Do what you know

Today I hired another assistant. New to the company, but I have known and worked along side her for four years. Now I know that those who follow the blog are aware of my love of all things "assistance". My company needs management but more than anything "I" need management. I am a force to be reckoned with. Like a turbulent tornado swallowed in paper paraphernalia, phone calls, sales calls, emails, minute details and posty notes. I race around claiming to juggle it all. But in actuality THEY juggle it all. I attempt a half assed version, throwing a half written, torn up, crumpled posty note at them with a laundry list of VERY important details, and miraculously they come out on the other side with a snazzy excel spreadsheet. Who knew there was a program with such nice lines, and columns? Does it come in color?

Somehow,someway, my girls take this holocaust of disorganization and come to me with a methodical ordered demeanor and supervise me. They are the gatekeepers. Im the front runner, chasing down the jobs, pursuing new jobs, making advances to get the job, producing smiles on the daunting client projects, conjuring up the best solutions and making promises that I KNOW my girls can keep. And at the end of the day I hope on a wing and a prayer that all those posty notes made some kind of sense and somehow ended up in one of those fancy spreadsheets with nice lines and columns. Yes Im sure the consistent lack of consistency with unhinged, loopy ways drives them nuts, with a side of bananas. BUT they always say to hire help that makes up for your inadequacies. I definitely fall short in the adequate, efficient, and organized column. Thus the reason I hire girls who are adequate, efficient, and organized for me.

So this post is for those who still think they cannot afford an assistant. You can not afford NOT TO. Without my girls, I would be a disheveled, inefficient windstorm with a barrage of pandemonium circling around me like pigpin from peanuts. Even with them by my side there is still a level of disorder (that I create, and it is totally all in my head) that surrounds me in overwhelming T-storms. But they come to me with a methodical ordered demeanor and supervise me. They are the gatekeepers. And somehow, someway they manage to manage me, crumbled, torn scribbled posty notes and all.

Assisting Barbie

Well here it is folks! We are L-I-V-E!! Whoo hoo! We have actually been live for a few weeks, but now we are LIVE with a capitol "L" and showin' off the spiffy NEW blog.(YUP, thats right take it all in, we know ya'll are flustered with envy) Our plan is quite simple. We want to help all you striving entrepreneurs out there get visibility, devise successful plans for growth, serve up some juicy tips and share all things business, so that we can learn, acquire mad skills and become proficient in something other than disorganized pandemonium.

As a business owner myself, I have stumbled along the way, occasionally stubbing my toe, somedays cutting off my arm, and I have been known to put my foot in my mouth a time or two as well. Just ask my partner in crime Kristen! Tact is not my strong point. I say what I say and I think later, divvying up the consequences as I count my winnings and losses for the day on my snazzy abucus. When my abacus gleams with yellow I have done well. When it possesses nothing but red, Im at a strong disadvantage for the following day. DAMN!

Many of my friends had the opportunity to be mentored. I however did not. I have stuttered through my share of presentations, been ill equipped for a rather important meeting and possessed hesitant tact since I was 2. I have bumped into, tripped, stumbled, and faltered through my short comings gaining insight, perception and a new perspective. Somehow through the grace of GOD I have blindly unearthed and discovered (accidentally I might add) true success. SO here in lies the importance and purpose of this blog.

My first tip I would like to share is my greatest and most invaluable tip to success. GET AN ASSISTANT!!! For four and a half years I raced all over town trying to get a handle on my chaotic, confused, muddled unorganized life. Operating a business, transporting samples, schlepping samples, chauffeuring, working with vendors, screaming at vendors, gathering with other professionals, intersecting at some point with clients, running a household and occasionally meeting for a birthday, holiday or get together of which I had NO TIME FOR! I convinced myself I did not have the time or money to AFFORD an assistant...for four and a half years people!! What I soon realized is that I spent more time spinning my wheels doing unproductive busy work than I did designing,.. ummm isn't that what Im supposed to be doing? Hang on let's take a look at that business card, ah yep thats what it says INTERIOR DESIGNER "The accessible affordable solution to all your interior design needs!" But my blue collar roots automatically defaulted to lack and cluttered my thoughts with "I can do it myself, it saves me money!"

Then the day came upon me. Like church is to Sunday the angels sang, the doves clapped their wings in the misty air and she arrived! She capitalized completely on my disorganization. Within one week she had a system, for me and her. She took away all my busy work, ordered samples, ran samples, schlepped samples, took over phone calls, met with vendors, screamed at vendors, cancelled appointments, made appointments, and stayed on top of my billables in a timely, CONSISTENT manner. Even chased down the non payers so that every month I didn't have to turn my designer badge upside down and turn into a designer hitman. Sliding down dark ally's, I had to make advances, dismiss politeness and become an uncivilized savage to track down every apathetic, unconcerned client and customer to collect my MONEY! But for the first time in four and half years I was doing more design work. She was doing the dirty work. I wasn't spinning my wheels for countless hours, (wee hours), playing catch-up. I soon realized I was wasting away an incalculable amount of time each week doing work that was completely against my grain, wasting away a perfectly good day to be creative and inspiring. That was left for the wee hours when the most inventive and experimental designer comes out. No wonder my clients raised a brow a time or too!

When she came into my life six and half years ago I was terrified to let go. To be submissive (god forbid) and not be in control of everything and every aspect. BUT what finally made it hit home for me was when I quickly, VERY quickly started making twice the amount of money I had been making in the previous years. I soon understood that by her doing the busywork which I hated, I had tenfold the amount of time to do what I do best; DESIGN.(yup still says the accessible affordable designer on the card, and in big words INTERIOR DESIGNER) So if you say to yourself that you cant afford and assistant, think about what you could accomplish with an assistant. Think about how much more time you would have doing what you do best. The money will quickly follow to cover that expense, and you will be AMAZED at how soon you will give in, and freak out when they leave for two weeks vacation!! A-hem, Kay I hope you are enjoying your stupid trip in Cali, but you will have to skip a year of college to make this up to me!!