“Some people aren’t meant to work in an office, and I’m one of them.
“In 2010, I got fired from my last job and said to myself, ‘That’s it! I don’t care what I have to do, I am never going back to that kind of work.’ If I had to clean houses, garden, whatever – I didn’t care. I was meant to do my own thing. It’s what I’m good at.
“I’ve always kind of done odd jobs. So I started out by finding clients through the Penny Saver and talking to friends. Then I put up my Personal Assistant website; since then, it’s really taken off.
“I even have a waitlist now. I have people tell me they hope another client cancels on me so they can have their time slot. They tell me, ‘But I really need you, and there’s only one of you, and there’s only so many hours in the day.’
“People hire me for all sorts of things. Where do I start? I do house sitting and pet sitting. I do home de-clutter and organization – which is a little, tiny part of my business but it takes up my whole calendar.
“I do party assisting, so when clients have a dinner party I’ll work in the kitchen getting dinner out, refilling wine glasses, cleaning up afterward. They can actually enjoy their guests!
“I help plan and plant gardens for people. I made a whole catalog of seed packets I’ll bring to your house so you can choose what you want in your garden.
“I teach one-on-one classes in frugal living and couponing. I teach people how to make kombucha. I organized a local food swap for a while.
“Really, I just try to keep busy and do lots of things because there’s no one doing that niche. I’m like your personal ‘Girl Friday,’ someone who covers it all.”
– Allison Almond, Personal Assistant, Costa Mesa ♥
