Countdown To The Holidays-How to Minimize Stress Series
December—It’s all about the delivery (and last minute gifts)
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Countdown To The Holidays-How to Minimize Stress Series
COUNTDOWN TO THE HOLIDAYS
October—It’s all about the lists
This month it is all about the lists and getting answers you need to make the Holidays happen. The foundation of any good Holiday season is an accurate list. I’ve listed what has helped me for 25+ years, things you may want to consider to have your lists rocking and rolling. And yes, you don’t need one more thing to do, but if your lists are clear it’s a lot easier to get extra help and delegate what needs to be done.
Gift Master Database-Assistants Holy Grail
What comprises the list categories? The key is to make this a quick reference for years to come. Your list should contain:
- First and last names
- Category for relationship (vendor, family, staff)
- Gift decision (or card only) this year/last year
- Who is buying the gift (you or your boss)?
- Gift card message
- Shipping or hand-delivery?
Remember, you need these answers for every gift you give.
Who’s on the list?
- Family/Significant Others– (This year–did someone have a baby, get married, die or divorce?) Make all changes before giving the list to your employer
- Work Related Folks—Make sure you have a crew list or project lists of those who your boss worked with this year and ask, “Who do you want to add from that list?”
- House Staff—Housekeeper, Butler, Nanny, Driver, Chef, etc, etc…
- Vendors (home and office) make sure to give your boss a list of those who regularly service their home and office—mail person, water delivery, gardeners, handyman, pond, pool man, newspaper guy, etc. These are people that are not staff, but are outside vendors who service the house/office regularly. Will they get a gift card? A check? A greeting card? What amount? Does your boss lunch at regular restaurants? Does the Maître ‘D get a holiday tip? Your go-to Starbucks employee? You might get a little crazy here but a comprehensive list is best and your boss can always delete them. Hopefully, they will appreciate you bringing people to their attention since this is the time of the year the real ballers show their gratitude for the special service they’ve been getting all year, and want to continue to get.
- Offices—Don’t forget the office personnel where your boss frequents: Doctors, lawyers, PR firms, accountants, and the assistants you deal with regularly? A group gift sends a message that is appreciated all year long.
Greeting Card Master Database—
It is usually safe to assume if they are on your boss’ gift list, they will want to send them a card. My clients usually have two card lists—1) Business holiday card and, 2) Personal holiday card. Make sure you are clear on which one for each person on their list.
But wait, there’s more!
- Make sure the addresses are correct and current
- How formal does your boss go? Mr. & Mrs. or just first and last names? (If first names, find out significant other’s proper names now).
- Determine: card design; greeting sentiment; hand-signing or printing?
- Who is printing the card? What is their turnaround time? (Card should go out the 1st week of December.)
- Is it a photo card? Make the appt. for the photos shoot now.
- Buy the stamps and laser labels and possibly get the envelopes early from the printer so you can start addressing them. Make sure you’re clear on the return address you’re using on the envelopes-home or office?
- And if you’re using Paperless Post or similar online service, get those emails now.
And stay tuned for November’s blog next week—It’s all about the gifts!
Last Minute Quality Giving on a Beer Budget
How fast this time of year has come…again! It’s cliché to say how time flies, but this year I can honestly say it really did, faster than ever before. So here we are in the midst of the holidays with 2 days until Christmas, Hanukah is over and the New Year looming. I have put together some good, quick (and cheap) ideas for gift giving because any assistant knows, the best rule of gift giving is to make sure it is something the person would like want or need instead of something you think they should have. And this blog is for you, the assistant.
The busiest time of the year for an assistant is the holidays. Not only are you responsible for your own regular duties, but you must now add handling holiday cards and often hundreds of gift buying duties. (To date, the smallest amount of gift giving I have been responsible for are 80 gifts and December is always a blur). For years I’d end up spending way too much money doing last minute shopping for MY family. Aside from toys, it became very hard to find inexpensive gifts on such short notice. Here are some ideas.
Have you visited your local Goodwill store lately? Yes, you heard me right.
Here’s what to look for—
1) Ugly pictures! Yes, but take out that cheap piece of “art” and replace it with a photo you’ve taken of someone in your family. Depending on the size you can get the frame for $2.00 and the photo for $.25. Or you can spring for the canvas print option, where your photos are printed on ready to hang canvas. These start at $13.00 for the 5×7 size. Walgreen’s, CVS, Kinko’s offers this quick print option and same day printing. Or online check out www.shutterfly.com, www.zazzle.com, or www.vistaprint.com.
2) Mugs and commuter coffee cups—Pair a clean, unscratched mug with a $10 Starbucks gift card. Mugs cost about $.25 to 2.00 and some are often new. If you want to splurge you can buy someone a stainless travel mug with their photo on it for $12.99 at CVS, Walmart or Costco. Better yet, a photo of you and your bestie. Just supply the photo of you and your friend’s mug.
3) Set of dishes—A teen just getting started would appreciate these but don’t get them grandma’s china. It is also perfectly acceptable to mix and match. Even more appreciated if it comes with a grocery gift card.
4) I have found one or two collectable books in the book section, but this takes a bit of time and patience. But you can find some a book for everyone’s taste.
Lobster Gram, Cheese Club, 1-800-Flowers, Beer-of-the Month, Wine-of-the-Month—it’s an online smorgasbord!
If it’s really crunch time, get online and buy a gift and take advantage of their “print it now” option to print a gift certificate that tells them their gift will be arriving soon. Try to present it as a gift that you print on nice paper, put it in a pretty envelope, and tie a bow on it! Done.
www.livelob.com, www.1800flowers.com/Christmas, http://www.greatclubs.com
Gift Cards—
Once it was thought to be impersonal to give a gift card, but they are so customized now you can get a specific card to anyone’s favorite store. Make it even more thoughtful with an accessory. Maybe pair ear buds ($10 Best Buy or Walgreen’s) with an itunes gift card $10. Pair a usable tool or paintbrush with a Home Depot gift card if someone is fixing up his or her home. Dinner and a movie (give Subway and AMC) gift cards. Of course, the price is up to you with gift cards, but remember to put thought with it and it will be appreciated. And you don’t have to go to a million individual stores. You can get most cards at any gift card carousel at any major grocery store (at least in Los Angeles you can).
Magazine Subscriptions—
Talk about the gift that keeps on giving! Sign someone up for a gift subscription, print out the certificate notification, and attach the current issue of the magazine. Easy breezy and fully customizable to someone’s personal interest because there are magazines for planning your wedding to bass fishing. Remember, what do they like? Cooking? Traveling? Self-Help? Hint–look for coupons online before purchasing. You almost never have to pay the price on the card that falls out of the magazine.
http://www.magazinediscountcenter.com
Kinko’s—
Have you been there lately? The best gift I ever gave to my family was a calendar with all of our birthdays noted. On the top of that family member’s month was photos of them that I had or they had posted on Facebook. On the front was a collage of photos of all of our family members. I knocked out 25 gifts in one fail swoop and they are still asking for another calendar. Who knew? It took time, but it was much easier than tromping around the mall. And I could upload it all to Kinko’s website and picked it up 2 days later. Check out your local Kinko’s where you can get many quick and personalized gifts. Bring your iphoto library and order away!
www.fedex.com/office
A Donation Has Been Made In Your Name To—
There is always an organization that can use money to provide desperate help to others. The Red Cross is an international organization that shows up to every disaster and helps those in need. But there our countless others that may hold a soft spot in the heart of your gift recipient. Maybe they’ve had a family member die from a disease and you can donate to the organization that is working to find a cure. You can pay and print out your donation card to present to your recipient. The amount you donate is unknown to the recipient. And you get a tax write off. This is especially good for the person who has everything and many people benefit from one gift.
The bottom line is that the holidays really are NOT just about giving. I find that when I am together with people I care about, or reconnecting with them just because it’s the holidays, it confirms the sense of love and caring we all have for each other even if we don’t talk regularly. It reminds us all how connected we are—old and new relationships. And find gratitude in everything, even that difficult family member. Be grateful that you’ll only have to see them during the holidays!
Have fun, hug your family and really see and appreciate them. I appreciate you, everyone who has kept up with my blog. Happy 2014—here I come!
5 Key Things You Need to Do When Laid Off
Many of my friends are currently out of work and some are starting completely new careers. 
As a personal assistant who freelances, I’m always “between jobs.” It doesn’t matter if you’re a personal assistant or a CEO, these quick tips are useful to anyone who is in unemployed.
1) Revamp your resume—do so professionally. Make sure it is current with the styles others in your industry are doing. Ask the best headhunter in your industry for a referral on a resume professional. It’s worth the investment.
2) Let people know you are looking for work. While you are fresh in the minds of those you had been working with currently, ask them if they know of anything you can follow up on. Make it easy for them to pitch you by telling them what you are looking for. Give them your resume once it’s redone or at the very least, a bullet pointed list of your strong points. If they have to think too hard about how they can help you, it won’t happen.
3) Analyze your bills and cut out all frills. I don’t care how much money you have saved, cut your bills now (not later). Goodbye 200 premium cable channels, 2,000 minute cell phone plan, Starbucks venti lattes and impulse shopping. You don’t know how long you will be unemployed so start saving now.
4) Become a quick learner of the unemployment department’s system. Find out what benefits you are entitled (or not) with unemployment and apply. This info is crucial to knowing immediately what you can be expecting financially so you can make a budget and begin making payment arrangements with utilities if necessary.
5) Make it a job to look for a job. Set aside scheduled time daily to follow up and do what you need to do to find work. Meet with friends and others on their lunch hours to catch up and stay connected. Offer them suggestions on how you can help them, for free if need be, with a project. You’ve got the time and they will think of you first when something comes up. Be a solution to their problems and they will appreciate you for it. And network with new friends. Click here to find out what Lindsay Olsen’s blog on how to find groups in your area.
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/04/25/finding-a-job-through-networking-groups
Men are notorious for having their self-esteem tied to what they do. Remember-you are not your job. A job is what you do for a living. You are no less important because you are unemployed. And remember, this is temporary.
The Hot List
Did I lead you to believe there would be pictures from People Magazine of Halle Barry or Tom Cruise? No, this is so much more useful. It’s about one of the most important lists their assistants prepare for them in their homes and one of the most important aspects of doing your job right–being able to contact the people consistently in your employer’s life. You can prioritize them as those on the “hot list” vs those on the support list. This “hot list” consists of people in their industry who they are working with at that time, close family, close friends, employees and emergency vendors who are constants like the doctor, pharmacy, pool man, swim teacher, gardener, veterinarian, etc. This list is laminated and posted or in a drawer nearby the phones in the house and updated a three of four times a year.
I once had an employer explain to a new employee that it was very important for them to know the “players” in the entertainment industry so they are familiar with who they should “jump” for. It can be embarrassing for you and your employer if you don’t. For the motion picture executive, it would be important to know Steven Spielberg’s development executive’s name when they happen to call. Or the big venture capitalist who is financing your employer’s next big project. Do you see how it would be important to know the “players” in their life?
Along this line, you would want to keep a list of birthdays for the important people in your employers life: usually those who are close family, those your employer are working with on a project, and of course, close friends. Circulate a monthly birthday list in advance so you can have plenty of time to buy gifts and are clear on how personal the card should be and to know in advance the best method to deliver the gift. Once the month is completed, file this list to refer to for next year. Often, seeing what they chose to get them (flowers vs $500 bottle of wine) helps you make suggestions the following year. Keeping your lists in an organized fashion helps you so you won’t have to ask twice. By year three on the job, you won’t have to ask at all. Progression: Year one you have to list the people with a blank next to the name; year two has suggestions based on the prior year; year three has the gift you sent next to the name “I sent — and a card from you.”
So much of the job as an assistant is reading between the lines and being able to assimilate the nuances around making you aware of who is and is not on your employer’s every changing radar. But having key contacts at hand (and on their cell phone) is one of the tools to be efficient/prepared for the both of you.
Employment Contracts & Confidentiality Agreements
When you work for celebrities and high net worth individuals most likely you will be asked to sign an employment contact and/or confidentiality agreement. It is perfectly normal and expected you will sign a document promising to never divulge your work, project content and employer to anyone.
Now, I am guilty of blindly signing a confidentiality agreement without reading it because I knew it would never have to be enforced. And usually, most of the language is standard and customary…but beware, I have also seen some real doozies!
I once saw an employment contract that said if the company wanted to fire me, they did not need to give me any notice. But if I wanted to quit, I had to give 1 months notice or forfeit pay equal to one month. Talk about fuzzy math?? (We changed it to reflect that we both had to give 2 weeks notice with no monies forfeited.)
I also read a confidentiality agreement that said if I was suspected of breaching confidentiality I would have to pay my legal fees and that of the employer to prove me guilty and/or clear my name. Suspected? (We removed the word “suspected,” and replaced it with “convicted.”) We should’ve replaced it with crazy.
There was one who wanted to charge me any damages the person felt to their character or career (still not sure how they would quantify that??) to me if I was found selling stories to the press. Now I would not sell any stories to the press so even though I could be on the hook for an unknown amount they decided to put on me, this particular one didn’t matter because it was never going to happen. (Did that mean if an actor making 10 mil a movie could no longer work because I sold a story I would be on the hook for 10 mil??? Good luck with that).
Bottom line, like any legal document that you must sign, read it with common sense and have a professional read it too.
