Lilian Fortune

     I had a crazy day on this day, two years ago when I had just started my property development business. At first, it was like I had everything all figured out, I was doing well in my other businesses, I had my schedule and plans well placed, I had my attention to my businesses and family well balanced, but I felt that there was something missing, I hadn’t totally figured one part out: the perfect backing, the perfect assistant.

Back then, I still had a distant relative taking the role. I must tell you, when it comes to keeping a team or having this one person that is going to always have your back as far as your business is concerned, whether as a personal assistant, secretary, nanny, whatever they are going to be in your journey towards finding yourself and maintaining your business and family, your choices and options must be filtered to choose the very best one.

Whoever it is that you must choose to be that lucky individual, must be someone that has your best interest and your business’ at heart. Take my husband’s secretary for example, she has become one of the best people I have ever known, family too. Always there to lend in a hand when I need it and not just my husband, and that includes, helping me with my own business when I fired this relative of mine, and even the kids.

Now, when choosing a business partner or support or team, there are a lot of things you must consider as not only a business woman, but as a mother, especially one that works from home. It is not just enough to employ someone based on their expertise and experience, but someone who can also be a good influence to your home and family, there must be some sort of balance. Take this distant relative of mine that I mentioned initially for an example. She was a great person, great with the kids too, but most time, she got carried away with regards to doing her job, excess familiarity, that is what I liked to call it.

She almost never submitted her tasks on time, and just liked to do things her own way probably because she felt that I would endure it to protect our relationship but I honestly could not take it anymore and so one day, I fired her and trust me, it was a mess. So when choosing a business partner, I always advice my friends to look beyond family ties, if you have one family member that you think really needs a job, you need to be sure of how much they need it. It is not enough to hire them just because they are family, and you trust them with the kids and your business’ finances, but also ask yourself; do they need the job or do they just want the hospitality that comes from having the job? how far are they willing to go to achieve the goals you have set up for your business? don’t just go around hiring just anyone, filter your search, know what exactly you are looking for in an assistant because trust me, being a mom is hard work just as much as protecting and growing your business is. There are times where you might have to choose and you would need your partner to have your back with the option. you didn’t choose, so when you’re hiring, you should always think of one thing:

In a situation where I find myself caught between family and work time, can I count on this person to have by back with the option that I didn’t choose? would they be able to handle the task like I would have? would they be able to handle it better than I would have?

What influence would they have on your kids when they come around the house?

What influence would they have on you?

How good are they with instructions?

How effective are they with their tasks?

How often do you have to remind them of what their responsibilities are?

How well is their time management?

How well can they go out of their way to make sure the task is done regardless of the circumstances?

There are questions you should concern yourself with when deciding on, or evaluating your staff. Remember, you are not employing them because you need them to teach you how to handle your business, but because you need them to help you manage and create a balance with your life and business. This means that as a mompreneur, and especially one who works from home, your assistant would be a part of your personal and business life automatically, so you must make sure that whoever you choose is worth your time, business, and coming in contact with your family.