An Agency Founder Doubled Her Revenue With The Help of An Assistant

Agency owner Mamie Peers is passionate about delivering results for her clients. But when a loaded to-do list overwhelmed her schedule, she realized she needed someone to help take extra tasks off her plate.

In an insightful discussion, Mamie told us how delegating to her Double assistant helped her increase her revenue twofold.

A Tough Schedule Slows Progress

Mamie is the founder of Red Pencil, a boutique agency that provides executive-level strategies in marketing, technology, and culture for hospitality and entertainment companies. Due to the nature of her business, Mamie’s daily duties ranged widely: “Most of my responsibility involves research, planning, and large meetings with agencies and partners around the globe to solve complex issues for resorts, shows, restaurants, etc. Sometimes that means thinking at a high level but also getting into the weeds with copy editing or rearranging art in a book.”

Over time, Mamie’s demanding job started creeping up in scope. As the pressure mounted, she realized she might need support: “I was starting yet another project that involved about 50 VPs and Directors at a large hotel. I had to schedule meetings over the course of a year to track changes and improvements. I needed someone to help book all the meetings and make sure the participants, agendas and time zones were perfect. I had been doing this on my own, and it's a level of detail that can bog me down.”

An Assistant Gave Mamie Time and Focus to Double Her Revenue

Mamie started working with Double to get help managing the critical detailed tasks that took up too much of her time. Kara, her assistant, was able to support her with tasks at work and in her personal life:

My incredible Double helps me with all kinds of things: uploading expenses, booking my son's summer camps, locking in doctors appointments, responding to emails asking for my time, presenting hours back to clients, researching gifts for clients, booking my flights and transportation.

Types of Tasks Mamie Delegates to Her Assistant: - Expense Reporting - Booking Summer Camp For Son - Personal Appointment Booking - Email Correspondence & Inbox Management - Researching Client Gifts - Travel Management - Meeting & Schedule Coordination - Slide Deck Preparation

Once Kara jumped in to help, Mamie had time to take on more client projects, which significantly boosted her earnings.

I have more time to work. It has doubled my revenue year over year. I feel confident in managing more projects and taking on more.

Working With a Trusted Partner One of the things that held Mamie back from hiring an assistant in the past was the worry that she would have to spend a lot of time getting them up to speed and explaining what to do. However, Kara was a pleasant surprise: “I feel confident asking her to do more because she's exceptional. I always feared bringing an assistant on because I'd have to train them, but my Double came prepared—she already understands how to support an executive.”

We also checked in with Kara to hear her thoughts on working with Mamie: “It’s been a pleasure collaborating with Mamie. It's my absolute joy to relieve my busy exec, who now has the time to achieve her business goals and also make time for her personal life. Over the last year, I have helped Mamie with travel planning, personal tasks, calendar management, slide deck preparation, expense reporting, and so much more!”

Life After Double

Since working with Double, Mamie has had more time than ever to focus on growing her business and getting facetime with her clients. She also has more time for her personal life, as she revealed when she talked about what a typical day looks like now:

“Today, I edited an action plan in response to customer feedback for a large resort in Florida and sent it out to all divisions. I'm hosting a friend at my house, so I'm about to make a frittata while gathering the construction files needed to close out a cocktail lounge development project. I'm looking into placing my son in a new elementary school and finalizing his summer camp schedule. Later, I'll close out a Dedicated Benefit Plan with my new advisor. Sometime today, I hope to go for a jog outside.”

Double’s ongoing impact continues to create positive change for Mamie’s business and life.

Delegating to my assistant has empowered me to double my revenue while not leaving me feeling overworked. She is invaluable to me.