Entrepreneurs face a difficult decision: Prioritize freedom? Or prioritize growth?
Most entrepreneurs start their businesses looking for increased freedom. Owning a business allows you to set your schedule and decide how much you work. At least in theory.
In reality, the demands of growing a company often keep entrepreneurs in the office late. Weekends go neglected, and days off are derailed by emergency phone calls, leftover to-dos, and a mountain of unaddressed emails.
Are we doing it wrong? Does our pursuit of freedom end up preventing us from experiencing that freedom?
Is it possible to experience the freedom we want and the growth we need without compromising either?
Yes! With the right help. You can hire an Executive Assistant to help! Even the highest performers have only 24 hours each workday. But top-performing entrepreneurs partner with their assistants to make the most of each day.
How an Executive Assistant brings Freedom
Your assistant takes tasks off your plate:
As the owner of your business, you do a lot. You are responsible for keeping your business afloat, and that responsibility often leads to long hours and little free time.
To grow your business, you take on extra responsibility, but what if that hard work is actually hurting it’s growth?
You don’t have to do it alone. As the leader of your business, your time is valuable. There are many tasks you CAN do, but most of them, you shouldn’t. Focus on what you do best and what creates the most value.
Your assistant is your task filter. They guard your time by identifying tasks that are not a part of your Unique Ability, the tasks and skills you excel at.
They identify delegable tasks you are already doing and help you delegate them to your team. Also, your assistant can monitor your inbox and filter out non-essential tasks and requests, deferring them to a more appropriate time or teammate.
With your assistant acting as your filter, you can be free to focus on what matters most to you.
Take an inventory of how you spend your time. For one week, keep a notepad or your phone next to you, jotting down each thing you do.
Then process the tasks…
Eliminate Tasks:
Before you spend time delegating a task, consider eliminating it altogether. Think a task is unnecessary? Try temporarily eliminating it and monitor the impact.
Delegate Tasks:
- Identify the tasks you don’t enjoy. There is a reason you don’t enjoy these tasks; someone else is likely better suited for these jobs.
- Identify the tasks that are outside of your skillset. Someone else may be more efficient or skilled at completing the task.
- Identify the tasks that aren’t worth your time. You may enjoy a task and be great at it, but consider the opportunity costs of doing these tasks. Are there better ways to spend your time?
Once you have this list, your assistant can either personally handle these tasks or delegate them to others.
Your assistant designs your schedule with your freedom and health in mind:
Even with an assistant acting as their task filter, many entrepreneurs struggle to step away from their work. Many entrepreneurs have spent years in survival mode; things needed to get done to keep food on the table.
But, as your company grows, spending every moment in the trenches wears on your health and contributes to entrepreneur burnout. When you are not taking time to take care of yourself, your leadership and business suffer.
Our Superpowers Assistants schedule vacations, handle gift purchases, and help you remain engaged in your personal life.
What’s more, they help you schedule and protect your personal time and family time. You schedule should include more than meetings. Do you have a date night scheduled this week? Reflection time?
Executive Assistants are also trained to identify and combat burnout, so you can keep moving forward, protected from the threat of running out of steam.
How an Executive Assistant brings Growth
You have time to focus on high-value work:
You have unique talents that have helped grow your company to its current state. When you dedicate maximal time to using your unique talents, you produce the most value for your time.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for you company is say “no.” Allow your assistant to do that for you. They can help you identify those low value tasks and help you stay on track.
If you can dedicate your time to completing high-value tasks, you maximize your company’s growth.
Your Assistant facilitates efficient delegation:
An assistant organizes the people on your team or your direct reports to operate smoothly together without you constantly keeping “a hand on the wheel.”
They can serve as your project manager, identifying who in your team or contractor network is best qualified to handle certain tasks.
Leverage your assistant to handle team management, so you can focus on your work, knowing the best-fit members of your team are handling the rest. When each member focuses on what they do best, things get done faster and growth accelerates.
Conclusion
You have 24 hours today. I have 24 hours today. And Jeff Bezos has 24 hours today. How you use that time makes all the difference. Leverage your time with the help of trained and vetted Executive Assistant.
Interested in hearing more about hiring an Executive Assistant? Sign up for a discovery call today! It’s a quick, low-pressure conversation about your needs and how an assistant can help.
