Founders often find themselves stretched close to breaking point. Especially when their startup begins to scale and grow at a previously unimaginable rate. The transition from a small team to a large company can happen seemingly overnight.
As a founder, your drive and focus probably push you well beyond the point when you should be getting help.
So how does a founder know when the right time for themselves is to hire an executive assistant to help them.
Here are 5 things to look out for that tell you when it is time.
1) Burning the candles at both ends.
No one plans to be working late into the night every night and it rarely ever suddenly happens. Over time as your tasks and responsibilities increase you find yourself starting earlier and finishing later more and more often. Now all founders are going to work more hours than the average employee but if you are spending it doing menial tasks then it is time to consider an EA.
2) Working beneath your level.
Early on as a founder you likely had to do every job at some point. However, as your startup has grown you need to let go of tasks that for a lack of a better phrase are beneath you. How do you do this? Define an hourly rate for yourself, and what your time is worth. Then ask yourself would you pay someone that much to do this task, probably not. If you are doing these tasks, then it is time for an EA.
3) Completing well-documented processes.
As a founder, you should spend your time thinking creatively and tackling challenges, not completing tasks that could be documented and done by someone else. Similar to point 2 if you are doing tasks like this then hire an EA.
4) Working on things that aren’t your specialty.
All founders have an area of their business that they truly excel at. Whether that be the tech, marketing, sales or another area, you should focus your time on doing the things that you are the best at. Executive Assistants are great at helping you focus your time and energy and removing distractions.
5) Feeling like you need help.
Probably the most fundamental reason to hire an EA is because you feel like you need one. Too many phone calls, emails, priorities and demands on your time. Asking for and acknowledging that you need help is more than enough justification to hire an EA.
TAKEAWAY: Successful founders will all reach a point when they need an executive assistant. If you find yourself identifying with at least one of the points above, then it is probably time to hire one.