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If you were watching TV this is the part where the main character would stare into the distance as if to remember something while the screen gets blurry and a harp would be strummed. The focus would return and suddenly you would be seeing a visualization of the past.
Well, sorry this isn't YouTube, so all you get is the article! As a reminder here is what we predicted last year....
2006 Predictions in the Personal Assistant, Personal Concierge, and Lifestyle Management Profession
This time of year, the period of time between Christmas and New Year's Day, is typically the time when many people begin forecasting for the year ahead. Not to be outdone I thought I would offer my own gleanings from the Personal Assistant crystal ball that sits on the bookshelf next to my desk. Well - maybe it's more of a crystal globe than a crystal ball but like me, it too can multi-task.
Here are my predictions for 2006:
1. More people will start personal assistant, personal concierge, and lifestyle management businesses
People will continue to work long hours and struggle with meeting the demands of their business and personal lives. Many people in this situation will inherently recognize the need for our type of services and think it is an excellent business to begin. The barriers to entry are low in starting this type of business. The profession is not regulated, capital requirements are minimal, and most people feel qualified to perform the associated tasks without additional training.(I'm not saying that is right!)
**2007** Ok so this wasn't such a hard one. There were actually lots of personal assistant, personal concierge and lifestyle management businesses started. Unfortunately, if my unscientific sampling is correct, the majority of those businesses were no longer active after 6-8 months. (This really isn't as easy as it would appear!)
2. A growing number of companies will offer limited concierge services for employees
Although I would not anticipate this employee benefit growing like wildfire, we should see a slightly growing trend in this area due to many employers desire to provide the types of benefits that maximize loyalty and retention. Competition over top talent should enhance this trend. Don't expect them to offer every conceivable service you provide. Instead, expect standard services like grocery shopping, errand running, and the like.
**2007** This would appear to be on track, at least from what we are hearing and the occasional request for proprosal we get in our service area. The pace is still excruciatingly slow and there still seems to be a problem with the employees actually using the service consistently once a company offers it.
3. The job of personal assistants will become increasingly recognized as a growing profession
More and more people will recognize that personal assistants, personal concierges, and lifestyle managers are members of a growing standalone profession - not just a helper but a skilled professional with special attributes for helping make our lives easier and more fulfilling.
**2007** This is definitely occurring, and at a pretty rapid pace. There were a number of significant national news stories about our industry as well local and regional coverage. This should make marketing a tad easier this year as the marketplace becomes more aware.
4. Competition within the concierge industry will increase
Given that I have already predicted that more people will start personal assistant, personal concierge and lifestyle management businesses is only natural to conclude that competition within the industry will increase. This can be good and bad. Good in that more businesses should increase consumer awareness about our services. I personally believe there is enough work out there for many times the number of current personal assistants. Yet there is a lag between awareness and action and the market flooded by too many too soon could commoditize our services. To counter this, it is important to emphasize quality over cost.
**2007** Competition did increase but not necessarily from human competitors. More and more companies and services began adding concierge type services as value-added components of their primary offerings. Additionally, some online services were also added to the mix that helped to increase local competition.
5. The term "lifestyle management" will become more common in the United States
The term lifestyle management is becoming more prevalent as a term describing personal assistant services in the US. It has traditionally been associated with health and wellness consultants - often related to weight and behavior management. Acceptance of this term will be fueled by its growing use as the most common term for our type of services in the United Kingdom and Australia.
**2007** While the term is much more prevalent we'd have to say that this has not experienced the growth we had anticipated. Most people are still tending to call themselves personal assistants and personal concierges and describe the services they provide as "lifestyle management."
6. The demand for professional personal assistants will grow
More and more individuals and families are starting to assess the quality of their life versus the quality of their lifestyle. The logical conclusion to such an assessment is that they don't need more "stuff" but rather more time. And more and more people are willing to pay in order to spend time in ways they find more enriching.
**2007** This is definitely occurring, as evidenced by a new client of ours who took over a year to make the decision to finally engage us. She simply said that it just didn't make sense from a financial standpoint not to hire us because she clearly understood the value of her family's "free time."
7. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will hire Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey's former personal assistant who might just coincidently turn out to be Rebecca Loo
This may not be right since the crystal ball (globe) was a little fuzzy when I looked. But since you can't watch television or read a magazine or newspaper without seeing something about these people I thought the odds were heavily in my favor on this prediction.
**2007** Ok, we definitely missed this one. (Got to get a new crystal ball...)
All in all, 2006 should be a good year for personal assistants who focus building a limited number of client relationships. Don't try to be all things to all people. Rather concentrate on building strong, foundational relationships with anchor clients. If you do you should increase your chances of long term success dramatically. This approach should also help provide greater balance and satisfaction in your own life.
For the most part we did pretty well on our predictions for 2006. What's ahead for 2007? Stay tuned - we've been polishing our old crystal ball in hopes of getting a look ahead for the coming year - but that's for another article.
May you have a happy and joyous new year!