TOMI Magazine November 2012

PERSONAL ASSISTANT NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS C HARELL STAR

One of the biggest reasons top execs want a Personal Assistant is because, well, it makes them feel like the big person on top! But se- cretly, these hawdie tawtie managers, event planners, CEOs, and just plain folk are busy. Way too busy to get everything done by them- selves. It’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help. “There are things that need to be done at home and in your personal life that just aren’t getting done” - says Charell Star, founder of PAforaDay.com. A service firm that provides companies and busy professionals qualified and affordable personal assistants. “I used to spend about 145 days on the road. When I was gone I couldn’t get things done. When I’d return my fridge would be empty. I didn’t make enough money to hire a fulltime assistant. And there were no services at the time that were affordable for someone who was at this level in their career. The more I researched it, the more I decided that I would launch PAforaDay.com.” Startups know that multi-tasking comes with the job. Today’s lean business can’t afford to hire fulltime or part-time em- ployees. They do however have lots of work to do. Entrepreneurs can get overwhelmed and behind schedule. A personal assistant can alle- viate stress. “Entrepreneurs need an afforda- ble option for quality help. That’s really what the organization is about. There’s no service quite like us because not only do we offer vir- tual service but actual real live assistants who will go out and pick up your dry cleaning. Who will walk your dog if you’re stuck at work real- ly late. Who can help you if you need an extra pair of hands. To have professional individuals help you in your day to day life is very unique and we’re a service that offers that.” Entertainers play dual roles in the in- dustry. At night they sing on stage. But by day their meeting with marketing execs, discuss- ing tours and working on routines. Running the business can be time consuming. It can prevent you from getting to the ‘fun’ part of being in business for yourself. “As a small business owner you wear many, many hats. Half of the day is on business and the other half is doing day to day work. We offer PA’s from 8am to 10pm. Sometimes, I can be at

Charell Star Founder WWW.PAFORADAY.COM

my office till midnight just trying to get my day done. We use our personal assistants all the time. I am not ashamed to say that I need help.” Your new ‘baby’ needs all the TLC a CEO can give. So, it’s no wonder owners are afraid to hand over responsibilities to complete strangers. They just aren’t sure if the job will get done the way they like it. PAforaDay.com weeds out the likelihood that you’ll be stuck with a lazy assistant. “I can pretty much tell that early on” - laughs Charell. “You can tell by their emails, resume, that someone’s lazy. If their not going to take that seriously then their not going to take the day to day tasks seriously. Our clients are looking for people who are going to go above and beyond to get that job done.” It takes a village to raise… a business. The idea is to get the work completed. Does it matter if you need a helping hand to do it? “ People are busier these days than they’ve ev- er been. I’m willing to say in history. Employ- ers are overleveraged and overextended. We’ve gotten to a point in our society where people are afraid to ask for help. We have to move away from that.” - Tonisha L. Johnson

66 NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.TOMIMAGAZINE.COM