One of the biggest benefits to hiring an Executive Virtual Assistant (or EVA if you prefer to keep

things short and sweet) is TIME. You gain back so much time in your day. And even as the owner of a growing business, can we agree that you deserve that?  

Think back to when you first started your business. Chances are good that you had free time. Ahh, remember that luxury? You could work on any project at almost any time and still turn things in at the deadline.

You had time, not because you had someone to support you and help you stay on task, but because all you had to do was put it in your calendar. Then, your client roster started to fill (Go you! Get it girl!!) and your time became a little more precious.

I know you’re a solid online CEO who understands the value of support and how hiring support will help you find more hours in the day. So, I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to that person you have to be to keep it all together. The person who’s jumping from emergency to emergency, putting out client fires like they’re on an entrepreneur version of the Oregon Trail.

You are a stellar CEO. And you’ve been doing your best. However, we all need support at some level and an EVA can absolutely give that to you. Here are the top three ways Prestridge & Co supports our high-level clients and how you could benefit from having an EVA of your own.

Support Point #1: Setting Up a CEO Schedule

Have you ever said to yourself, “I am so busy working in my business, I can’t work on my business”? If you’re anything like our CEOs when they first work with us, you say it all the time. When you don’t have structure or support, you have no idea what you’re doing in your day.

One of the first things your Executive Virtual Assistant should do with you is support your time and goals by setting up a CEO Schedule. By having a schedule like this, you’re able to put YOU first on your to-do list. It also gives you a clear idea of what you’re currently doing and a model for how you’d like your days to flow so you can do your genius work and still enjoy your life.

Setting up your CEO Schedule with your EVA will make sure your time is spent on tasks that move the needle and are only things that are in your zone of genius. You will also have clear boundaries so your EVA can keep your days organized and keep you and your team on track.

Support Point #2: Time Management

Time management is a bit of a buzz word lately, but it’s a concept worth having structure and support around. There are a few ways that Prestridge & Co helps our high-level clients manage their time. With your brand new CEO schedule in place, your EVA should then create systems in your business that work around YOU.

A project management tool, like Asana, Trello, ClickUp, etc, is a great resource to have in place in your business, especially if you have a team with lots of moving projects and deadlines. Using tools to manage time and projects within your team will give you a bird’s eye view of the progress of your projects and help everyone manage their time.

Having a tool like Asana is amazing. But it doesn’t mean much unless you and the whole of your team knows exactly how this tool should be used in your biz operations. The problem is, who wants to take the time to set up these kinds of tools and implement systems within them?! An EVA, that’s who.  

At Prestridge & Co, we use the work blocks on your calendar and actually hold you to those allotted times. For example, if you have Acuity, we set up your scheduling so you aren’t able to take client calls on the times you’ve blocked out on your CEO schedule. The tool (Acuity) is used within a process that you and your EVA create together, to maximize your peace of mind AND client needs. 

Further, weekly meetings with your EVA will help set expectations and deadlines for the team, and that includes you! Everyone knows what each person is supposed to be working on.  As a team, we can support each other to hit those goals through the tools and systems we put into place. Remember teamwork is the dream work!

Support Point #3: Accountability

You know what’s great about Asana? When you check off a task, a little unicorn flies across the page. Whether you prefer to make a unicorn fly or take a bold Sharpie to your to-do list, don’t underestimate the power of checking things off.

Completing a task gives you a hit of dopamine and brings some feel-good vibes into your day. By holding you accountable to your list, your Executive Virtual Assistant can support you by ensuring you stay on top of your projects, not low-vibe and swimming in overwhelm.

Whether you need gentle reminders or someone to help you stick to your work blocks by providing external accountability, your EVA should find the way you like to be supported the best and hold you accountable to what you say you’ll do so you can continue to grow your business.

Hiring an EVA is not just giving them a list of to-dos every day and hoping for the best. Our EVAs are trained on anticipating and creating systems that work for your business. Your new right-hand gal certainly will create more time for you in your day on her own. But, it’s the processes, automations, and systems work they do that is the game-changer. 

This is why I LOVE my team. We’ve worked with each of our EVAs to make sure that they are giving you the highest level of support they can. If you’re interested in working with Team Sadie to provide support, and you want to know what an EVA can do for you, click here to download The Ultimate Guide for Leveraging EVA Support!