer and stay busy!

Improve your quality of life and reduce stress

If you’re short on time, need to be better organized or are looking for a step by step guide to provide your staff, clients or friends, then this book is for you. Ultimate Time Management is a step by step guide that shows you how to gain back the lost hours each day.

Having more time each day is critical to reducing stress, having a work life balance, savng time, spending more time with your family and friends, working less and improving your quality of life. Time Management is serious, yet many people overlook the fact that getting organized is something everyone can do with the right plan in place.

Wouldn’t you like to have 2 more hours each day?

Ultimate Time Management provides examples, to do lists, action plans, checklists and simple approaches to help you manage your time. If you think you have a handle on time management, then think again. This book makes it so simple that even a student to benefit from it.

Even better, there is a 30 day money back guarantee so you have absolutely no risk at all. Try it out and I know it will work for you.

Read more about Ultimate Time Management and take advantage of the introductory offer

A good personal assistant should be ready for anything. After all, your clients can spring anything on you at any time. Most personal assistants that serve many clients have a formal contract that outlines the specific services that you will be providing for your client. More importantly, your contract should outline services you will not be providing for them as well.

We’ve seen first hand that clients will often try to push that “line” just a little and if they succeed, will continue to push it. In most cases, we’ve seen this with childcare and babysitting. The client will often ask for just a few minutes while they take of something or as a favor. The requests then come in more frequently. Some personal assistant’s are fine with this sort of relationship and others are not.

So how do you tell your client you are not a babysitter and that your skills and services are in other areas? The first step is to plan your discussion. It is important to maintain the relationship with your client. As a personal assistant, you should also be prepared with a solution to the problem. Research nanny services, daycare or other reputible child care services that you can recommend. 

When the time comes to have the conversation with your client you need to be firm and honest. Explain that your services do not include childcare or the other services they are asking you to perform. Provide the information that you have researched and make your recommendations. If your contract specifically excludes those services now is the time to reiterate that.

Most clients will understand your concerns and thank you for being candid and honest. A few will not. Remember, the advantage of working for yourself is that you can choose your clients. If you and a client do not see eye to eye, it may be time to terminate your contract.

Good luck!

Having a work - life balance is important. Sometimes, it may be difficult explaining to your clients just how valuable your services can be. Understanding everything that a person can do to improve their quality of life is important and can be overwhelming. It often is not as easy as just working less and making more time. There has to be a plan.

Selling yourself as well as your service will be critical to your success. It’s critical that you understand the challanges of making more time and taking the right steps. In the past, we have provided the Balance Your Life eBook to our customers as a free gift. This book is a great overview of things that they can do to make more time and it is helpful for the personal assisant to undertstand some additional items they can do as well.

While the book does have info that could make your job obsolete with your client, it has been our experience that openly sharing this book and/or information has infact increased our business. Our clients have found that it takes a lot of work and time to make their lives better.

Read this article and get the information you need to boost your business and work life awareness.

One of the most difficult tasks when starting a new business is getting clients. There are several ways you can get your business name out while saving money.

Referrals: If you already have at least one satisfied client you can ask for a referral. If your current clients are happy with your service and offerings they will be more than happy to refer you to someone else. Provide an added incentive to your customers by giving them 1 free hour of service for each referral they provide that signs up with your.

Gift Certificates or Donations: Many opportunities may arise where you can potentially donate a block of time or gift certificate for your time. We have seen this used in silent auctions and charity events. These type of donations will usually get high visibility and you will more often get additional business from this approach.

Bulletin Boards: Many grocery stores, gyms, daycare centers and cafe’s offer bullentin boards where their customers can post business cards. Often these are ideal places to find your potential clients. If you check the board regularly you can track the number of business cards taken over a period of time.

Car Decals/Magnets:  Full color car magnets can be purchased for under $100. These magnets attach to the side or back of your car and can be another ideal method of marketing. While sitting in traffic or running errands your potential customers will easily see these signs. Be sure to include your phone number and website address on your magnets.

Networking: Check local newspapers and magazines for networking meetings. Your local chamber of commerce may have a list networking groups as well as host their own networking meetings. These meetings can be a valuable resource for not only obtaining new customers, but building your network of resources and vendors.

Have other ideas on how to build your business? We’d love to hear them. Please post your comments.