Our Advice for Getting Started With Your Personal Household Assistant

We know that trying to juggle housework, your career, family care, social obligations, and time for yourself can seem impossible—which is why Pepper’s Personal Assistants is ready to enter your life and make the transition as easy as possible, The Pepper’s Way. 

We’ve asked our team what advice they’d give new clients just starting out with the personal household assistant process, and we’ve put together a guide for first-timers. 

Prepare for Help

The first thing clients should do is prepare for help. And no, we don’t mean start organizing your house before someone comes to organize it for you! 

Think about your goals, both personal and for your home, and what you would really appreciate another set of hands with. Do a “mind dump” of ideas to brainstorm why you want a personal household assistant and what you’re looking to get out of the arrangement. What are your current pain points? Don’t worry about finding the solution—that’s where we come in. List these tasks and problem areas out in order of priority, and you and your PA can work together to make things easier.

Many people, especially those who have no previous experience with personal household assistants, find it difficult to ask for and accept help. We’re here to make sure that you feel supported, because asking for help never should be looked at as a sign of weakness. Successful people outsource. Our personal assistants give you a helping hand so you can find time for what matters: self-care, and spending time with your friends and family.

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Get Started With Your Personal Household Assistant

Once you have your list, you can begin getting set up with your personal household assistant. Taking the time to ask the most important and targeted questions will set you and your household assistant up for success.

Decide on a schedule, and remember that consistency is key. Consider using virtual organization tools such as Google Calendar, Slack, AnyList and Trello to share information, and communicate regularly with your assistant. Apps such as LastPass are great for saving passwords if your assistant is helping you answer emails and pay online bills. Call your  credit card company to add your household assistant if they will be making purchases for you.  You can also set up a petty cash system with Venmo or Paypal.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Communication is the key to success in any relationship. We find joy in making your life easier and view feedback as a gift. No matter how big or small, always let your household assistant know if something isn’t working as soon as possible. This will get you where you want to be much quicker.

We suggest clients set aside a regular time to meet and talk with their household assistant to check in. Even a five minute conversation can unblock a lot of items and get things moving in the right direction. Don’t be afraid to discuss your preferences and if there is a certain way you’d like things done—after all, we’re here to make your life easier! 

Use Slack to communicate outside of check-in times, and feel free to share how you best operate. What works well? What is most important to you? Your least favorite tasks to tackle? What do you wish you had more time for? What keeps you in your zone of genius?

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Allow Time to Find a Rhythm

Our goal is to get to a place where things are running like clockwork—but that takes time. We’ve found it’s best to give your personal household assistant a little time to get to know you and your home in order to set up a strong foundation. This typically takes around 90 days. As you and your personal household assistant get to know each other, it’s going to become easier for them to anticipate your needs and for you to feel more comfortable asking for help.

Trust the Process and Let’s Get Started

Remember, your personal household assistant is here to make your life easier. Trust the process, let go, and lean into them for support! It may seem like a lot of work up front to hand off tasks and responsibilities, but the more you work together and communicate, the easier it will be in the long run.

Interested in learning more? and let’s get started.

See What Other Parents Are Saying About Pepper’s Personal Assistants:

“The first day my personal assistant came, I was working all day in the office. When I came out, there were flowers, my home was tidy, and dinner was prepped in the fridge. I almost started crying! I have needed help for a long time, but I was thinking I could handle everything on my own. My Pepper’s PA has provided incredible value and impact on my life.”

—Libby