| bigbrymer 2008-03-23, 3:25 am |
| Why You Can't Live
Without A Personal Assistant
By: Alan Brymer
Having an assistant is one of the best investments you'll make as
a real estate entrepreneur. Like all parts of your business (and yes,
buying, leasing, and selling houses is a business), they require an
investment of your money and also your time. You'll need to invest a
little money in order to hire, train, and compensate them for their
services. And, you'll need to invest some time to help them get the
job done right--more in the beginning and much less as time goes on.
In exchange for your investment in them, a good assistant will
help you to generate much more money than you are paying (bringing you
a rate of return that would make any investor jealous). And, they
will save you countless hours for every extra hour you spend
developing them.
Although many investors are hell-bent on trying to do it all
themselves, or think they can't afford one, here is a partial list of
reasons why you absolutely can't live without an assistant:
* You will do more deals. Marketing is probably the best thing to
hire an assistant to do. They will help you to execute advertising
campaigns that you just would not have gotten around to doing on your
own. They can compile lists, print letters, make calls, stuff
envelopes, buy supplies, shop around for pricing, and do plenty of
other things that generate leads for you that you would not have had
the time or inclination to do otherwise.
* You will look more professional. When people receive a call from
your assistant, they will know that you are a real player. It makes
you look successful, organized, and trustworthy. Your credibility
with sellers will increase, which will put them at ease and help you
to get more offers accepted. Private lender prospects will
acknowledge you as a legitimate business and will feel safer sending
money to you knowing that you are not a fly-by-night operation.
* You will have less stress in your life. No one likes drowning in
work. One of the worst feelings on earth is to have more work due
than you can possibly hope to accomplish in the time available.
Having an assistant will take a huge burden off of your back,
especially when they do tasks that you don't like doing or are not
good at.
* You will be able to build a team. Having an assistant will help you
to practice your skills at hiring, training, and managing team
members. They are the ideal "starter employee" because they are not
difficult to find and can immediately begin doing simple tasks for
you. And, there is almost always an immediate use for their help.
They will help prepare you to hire other team members when the time
comes, if you so desire, such as a salesperson, renovations
supervisor, or a purchasing representative.
* You will have a better lifestyle. Isn't this one of the reasons why
you got into real estate to begin with? When I started my real estate
investment company, I had visions of lying around on the beach
somewhere, living the good life while the rent money poured in. Then,
I found out there's actually a lot of work involved. A good assistant
will give you your life back so you can spend it with your family,
working on hobbies, or working on your business (which is always more
fun than working in it).
I have hired, trained, and managed personal assistants for
years. I would never have experienced all of the benefits above if I
had been stuck trying to do it all myself (and failing). A good
personal assistant will not only help you to grow your business--they
will give you your life back.
* * *
Alan Brymer is the creator of The Assistant Who Pays Their Own Salary
and the Founder and President of the Utah Valley Real Estate Investors
Association. He has been a full-time investor since his first
property at the age of 22. Alan's investment company was named by the
Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum as one of the "Top 25 Companies
Under Five Years Old."
He is a frequent guest expert for the news media, having been featured
on multiple television programs as a real estate expert, published in
11 magazines nationwide, and as a speaker at seminars and associations
around the country.
In addition to his real estate experience, Alan is an expert at
systemizing businesses. Like many, he attended seminars and bought
courses but found that while the techniques of real estate are
frequently taught, there were no courses that showed how to run a
business in the level of detail that he was searching for. He began
to develop systems for his own real estate business, which has allowed
him to do more deals in less time each month. He has incorporated
these into his consulting and is now presenting them as complete
systems modules, the first of their kind for real estate investors, at
www.keyelementstraining.com.
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