How to Survive Being an Assistant

By Y Martinez

The Bronx Journal Staff Writer

As I rush out of dance class in the Apex building on the Lehman campus, I am hit by the cold wind blowing up Bedford Avenue. When I arrive downtown, I am hit by a different type of onslaught, a slew of hot runway models on 7th Avenue. The male and female eye candy lets me know that New York Fashion Week has begun and I am officially at her beck and call today.

I am a freelancer and today I am an assistant for a metal couture designer named Laure Luxe, who has been featured in W magazine, MTV, VH1 and BET’s Rip the Runway. I started freelancing recently in order to make money while looking for steady work in this dismal job market. It has been a learning process, yet I seem to flourish after each job and obstacle that I take on.  I am an equal opportunity assistant; I have worked for businessmen, sales executives, designers, stylists, and even a bail bondsman.

As the expression goes, “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.” If you are not prepared for your job as an assistant, then you will have a bad performance on your first day and should not expect to be booking that client again. Depending on your field of speciality, there are some basics that you will always need to know in order to stay on top of things.  Here are a couple of rules that I follow while on my quest to make my green:

Stay Connected: Make sure you not only charge your phone, but remember to bring your charger with you as well. The best thing to do is to buy an extra battery that has been charged, because there are places that will not have power outlets. Your employer will always need to be able to get in contact with you but if your phone is not working, you could miss out on a potential job.

Go High Tech: If possible, get a netbook — your home office on the go. While on break, you can check emails, book jobs and then go right back to work. Your client may even you to use it to type something up. I didn’t realize just how much I needed my netbook until my sister broke mine. Now find myself lost at times while out on the field and I can’t wait to get a replacement.

Lists Are Your Best Friends: What needs to get done? What concerns do you have? What is done already? Are there any ideas or suggestions that you think can be helpful for your employer? This is where you have to think and some times think fast. You have to be able to get creative and concoct at least one good idea that will not only make sense when you propose it, but will make the client excited to work with you.

Make a to-do list for the day or event, in order to make sure that everything gets done. Also include contact numbers, emails and back-up  of emails with all of this information and hard copies as well, just in case the Internet is down.

Research: Go online and see what a person in that field needs to have and make sure you have it. Once I worked with celebrity Stylist Khaliah Clark while she was styling Letoya Luckett and several other artists. I had a black nail polish in my bag. Out of nowhere, it was needed. From that day on, I knew that if I was prepared with the right tools for each client, then I would be successful.

Time Management and Sleep are Essential: The night before an event, try to get as much sleep as you can get. Even when time is limited, find ways to get in that power nap. You have to be alert at all times when working for someone. If you are still tired, you may drop the ball.

Don’t Multi-Task Ultra-Task: Every job entails more than one duty. Sometimes you must perform multiple duties at a time. When you find yourself in this type of situation, you must not cave in under the pressure, you must dig deep and find a way to handle all duties at once. I have been needed to do things that were not part of the job description, running around doing errands, cooking, watching kids, and then having to do all these things within a couple of hours. It can be overwhelming at times, but if you think about what needs to get done first, what things you can do at the same time then you can get a lot done. This is when a phone like a Blackberry comes in very handy, you can write down little notes, look up a recipe, find an address and with Google Maps App installed, get around the city in a heartbeat.

Patience is Key: When assisting someone you never know what type of personality you are going to come across. Some clients are high strung out of their minds, some are anal retentive while others are laid back. One day you might have to be very meticulous in every thing you do, another you might have to double check with a client before doing anything and another you may have a client who says “Here, this is what I want and just do it and don’t ask me any questions.” You have to be able to be a chameleon and adapt to your environment

Work  Hard and Remember That No One is Perfect: I am such a perfectionist that when I make a mistake nobody beats up on themselves more than I do. There have been times where I made mistakes and I thought I could die. Fortunately, since I have always put in more than enough of energy and time into my clients, they have luckily forgiven my little mishaps. That’s why it is important to give more than 100 percent of yourself and doublecheck what you do. Even if you do make a little mistake, it can most likely be fixed and client will stay happy.

Being a personal assistant isn’t easy. You have to dedicate a lot more than just time in order to keep your freelancing business afloat. Look over these tips before taking on a gig and you will be more than prepared to take on the challenge.