Need Help?
The right personal assistant can boost your levels of efficiency and success
By Madeline Charles
In need of a smart, business-savvy personal assistant who is way too professional to steal from you, and who can do a whole lot more than just get your coffee and fetch your USA Today? If so, thank former software executive Dionne Muhammad for launching Celebrity Personal Assistants, Inc. (CPAI), an Atlanta-based company with offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York that specializes in placing “above-par” assistants, known as lifestyle managers, in the professional sports and entertainment industries.
“When I saw the types of assistants working for these high-profile clients, I was just baffled as to why the executive assistants in corporate America were so much more business-savvy than those working for pro athletes, rock stars and celebrities,” says Muhammad. “So I decided to do something about it.”
Aware that athletes often hire friends and relatives they trust to do jobs they may not be capable of, Muhammad overcomes the “trust issue” that comes up when hiring a stranger by making the assistant a CPAI employee of record. This means that in the event of theft or fraud (we’ve all heard the Kate Hudson story), the client is protected by CPAI’s $15 million insurance plan, as well as fidelity and theft bonds. It also means the assistant receives benefits and regular paychecks directly from Celebrity Personal Assistants, allowing the athletes to focus on other things—like doing their jobs and winning the next game.
“My personal assistant not only makes my life easier, she helps make me better at my job,” says retired NFL player and Atlanta radio personality Chuck Smith. “She handles all of my day-to-day administrative tasks, so that I can concentrate on other things to keep me sharp on the radio airwaves.”
Retired NBA player Cedric Ceballos calls his personal assistant his “eyes and ears to everything I do.” He says: “You really need an assistant who knows how to make it as easy as possible for you to get through your everyday life and focus on playing, not problems.”
In addition to recruiting and identifying qualified people who can address the gaps and handle an athlete’s needs, CPAI—in partnership with former NFL executive and Reebok consultant Mike Ornstein—runs a full-service concierge service for the NFL Players Association. The Web-enabled Concierge Service and toll-free hotline assures that tasks, errands, reservations and requests are handled 24 hours a day.
Another cool reason to hire a lifestyle manager through CPAI: You don’t get just one assistant. The person you hire has access to a pool of back-up assistants who are on call to make sure that your every need and request can be handled, which comes in quite handy for unusual requests or when you’re constantly traveling. Now that’s service.
