Personal Assistants

BluAffiliate

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Sep 6, 2009
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Anyone with em, care to share some advice?

Stuff like: where to find them, how much to pay them, etc.

I'm not talking about VAs, real life assistants.
 


Think about this here and there, would be good to have a massager/cook/secretary/bangmaid/organizer.

BangMaid FTW!
 
bluaffiliate, hit me up on aim (same name), i'm looking into it this next week. need someone for bookkeeping, appointment management, shit like that. maybe we can help each other out~

edit: I'm looking for a VA, not real life. IRL is going to be a lot harder to find someone in close proximity... and speaking from experience I wouldn't want my employee knowing the ins and outs of my finances/schedule
 
I have an assistant. She had just graduated from college, and I hired her from the college job board.

I definitely recommend hiring college students/recent grads for jobs where experience is not absolutely necessary. They're usually of higher skill and work ethic than older people working the same entry level jobs.
 
I have an assistant. She had just graduated from college, and I hired her from the college job board.

I definitely recommend hiring college students/recent grads for jobs where experience is not absolutely necessary. They're usually of higher skill and work ethic than older people working the same entry level jobs.
How much did you pay her?
Would it be awkward to fire her also?
What does she see in being a personal assistant? I.E. does she think this is a long term career choice? It would be a PITA to get a good personal assistant going and for them to quit on your ass for a "real job."
 
Don't have an assistant, but it would be ideal to have someone on a part-time or shared basis.

Unless the assistant gets involved with my campaigns, or helps with non-work activity (i'm thinking meal preparation here), however, I'd be hard-pressed to find enough work for him / her to do on a full-time basis.
 
How much did you pay her?
Would it be awkward to fire her also?
What does she see in being a personal assistant? I.E. does she think this is a long term career choice? It would be a PITA to get a good personal assistant going and for them to quit on your ass for a "real job."

A couple dollars/hr above minimum wage.

Would it be awkward to fire her? No more than firing anyone else.

No, when you hire students, they don't see it as a long term. She's doing this because she is in between the year of graduating undergrad, and doing a masters. And it's good experience compared to the other jobs available. To that end, I support her decisions, and if/when she leaves, I'd be happy to write a good referral letter.

You're likely to have high turnover for assistant positions unless you really want to pay an executive assistant salary. So might as well hire the most skilled person, and worry about that issue when it arises. In my experience, college students are far more skilled at $12/hr, then 40 year olds at $12/hr.
 
I got the secretary, butler/chauffeur, and guard. Most of them were referrals from friends and / or business colleges. Having a butler is by far one of the most amazing things I've come into contact with... I don't have to do any of that annoying shit anymore in life. It was pretty affordable too.
 
I have a House Maid who cleans the house, A Chauffeur, A Cook, A Washing lady, and a part time help who cleans my car everyday (Chauffeur won't). India is GREAT!!!
457866485kd2.jpg

Can someone get me some tea please!!
 
minimum wage should be enough, I wouldn't go more than 50cents above minimum wage assuming you aren't asking the world of them. And that leaves you more room to allow raises and what not.

Just don't get buddy/buddy with them...
 
If you mean assistant for business chores like emails and overseeing tasks that do not interest you, get someone middle aged with a spouse & kids who isn't curious about stuff and generally content with life (if they are religious that's a good quality). Another soft skill found in this species is hand written note taking. It's a sign that they're antiquated, take their work seriously and are not lazy. Gather info on them and their family. And never talk with them about the "glory of entrepreneurship" or any crap that will get them thinking, or greedy. In fact, do not talk anything meaningful at all other than instructions on their chores and general polite small talk. This is critical. Rather, stress the virtue of hard work. Pay them well, more than double the market rate, give them gifts they'll like, act like you care for their kids or whatever. Also, act transparent but never tell them more than they need to know, and if you can pretend that there is someone higher up the food chain than you then ever better. Don't admit that all the money is going to you personally (it goes to the company and you just get a salary). Get your admiration induced erections elsewhere.

These subdued yet functional people are just like robots. You program them once and they'll keep doing the tasks expected of them. Don't expect creativity and loyalty from the same creature for long. Thinking is your job. The assistant is (should be) capable of rinsing & repeating the process unquestioningly.
 
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If you mean assistant for business chores like emails and overseeing tasks that do not interest you, get someone middle aged with a spouse & kids who isn't curious about stuff and generally content with life (if they are religious that's a good quality). Another soft skill found in this species is hand written note taking. It's a sign that they're antiquated, take their work seriously and are not lazy. Gather info on them and their family. And never talk with them about the "glory of entrepreneurship" or any crap that will get them thinking, or greedy. In fact, do not talk anything meaningful at all other than instructions on their chores and general polite small talk. This is critical. Rather, stress the virtue of hard work. Pay them well, more than double the market rate, give them gifts they'll like, act like you care for their kids or whatever. Also, act transparent but never tell them more than they need to know, and if you can pretend that there is someone higher up the food chain than you then ever better. Don't admit that all the money is going to you personally (it goes to the company and you just get a salary). Get your admiration induced erections elsewhere.

These subdued yet functional people are just like robots. You program them once and they'll keep doing the tasks expected of them. Don't expect creativity and loyalty from the same creature for long. Thinking is your job. The assistant is (should be) capable of rinsing & repeating the process unquestioningly.

I Approve, some solid advice for all of us. This is also my biggest fear, that assistants will get oversmart and try to poke into our business.
 
Yea, @Uncle is totally right... I got someone near retirement to help me with the traditional tasks around the house (upkeep, organization, so on and so forth). I pay him well over minimum wadge, considering this person may be living with you and taking care of stuff that's valued far more than his yearly salary. In addition, sometimes the days run very long (upwards of 16 hours a day, when driving me) - so I need someone that'll stick around.

I may be a dick, but I like to atleast take care of the people that help me with business and life. It brings me happiness to see people making a living.
 
There's a lot of people out of work lately, and helping out family is something i don't mind doing. My mom has been out of work for a while, so I just put her on the pay roll. She's my accountant/secretary/shopper/cleaner/and cook. Honestly, I have never written a check or balanced any of my books, so she's been a great help, moms are good at that kind of stuff. And who can you trust more than your mom! Also have my brother help make me websites/creatives here and there, again, another person you should hopefully be able to trust.

This way you can concentrate on the stuff that matters, like pretending your working 12 hours a day, when in fact it's more like 2, and the rest is spent jacking off, games, wf, and checking stats. :\