Business has been good this year…almost too good… and while you’re proud of all that you’ve accomplished, you know that you’re not running your real estate business at a sustainable pace. In the back of your mind, you fear you’re heading for burnout, but there is still opportunity to expand and grow. For you, stagnation is not an option.
At Trustworthy Title, we’ve seen accomplished real estate professionals reach this place again and again. We want to offer you some encouragement. It may simply be time to take a leap of faith and hire an assistant. This can save your sanity AND expand your business at the same time.
Why Should I Hire an Assistant?
No one has to tell you that running your own business is hard work. In addition to the time demands, you face the tremendous burden of decision fatigue and pressure to meet your needs and those of your clients. Ultimately, you are responsible for the health and success of your company, and at times you’ve likely felt both mental and physical effects of this pressure.
When your quality of life- and your ability to have a life outside of work- are negatively affected by your job, not just once-in-awhile, but on a consistent basis, it’s time to call in reinforcements. Professional burnout is a real danger, and since YOU are your company’s brand image, you must protect your most valuable asset.
A real estate assistant can help with many facets of your business, especially those that detract from the client-facing tasks that need to be handled by you. Imagine how much more time you would have for networking and customer care if someone else could manage entering listing data and client information, making inquiries, preparing for events, marketing, website content updates, managing incoming calls, social media posting, paperwork organization and management, errand running, and all those countless, invisible tasks that consume so much of your day.
How Do I Know If It’s Time to Hire an Assistant?
After assessing your own mental and physical well-being and the demands of the day, take time to evaluate your company’s health. Consider these questions as you try to determine if your business is ready to support an assistant.
- Have you been generating a steady profit over the last year?
- Do you know the costs for insurance, benefits, office space and supplies, and a competitive salary for an assistant in the real estate industry?
- Can you afford to hire someone? Conversely, can you afford NOT to?
- Do you have a job description for the specific responsibilities you will delegate to your assistant?
- Will the tasks you need help with demand full-time, part time, or contract hire?
- Will you be able to dedicate the time needed to train your assistant well?
Can I Afford to Hire an Assistant?
The costs involved in hiring an assistant vary widely, depending on the scope of your recruiting process and what you are seeking from the person you will eventually hire. Consider how each of these costs will factor into your unique business needs.
- Finding the Right Candidate- while you can look within your professional network and make inquiries by word-of-mouth, you’ll be limited in the candidate pool you must draw from. This is why job recruitment sites such as Zip Recruiter and Indeed have proven so successful. When your job is posted online, you have a potentially limitless number of applicants to draw from (and resumés to sort). Expect to invest both time and money into finding the right candidate.
- Onboarding and Training a New Hire- expect to spend an hour a day with your new assistant as you help her learn the software, procedures, and tasks of the new job.
- Offering a Competitive Salary and Benefits- according to Zip Recruiter, a real estate personal assistant in Nebraska earns an average rate of $23 per hour, with adjustments for years of experience and scope of work to be performed.
- Overhead Expenses- For streamlined processes and ease of work/communication, your personal assistant will need office space and equipment, a computer, possibly a cell phone and accounts on any software platforms your company utilizes. Will he also need a work uniform, an expense account, or other resources that will cost you?
Hiring an assistant is a decision not to be entered into lightly, for, as you can see, it requires significant planning and investment on your part. Before you bring anyone new on board, prepare your budget carefully and calculate the costs. A great assistant can be a game changer for your business, but only if this added position is a sustainable one.
What Can I Do to Help My Assistant Succeed?
Once you’ve found and trained a great assistant, it’s in your best interests to keep her productive and satisfied with the work. Keep these tips in mind for many successful years of collaboration.
Make sure expectations and procedures are clear from the onset. Provide constructive avenues for your assistant to get feedback, ask questions, and make meaningful contributions to the work processes and growth of the company.
Reduce your headaches by making expectations crystal clear. Provide style guides, formatting directions, preferred methodologies, and acquired knowledge of what works well (and what doesn’t) in the operations of your firm.
Remember that the goal of hiring an assistant is to enable you to let go of the reins in one area so you can divert your focus to other crucial elements of your business. Give your assistant the space and autonomy to shine in his area of skill, which in turn enhances your company’s success.
If your assistant is working virtually, he may feel disconnected from the team and the greater vision of the company. You can mitigate this through collaborative tasks, virtual company meetups, employee spotlights, and frequent interactions. The responsibility lies upon your shoulders to communicate the mission and vision of the company and bring everyone together to achieve the same goals.
Three Cheers in This Season of Celebration!
Expanding your business with additional employees is a major milestone, and one for which you should be congratulated! Your hard work and professional skills are paying off and Trustworthy Title celebrates this achievement with you. As you continue to grow in 2024, we look forward to growing right along with you as your local source for all of your clients’ title needs. We look forward to connecting with you soon.