It’s official — we just brought a new team member into the Lovely Impact family. We’ve been talking about — and quietly looking for — the right person to help us for a few months now. We just had to get clear about what her role would be.
Hiring an assistant is a great thing to do if you’re feeling overwhelmed in your coaching business. It can help you expand your business by saving you from doing the kinds of tasks that don’t actually make you money — which are the most important tasks for you to focus on. Instead, your assistant can focus on the administrative side of your business, and you can work with your clients and find new ones — hence, make more money.
While we for sure think an assistant is a great option for every coach who needs help, you really need to think about who you’d hire and what you’d have her take over for you. Plus, you need to make sure you can afford to pay her.
Before you jump into hiring someone, make sure you get clear on the following three questions:
1. What kind of assistant do I need?
Are you looking for someone to work with you full-time, or part-time? Is it going to be a problem if you hire someone who also runs their own business and has other clients? Do you want someone new who you can train to your exact preferences, or do you want to work with someone experienced who has their own processes?
There are also small details you’ll want to think about before you hire someone to work with you in your coaching business. For instance, do you want someone who’s in the same time zone as you so you don’t have to think about and convert times? Do you want someone who only communicates via email or someone who will jump on a weekly zoom call?
All of these things create the type of working relationship you’ll have with your assistant, so consider them before you jump on an interview.
2. What tasks do I need my assistant to take over?
What things do you really need to get off your plate? Think about the things that you do on a regular basis that eat up time and don’t actually help you find more coaching clients. These things usually fall in the areas of scheduling content, sending emails, booking calls, setting up new accounts & profiles, sending invoices, etc. — all the things that are mindless work you don’t need to physically do yourself.
Get Your Free Coaching Business Checklist!
Fill out this form to access our free comprehensive business checklist with 149+ actionable tasks to setup your coaching business for success.
Plus, join our email list to stay up to date.
Having a predefined list of tasks that you need help with is essential going into an interview with a potential assistant. That way you can make sure they’re willing/able to do everything you need help with.
3. Can I realistically afford an assistant?
Obviously, in order to bring an assistant onto your team, you need to have a budget to pay them. But you need to determine a budget that you can afford and commit to on a long-term basis. Because a temporary assistant is not going to solve the overburdened problem you’re probably having if you’re thinking about hiring someone.
When creating your budget and starting to look for someone, keep in mind that a more experienced and capable assistant is going to charge more for their services. Also know that where that person is based is going to influence their hourly wage. If you hire someone living in Los Angeles, they’re going to charge more than if you hired someone living in India.
Tips on Interviewing Your Assistant
When you’re in an interview with a potential assistant for your coaching business, listen to how they speak about working with their clients.
- Do they care about the businesses they’re supporting, or are they just punching a timeclock?
- Are they committed to meeting deadlines, or does it sound like they’ll make excuses about why something wasn’t done on time?
- Do they have experience with what you need help with, or does it seem like they’re just saying what you want to hear?
Make sure you go through an actual interview process. Create a job description, outline pay and hours, ask for references, check those references, and ask questions during the call. You don’t have to be totally formal like a corporation, but you do need to take the time to get to know people.
Don’t just hire the first person who applies if they don’t seem like a good fit. You’ll waste more time training, troubleshooting, and firing the wrong person than you’ll lose by waiting for the right person.
Finding The Right Assistant is Your Number One Priority
Working with someone who is ‘good enough’ is, well, good enough for now. But always keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground, so when the perfect person does show up, you can bring them into your business.
Tee’s philosophy on hiring is ‘hire them quick, fire them even faster’ if they aren’t a good fit or aren’t going to accomplish what you need them to do. And it’s a good rule to live by. If you’re spending just as much time double-checking someone’s work as you would have spent doing it yourself, save yourself the stress and let them go. Find someone else.
And hopefully, the tips we’ve laid out above will help you find your perfect match.
About The Author
Hey! I’m Cass, a Certified Brand Coach and a Co-Founder at Lovely Impact. I help coaches elevate their businesses with beautiful branding and websites. Here on our blog, my content focuses on branding, web design, and storytelling.
Hey! I’m Tee, a Certified Business Coach and a Co-Founder at Lovely Impact. I help coaches grow and scale their coaching businesses. Here on our blog, my content focuses on web design, marketing, business, and social media strategy.