If you’re an entrepreneur, a business owner, or a CEO, you likely have an Executive Assistant. Someone who you can delegate your business and day-to-day tasks to.
As a personal concierge company, we speak with people who have EA’s all the time and the question always comes up – “Why would I need a concierge service when I already have an Executive Assistant?”
And we think that’s a great question! What is the difference and why would you need both?
We can all agree that Executive Assistants are some of the most powerful people in many businesses. How many times have you tried to get a hold of a CEO and been screened by their Executive Assistant? Or had a time where the Executive Assistant was able to give you answers for something much faster than the Executive? Executive Assistants are vital to the smooth functioning of any organization.
We work with many entrepreneurs and high-level executives who couldn’t function without their Executive Assistants and somehow they still find the need to ask for more help. In fact, we are often contacted by Executive Assistants who inquire about our services for their Executives because they just have too much on their plates.
We asked some of our existing concierge members about why they felt the need to have an Executive Assistant and Personal Concierge Service, and here is what they said:
- I prefer to keep my personal life separate from my business.
- My EA doesn’t have enough time for my personal tasks.
- My EA doesn’t enjoy taking care of my personal tasks and I need him/her to be happy and focused on my business activities.
- My personal tasks disrupt my EA’s daily routine, and it affects business activities.
- It takes my EA too long to find me the right suppliers for my home.
So – we figured we’d explain the difference and give you our top 3 reasons you may need a Personal Concierge Services, even if you have an EA:
1. Expertise
Execs today rely on their assistants for more than “just admin” help. EAs are expected to know everything about the business, be able to manage projects and calendars, plan events and take care of all the internal communication. Does this sound like the kind of person/role that is interested or has the time to find you a plumber for your home? Or to pick-up your dry cleaning, or find and manage your private chef service for your family?
2. Relationships and Contacts
EA’s, for the most part, are focused on business activities, keeping their executives’ calendar on track, protecting them from all the clutter, and keeping them focused and prepared for business meetings. Again, they don’t hire plumbers, contractors, or personal stylists on a regular basis, so naturally, they don’t know who is the best in their field and nor do they have the time to build relationships with people in every professional field.
A great example of this is when one of our members called their Lifestyle Manager at noon on the Thursday before Good Friday in a panic. The kitchen sink had backed up and the dishwasher wasn’t working and she was hosting 20 family members for dinner the next night. So, they needed a plumber and they needed one immediately.
Within three hours, the Lifestyle Manager had a plumber at the house and within six hours the plumbing was fixed and the party for the next night was back on track.
This particular couple both have EA’s at their firms, and a full-time live-in nanny. Most people would think “well, why didn’t the nanny, or one of the EA’s do the research and find a plumber.”
Truth is the EA’s absolutely could have done it. But, what took us approximately 15 minutes to arrange would have taken an EA a lot longer and that’s not even the real problem. The real problem is that it would have shifted the EA’s focus and compromised important business activities that could be critical for the business. We have a strong relationship with our suppliers, we work with them regularly and they prioritize our requests.
It’s our job to build relationships with the best trades, restaurant owners and entertainment companies so that when our members need something, we already know who to call to get the job done.
3. It is our livelihood
Imagine as an executive or entrepreneur you rely 100% on your EA for your business and personal obligations, and your EA quits – Scary, right? Not only are you overwhelmed with your day-to-day business activities, and you have to find a new EA but your personal world is also blowing up. Taking care of your personal life is the only thing we do, and we do it well.
Bonus reason – We are a resource for your EA!
Something that people don’t realize is that we can also be a very helpful resource for your EA. We can make their job easier as well as giving you the best possible results, by working with them on personal life. If they can’t make that reservation, they can call us! If they don’t know what plumber to bring in, we have a list of great plumbers in the area they are looking for! If they have questions on what to do in a certain situation that is out of their comfort zone or realm, we are there to support them, which makes everything in your life just that much better and allows them to focus on the thing you originally hired them for – to support you in your business life!
Want to know more about how our concierge service works? Click here to find out more about how we can add value to your daily routine.
