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How do you determine if a virtual assistant is the ideal assistant for you and your business? Resumes don’t tell the whole story.

Here are the five signs that you have found your right-fit assistant:

1. They have the practical skills to do the job

 

Do they have the skills to do the job? Do they know how to organize your schedule, complete administrative tasks, write briefs, and organize your inbox?

When selecting your assistant, consider what experience and training the assistant has received.  Do you feel confident in their skill set?

Try this step-by-step approach:

1. Identify why you are hiring an assistant. What are your big-picture goals?
2. Identify what tasks and duties your assistant will need to fulfill in order to reach your goals.
3. Consider what skillsets and knowledge your assistant needs to have in order to complete those tasks
4. Request information on the assistant’s training and skills. Are you confident they can do the job?

 

Know what you need. Can you be confident your hire has the skillset you need?

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2. Their communication style syncs with yours

 

Like any relationship, everything works better if you “get each other.” Having communication styles that work well together is a time-saver for productivity. Effective communication facilitates growth.

How do you determine the likelihood of compatibility? How do you know if you will work well together?

There are a number of reputable assessments that can streamline the discovery process and help you avoid a long cycle of trial and error. We recommend choosing a timed personality test that identifies communication and work-related personality traits.

We use the Predictive Index Behavorial Assessment.  This specific test assesses the working and communication traits of test-takers and provides information about their compatibility with others. This powerful tool helps us pair our clients with their ideal assistants.  It allows us to predict compatibility with improved ease and accuracy.

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3. Their attitude aligns with your vision

 

You want an assistant with a committed, resilient and positive attitude towards you and your business. They get behind your vision and are ready for anything that might come their way. Such a virtual assistant is a likely good fit for you.

Design your interview process to determine how well your potential assistant fulfills this standard. At Superpowers, we conduct rigorous interviews with potential assistants in order to assess these qualities.

We ask precise questions that identify different qualities and provide us with a thorough and accurate profile of the interviewee.  Consider questions that identify adaptability, temperament, collaboration, initiative, and growth potential.

Here are just a few helpful questions we have found useful:

•  Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something you had never done before?
• What’s the most interesting thing about you that’s not on your resume?
• What was the last collaborative project you completed? What was easy and challenging about this project?

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4. They lead the relationship

 

We at Superpowers often say, “You’re the boss, but your assistant is the leader in the relationship.” It’s critical to set expectations early so that your assistant anticipates your needs and proactively meets them.

A standard virtual assistant can complete a task for you and follow directives, but the growth these assistants provide your company is limited.

A virtual Executive Assistant is the solution for entrepreneurs who are interested in exponential growth and freedom.  Executive Assistants fully commit to your vision and company. They are trained to organize and execute their tasks without relying on a to-do list provided by you.

You are busy, so your time is better spent on high-value tasks than on providing step-by-step instructions to your assistant.  Is your assistant able to anticipate your needs and take leadership when you are focused on your own tasks?

We train our Superpowers Executive Assistants with the skills and the mentality to come alongside their entrepreneur as a partner, actively moving towards goals and perceiving each next step. We want our assistants to see and resolve problems for you, even before you notice them.

A virtual Executive Assistant proactively pursues your goals without you needing to provide them step-by-step directions.

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5. They have a complete resource network

 

You now have a well-trained, compatible virtual Executive Assistant who proactively pursues your goals. Even so, your assistant is limited by their own time and skillsets.

Suppose you need to launch a website. Your assistant can manage the project, but it is unlikely they will have the skills to be exceptional in SEO, web design, graphic design, and sales funnels.

Your assistant can attempt to do these tasks alone or work to source specialists to take on each aspect; however, they are at a disadvantage. Assistants who already have a readily-available resource network of specialists and information can more effectively and efficiently clear your to-do and wish lists.

When hiring your assistant, consider what resource network is available to them. Are they connected to a network of other assistants? Can they easily connect with a conglomerate of vetted and reliable industry specialists?

Assistants who have a supportive resource network have a competitive advantage over those who do not. A pre-established network saves you and the assistant precious time by removing the need to search for specialists. They are just a call away or email away.

 

We’ve Designed the Perfect Process for Finding the Right Assistant

 

Is it time for you to find your assistant? There are numerous sites that offer standard virtual assistants, task-completers for hire. But as entrepreneurs ourselves, we struggled to find virtual assistants who took initiative, anticipated our needs, and carried our vision with the same passion as we did.

We set out to create an idealized process that kept the ease of hiring a virtual assistant but also provided the exceptional service and commitment of a traditional, high-end Executive Assistant. Tack on a powerful network of resources and industry professionals, and you have Superpowers.

At Superpowers, we handle the screening, training, and compatibility testing – you simply tell us what you need, and we find you the perfect-fit virtual Executive Assistant to take on your vision with you.

There are a lot of questions to consider when hiring your assistant – these questions are our specialty. If you’d like to discuss finding your right-fit assistant, book a Discovery Call.  We’ll sort out the process with you – let’s determine what kind of virtual assistant is a good fit for you.

Entrepreneur stress is a daily challenge many of our organizational leaders face. As Executive Assistants, it is a part of our job to be the hand to help them up again.

 

Here are 5 tips and tricks to help your entrepreneur get through their bad day.

 

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Keep it short

 

Clear workplace communication is important! If you have daily 1-on-1 meetings, keep them short and to the point. The “BLUF” method can help you here: keep the Bottom Line Up Front.

 

Hit them with only one or two important updates, save the rest for the next day when they are in a healthier headspace. Try to stick with positive updates, but never bury bad news if it’s time-sensitive and they need to hear it.

 

 

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Take tasks off their plate

 

If you see that your entrepreneur is stressed and bogged down with tasks, take action by helping with some of them. This stress is a signal they aren’t the right person for those specific jobs, even if they’ve kept them on their plate. Multitasking can be harmful.

 

Identify the right people to do the task — they may be inside the business or outside, like vendors or partners. Put together a specific suggestion about how you’re going to communicate the delegation and what the expectation for 80% complete is.

 

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Calm the storm

 

Relaxation techniques are useful in finding peace in the storm, but many times the best solution is to minimize the storm itself.  If they’re having a bad day and struggling, their patience is going to be worn, and their ability to think at their best is limited.

 

Prioritize the projects that need feedback; be very specific about where you need them to weigh in, and then get to work. The rest can wait for tomorrow.

 

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Talk about the future

 

“Future focus” is where entrepreneurs thrive. They excel when they are focused on the vision they’re building in spite of the current bump in the road.

 

An entrepreneur’s life is challenging. Entrepreneurs often feel frustrated with people in their organization — maybe they aren’t getting the results they need from their team, things aren’t happening quickly enough, etc.

 

You are the person who works closest to them — be supportive. Validate what they are saying and let them know you understand where they are coming from.

 

Take action in tandem with your moral support. Avoid glossing over what they are feeling now. Help them understand they aren’t crazy for being frustrated. Entrepreneur stress is valid.

 

Once they feel understood and heard, you can lessen the burden and show them the way out by communicating how you can help them. Focus on “I will…” and avoid burdening them with a list of “You will…”

 

 

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Know when to give some space

 

Finally, take what you’ve learned about your entrepreneur’s leadership style and personality to know when to engage deeply and when to keep your distance. Sometimes your entrepreneur needs time to focus and regroup.

 

So keep working on long-term projects and go above and beyond to communicate with the rest of the team and keep your daily updates concise, helpful, and actionable.

 

We work with incredible entrepreneurs. Our job is to be the extra superpower they need on days they feel a little less super.  Let’s try to implement these powerful strategies for alleviating entrepreneur stress.

 

At Superpowers, our mission is to help successful entrepreneurs discover new levels of Freedom and Growth in their professional and personal lives. This blog is the tip of the iceberg of what we do. Interested in learning more? Visit the Superpowers homepage.

In business, working hard does not equate to working smart. Growing your business does not require sacrificing your freedom. On the contrary, an entrepreneur or executive who is savvy about managing their time can experience exponential growth AND freedom simultaneously. How? By hiring an elite Executive Assistant who improves your life by helping accomplish your business and personal goals!

Here is how our highly-skilled, Superpowers Assistants improve the quality of an entrepreneur’s life by helping with:

• Focusing on their business
• Ensuring entrepreneurs have quality time with family and friends
• Delegating and juggling important tasks
• Keeping entrepreneurs healthy
• Managing and mitigating crises

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Allowing for Focus on Important Tasks

 

Focusing on essential duties can be challenging when entrepreneurs are juggling multiple things. Hiring an Executive Assistant can alleviate the pressure. An Executive Assistant can masterfully handle coordinating and organizing schedules, maintaining an entrepreneur’s inbox, overseeing projects and tasks, and communicating with an entrepreneur’s team.

But more than getting the job done, a Superpower’s Executive Assistant personally invests themselves in an Entrepreneur’s success.

Aligned with their vision and goals, a Superpower’s Executive Assistant advocates for their entrepreneur, protecting their time enabling them to focus on essential aspects of their business and life.

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Protecting Quality Time With Family and Friends

 

We’re all-too-familiar with this scene: a busy executive is bombarded with constant work-related notifications while attempting to spend quality time with family and friends. And heaven forbid they try to leave behind their phone even while on vacation.

Having an Executive Assistant to handle those situations allows entrepreneurs and executives more time to focus on personal relationships. At Superpowers, our Executive Assistants are skilled in handling emergencies and creating a less stressful work environment. We allow entrepreneurs time to bond with family and friends.

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Delegating and Juggling Important Tasks

 

Too often, entrepreneurs and executives start their day with urgent, unforeseen tasks that pop up, pushing other vital duties to the back burner. As a result, many entrepreneurs will lie awake at night, stressing over what they must do. 

Entrepreneurs who attempt to manage every aspect of their business take significant amounts of time away from tasks that require their specific expertise and Unique Ability.

A Superpowers Executive Assistant helps entrepreneurs juggle and delegate items on their to-do lists. Additionally, they help source other highly-skilled persons to help accomplish more, leaving the entrepreneur worry-free when they get home from work.

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Keeping Entrepreneurs Healthy

 

Entrepreneurs’ well-being is just as important as maintaining their business. But unfortunately, when stressed, many tend to lose focus on taking care of themselves and, instead, prioritize the business’s health.

With a Superpowers Executive Assistant, entrepreneurs will have more freedom to recharge and do activities they enjoy. Entrepreneurs are people too! Like anyone else, they need to take vacations, go to the gym, meditate, and spend time with loved ones.

Entrepreneurs and executives need a life outside of their day-to-day business activities, and a Superpowers Executive Assistant can ensure that life is possible.

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Managing and Mitigating Crises

 

Dealing with a crisis alone can be difficult. However, a Superpowers Executive Assistant can help through bad days, act as a partner in dealing with those days, and take the pressure off an entrepreneur’s shoulders by calmly taking the initiative in managing the crisis.

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What Superpowers Assistants Understand

 

For entrepreneurs, their time is their most valuable possession. Entrepreneurs deserve to give themselves the life they desire. Their hard work, persistence, and diligence will always create opportunities to make money and recoup their investment, but time lost cannot be recovered. An Executive Assistant improves your life.

A Superpowers Executive Assistant is more than a Virtual Assistant. They can help improve the quality of an Entrepreneur’s life and ensure they experience the levels of freedom and growth they deserve.

Contact Superpowers today to learn more about our highly-skilled Executive Assistants

At Superpowers, we work with dozens of entrepreneurs and assistants daily, guiding them along the path of becoming a seamless unit. We work to discover how they operate and communicate with each other. When it comes to working well together, communication is the key. Here are the top five tips we give to strengthen entrepreneur and assistant communication.

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Determine and Set Clear Expectations

 

The first and most crucial step is to understand the entrepreneur’s expectations. The goal of an assistant is to help their entrepreneur experience new levels of freedom and growth. Thus, it is important to clearly understand their ideal future.

Here are some common expectations that are vital to discuss with an assistant:

1. Important dates and times
2. Project timelines
3. Daily tasks
4. VIP clients
5. Specific duties/tasks that are crucial to the business

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Be Aware and Understand Your Entrepreneur’s Vision

 

Learning what drives and cultivates the company’s growth can help an assistant better understand an entrepreneur’s mindset. Entrepreneurs often struggle with delegating tasks. They fear others lack the skills to do the job as well as they can. Understanding an entrepreneur’s vision, how they think, and their desired outcome is important because it gives them confidence that a task will be handled well.

An assistant who is highly aware of their entrepreneur’s vision and passion can excel with assisting in:

1. Fine-tuning each project with their entrepreneur’s vision in mind
2. Setting realistic goals for the future and steps on how to reach that goal
3. Ensuring the entrepreneur’s thought process and passion is correctly portrayed across all platforms in the business

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Connect Daily

 

At Superpowers, many assistants state that a pre-scheduled daily meeting with their entrepreneur builds clear and open lines of communication. Starting the day with a quick, efficient chat ensures both parties are on the same page and ready for the day. This habit can help foster trust, as well as:

1. Allowing both to clearly see what the day entails
2. Updating one another on any unexpected events or updates
3. Establishing a safe place and time to communicate with each other
4. Providing an update on daily progress

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Use Simple, Straightforward Language

 

Because both entrepreneurs and assistants lead busy lives, concise and helpful conversations are important.  Simple language creates clarity and helps boost productivity. Simple language is clear and honest; it helps to remove any miscommunications.

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Stay Focused and Determined

 

Although this tip seems like a no-brainer, it’s critical to stay sharp. When team members are conversing, both parties must actively listen. It is important to remove distractions and avoid being on “autopilot.” Thus, focusing and tuning into conversations is essential for preventing miscommunication.

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How Superpowers Can Help

 

At Superpowers, our goal is to help successful entrepreneurs find new levels of freedom and growth. Our Superpowers Assistants start with the training, skills, and coaching necessary to immediately begin making a difference in entrepreneurs’ lives. Book a Discovery Call today to learn more about the Superpowers process.

Working from home. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed what was once inconceivable into a necessity to keep businesses operating.

Are you in the Burnout Danger Zone?  You work hard, but there are endless hours of more “stuff” that needs to get done.  You’re under pressure.  And you’re uninspired to create and build new opportunities within your business or life.  How do you avoid burnout as an entrepreneur?

Here are five tips to avoid burnout.

 

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1. Identify Your Most Significant Stressors

 

Procrastination on tasks can be a strong signal that you aren’t the right person to be completing it.

Take note if you consistently put certain tasks at the bottom of your to-do list.  These are prime tasks for delegation to your Highly-skilled Executive Assistant or other members of your team.

Even just identifying those dreaded tasks can help get you to a healthier place.  By remaining aware of the stressors in your life, you can more successfully avoid burnout as an entrepreneur.

 

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2. Create an Action Plan

 

Creating an action plan with clear milestones is the first step in any successful project.  This type of planning leads to more mindfulness and less stress as you work through challenging projects.

Break down big steps for tasks into smaller steps, and focus on the task at hand, knowing the next steps can wait their turn.

Write things out of your head.  When you have a thought or concern, jot it down on paper, record a voice memo, or type it out.  Then store it away for when you’ve finished the task at hand.  Let your mind focus on what’s in front of you.

 

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3. Use Your Calendar as Your Ally

 

Time management is often used as a planning tool, but it can also be key to avoiding burnout.

With a quantifiable timeline, you can objectively measure your success rather than letting fearful estimations tell you whether or not you are staying on pace.

 

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4. Embrace Delegation

 

There are precious few tasks that are truly best suited to you.  Delegate any task that you can’t bring unique creativity or effort to.

Mark O’Donnell of EOS Worldwide stresses just how critical delegating tasks is to freeing up an entrepreneur’s time and energy.  He states, “Finding people to whom you can delegate will also give you the bandwidth to step back and see the bigger picture.”

Just because you can do everything doesn’t mean you should.

 

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5. Limit Time Available for Work

 

Finding downtime is one of the hardest things to prioritize, but it is also the best way to maintain balance.

If work expands to fill the time allotted, be sure the time you’re allocating isn’t expansive.  Schedule blocks of time to spend with friends and family so that when it is time to work again, you come back refreshed.  You’ll be able to see your team performs in your absence, and you’ll come back feeling even better than before.

 

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Conclusion

 

It can be hard to get to the other side when you’re just surviving in the Burnout Danger Zone. Your business and relationships suffer when you don’t have mental space to think strategically and recharge.

Our Superpowers Executive Assistants can proactively help you avoid burnout so you can be a hero to those who are counting on you.