Growing a Successful Business AND Living a Balanced Life? Here's How...

If you’ve built a successful financial business, you’re probably stoked — but also feeling a bit strapped...for time!

To get here, I’m sure you focused on growing your client base, your AUM, your revenue, and everything else you possibly could, but now your successful business simply won’t fit inside your work week! If this is you, then it’s time to focus on growing something else: your team.

With the headache of recruiting, training, and managing a new employee, you’re probably tempted to keep hustling through your packed calendar by yourself. But if you can find a quality assistant who fits your needs, then you can add another 20 to 40 hours to your week — for growing your business, playing with your kids, or anything else you can imagine.

Where can you find this “quality” assistant, though? And what can you expect them to do for you?

I talked with Gina Cotner, founder and CEO of Athena Executive Services, on the latest episode of Growing Your Financial Business… The Woman’s Way. Not only does her business exclusively focus on pairing swamped financial professionals like you with high-calibre assistants, but she also has real experience from both sides of the relationship. . .?

Meet the Expert: Assistant Turned Entrepreneur

About 8 years ago, Gina was actually an executive assistant herself, working for a CEO who sold the physical space they were working in. This gave Gina a proper taste of the virtual workplace, long before the pandemic, working from home.

It turned out an assistant didn’t have to be in-person to keep the CEO on track — the inbox could be cleared, the calendar scheduled, the miscellaneous tasks managed. It worked well all-around! (as many of us have discovered in the COVID era. . .)

Eventually, the business ran its course and Gina took some time off to handle personal affairs. When she was ready, she searched for a new CEO to work for, and her friend Tiffany connected her with the CEO at her company.

“But next quarter,” Tiffany added, “could you work for me, too? I need help, too.”

Gina’s schedule was full, but Tiffany was persistent: “Then just find me someone like you. (Please!)”

Together, they recruited Dorian, a young assistant with limited experience. Gina agreed to train Dorian to be the perfect assistant for a commission from Tiffany, and Tiffany was overjoyed to finally have the extra help.

It turned out that a lot of directors and executives desperately needed qualified, hard-working assistants to help manage their workload, so (with some convincing from Tiffany) Gina created Athena Executive Services and became a CEO herself.

Gina has the unique experience of being both a former executive assistant and a CEO focused on growing her business. Whether this is the first time you’ve considered outsourcing some of your work or you’re looking to add another member to your growing team, Gina’s advice in the latest episode of my podcast is invaluable.

Stay Accountable

Gina packed so much information into our conversation that you might need to take notes! From reasonable expectations for your future assistant to how much you should expect to pay for quality work, there’s so much you don’t want to miss in the latest installment of Growing Your Financial Business… The Woman’s Way.

Make sure to check it out here!

What is the #1 quality you want in a new assistant? Let me know in the comments!