Do you/have you employed an assistant?

[InsufficientlyCaffeinated]

I have a small business and I am considering getting a part-time assistant to help me with marketing as it is something I struggle to do. I am a little bit nervous of inviting somebody else in to my business though! Not because I'm a control freak (honest!) but I suppose just because it's just been me for such a long time.

Have you ever hired a part-time assistant? Was it freelance or employed? How did you find it? I'd want to give them direction to a certain degree but because I struggle with marketing I'd like them to bring along their own skills, experience, and confidence to take initiative. I just don't know where to start in finding the right person!

Hello

Yes I have done this. I advertised for a freelancer to help me with own marketing & admin. I just posted on a local Facebook 'Mummy' group and found my lovely lady. This was last summer. Her hours vary depending on my need. She was a former corp markeing person looking not to go back to 'proper' work after her first baby. She is able to work on a certain day when she has childcare - this does limit what she can do, ie she cannot work all week but I knew that about her when I chose her. I chose her because of the fit and how she came across when I interviewed her.

I am a marketing freelancer myself, so I was able to be clear about what I wanted but she uses her own iniative a lot too.

She is local, so sometimes we co-work. That was important to me, but it depends what your business is.

I would start with freelance. It sounds like you need an experienced marketing person rather than an assistant if you want them to take charge? You need to understand how they'll fit your work around their other commitments, but a regular gig is often attractive to a marketer.

If you are a company you need to be aware of IR35 and using a self-employed person instead of an employee.

If you want a local person look at Facebook or local networking groups.

I think the key is communication. Being clear about what you need and be prepared to give the time to train/educate them about your business.

In terms for money I pay her £15 per hour, if I was hiring a marketing person to run my marketing I'd expect to pay anything up to £50 an hour.
I am in London.

Hope that helps.

Also if your business is very niche, it might be better to have a marketing person with experience in your 'area' but who works remotely. Don't rule that out.

Thanks Margo that's really helpful

I haven't hired someone myself but I am a Virtual Assistant, so have experience of being hired and working with someone. I work freelance, I think this works well in a lot of ways and it also means it is easier to move on from, if the person doesn't end up fitting with you/your business.

I can totally see why you would be nervous about letting someone in to your business. If it makes you feel more at ease you can insist on a contract and a confidentiality agreement (I think a lot of freelance workers use these anyway). I think as long as you are very clear with your expectations and give detailed instructions of what you want a freelancer to do, it is hard for it to go that wrong anyway.