4 Lame Reasons Business Leaders Don’t Hire Assistants

4 Lame Reasons You’re Not Investing In An Assistant

• December 21, 2022

The average executive spends nearly 65% of their time on busy work and in meetings, 20% searching for information, and just 15% on meaningful and rewarding work that moves the needle. And if that executive is a business owner, it means that they are curtailing their company’s growth.

How Hiring an Assistant Give Executives Their Time Back

Every business leader needs an assistant in order to optimize their time and accelerate their business. As our friend and world-renowned sales coach Jack Daly says, “If you don’t have an assistant, you are one”—and we couldn’t agree more.

By spending time checking emails, filing, and scheduling, you are essentially paying for an assistant with your own time and with your own salary.

Let’s break that down. If your salary is $250,000/year, you make about $125/hour (between salary and distributions). That means you’re essentially paying $125/hour for administrative work. That’s an expensive assistant, right?

Throughout the years, we’ve seen many business leaders hesitate to hire an assistant. But once they have one, they wonder why it took them so long to commit—it’s life-changing.

Here are the most common reasons business leaders hesitate and our response:

1. It will be too hard to explain how I like things done to my assistant.

We have good news. As a business leader, you’ve already proven that you have a knack for delegation, training, and empowering employees. And let’s be clear, you can’t grow with any degree of scale if you don’t delegate.

2. I can handle my administrative work.

It’s time to straighten out your priorities—and your time should be at the top of that list. Spending time on administrative duties steals you away from projects that actually require your expertise. These are the tasks that have the power to unleash your business. Value your own time, and understand how important it is to use it wisely.

3. I can’t afford an executive assistant.

It can be difficult to accept spending money on an assistant, especially if you lack confidence in your ability to make an assistant useful. But an assistant is an investment that can help you optimize your time and maximize growth. It will allow you to spend more time on your business, rather than in it. Is there a better investment to be made than one that gives you your time back?

4. I will hire an assistant when _____ happens.

Whether you’re waiting for your next big deal or for your schedule to clear up, the truth is these things may not happen without an assistant. And even if they did, that waiting is costing you money. The time is now. An assistant will free up your schedule so you have the time to make big things happen.