NOTE: I’m sorry I didn’t post this on Monday as usual. I forgot that Monday was Monday (long story) and Tuesday whizzed by before I knew it. But, here is this week’s post. Better late than never, eh?

One way to manage your office is to hire an assistant — in other words, outsource or delegate the tasks to someone else. This is very wise because it frees your time to do the things you are good at and releases you from the things you that are not necessarily that good at.

There are several ways you can approach this:

• Hire an assistant who works in your office space, or
• Hire an assistant who works out of their home (a virtual assistant)

The first option only really works if you have office space large enough to accommodate another person. This does not mean that you can’t work out of your home — I once met a home-based entrepreneur who hired assistants to work out of her home office all the time. Of course, she had a large home and, therefore, a large office space.

The second option is becoming more and more popular, which is why I’ll be delving into the topic of virtual assistants (VAs) in more detail next month. In fact, many of today’s most successful entrepreneurs online have entire teams of VAs.

Regardless of which option you choose, you need to be selective in who you hire.

Take a look at her training. Does this person have the skill necessary to do the task you need him or her to do?

Take a look at his experience. Depending on what you need your assistant to do, experience may or may not be important.

Take a look at how she presents herself. If your assistant will have client or customer contact, will she represent your business in a way that is in line with your vision?

Take his personality into account. You will be dependent on your assistant for a significant aspect of your business. You need to get along with him, even if only over the phone and via email!

When will she be available to work on your projects? Will your assistant be working part-time? Then you need to know that you can expect her to show up for work at the previously agreed times. This is something you especially need to address with a VA, as most VAs have more than one client they are serving.

I hope these tips will help you make your next decision concerning an assistant to help you with those all-important but often tedious office management tasks.