Assistant to the Owner
14 hours ago
San Diego
Job Description I am looking for an Assistant to help alleviate my to-do list as a business owner and artist, as well as assisting with workshop maintenance and inventory packaging/preparation. This position will begin as a part-time, minimum wage role throughout the first trial period of 90 days. Assistant will start working 2-3 days/week. Hours may vary week to week. My goal is to grow the position into something more substantial and long term over time as my business grows. Hourly payment increase will be evaluated at the end of a 90-day trial period. Possibility of hours/days being flexible and some work being remote depending on weekly needs and schedule of owner. Given that my business is small (myself and one other assistant), we will be working closely together in a casual and informal yet professional environment. I am looking for someone who is comfortable with this type of setting, someone who I am comfortable with on a personal level and feel I can trust and rely on to help me accomplish a lot. This assistant will be instrumental in the overall productivity of the business, so they must be able and willing to work on many different types of tasks. I am also looking for someone with a great work ethic who is willing to spend a substantial amount of their hours doing long, repetitive tasks (stamping, stickering, packaging) that I and my current assistant cannot afford to be bogged down with in addition to our more specialized projects and efforts to scale the business. With that being said, the assistant will work very independently most of the time and I have to trust and verify that the assistant works quickly and efficiently on their own, without supervision. This role will primarily involve workshop maintenance and inventory preparation. It will also largely consist of errands and some scheduling. At times, I may ask for some help with personal errands and tasks (my schedule regarding the business is a lot to balance with my personal life and responsibilities, so I'd love to work with someone who is okay with this and is excited by the idea of learning from me and helping to clear my plate and never-ending to-do lists). If the assistant possesses some of the bonuses listed below, additional hours in a specialized area may be possible (tech, creative, marketing, administrative, etc.) This role will involve many types of tasks and duties including but not limited to the following: • Doing pickups and drop-offs of merchandise, supplies and orders., • Packaging, labeling and stickering products., • Stamping retail bags and other materials., • Pulling and organizing of items for restocks, events and orders using designated lists., • Running errands for the owner., • Unboxing and managing deliveries., • Assembling boxes and poster tubes., • Managing returns of supplies/returns (contacting vendor's customer service to initiate complaints/returns and packaging/labeling/shipping items for return., • Daily workshop cleaning/organizing: Putting away and reconfiguring loose inventory, sweeping, taking out trash/recycling, dusting shelves/equipment, wiping down desks, shelves etc., • Occasionally bringing restocks to stores and putting items onto shelves correctly and neatly., • Occasionally doing a 'reset' in store/display spaces (putting merchandise in it's correct place, straightening up displays, dusting displays and shelves, Windexing glass etc.)., • Loading my vehicle with merchandise and items for weekly events and markets. Heavy items, must be done with care., • Assembling furniture and display pieces. We use a small workshop, a large storage unit and work with many retail spaces, so we frequently need to assemble shelving, tables, organizational pieces, etc. Willingness to deal with lengthy instructions and look up assembly tutorials online is part of this. The goal is to free up my days so that I can almost solely focus on product development and designing without having to be interrupted/held back by tasks that should be easily outsourced to another member of the team. Someone who is a good fit for this role is: • Inclined towards entrepreneurship and creative environments., • Wants to learn about the foundation of a creative business., • A great independent worker (enjoys working hours alone, can accomplish a lot correctly without supervision), but also enjoys working with another person., • Flexible and has a great attitude when it comes to a variety of tasks, also an enthusiastic multi-tasker. I cannot stress enough how important it is that the assistant is willing to spend a large portion of their time helping us with repetitive tasks. For example, you may be asked to sticker and package hundreds of prints in one day, put prints into dozens of frames, stamp hundreds of retail bags, fold hundreds of tea towels, tag hundreds of units of merchandise per day. You'll be expected to do this in a quick manner and take those quantities seriously. If this sounds miserable to you, then this is NOT the job for you., • Great at taking instruction as well as feedback/constructive criticism. Everything in my business is a reflection of me alone, so I expect quality work. I wouldn't say this is complicated, but it does require a level of mindfulness and attention to detail. Our time and resources as a small business are limited, so sloppy work simply isn't an option. I'll always answer any questions you have and I/my assistant will take the time to teach/train you and make our expectations clear., • Someone who genuinely wants to excel, play a role in the company's growth and drive their own income by contributing to the business in a meaningful, truly helpful and substantial way. This shows me that you may or may not be someone who should grow with our team and be entrusted with specialized opportunities., • Someone who wants to learn about operating and growing a business through day to day, hands on work. Through your regular duties, weekly task lists, observation and mere time spent in the workshop, surrounded by products, supplies and in-progress projects, you'll see everything that goes into the foundation of the business as well as how we handle setbacks and dilemmas, how we manage multiple projects and balance creativity with business. I'm a pretty open book as well and I am personally passionate about facilitating the growth and journeys of other creatives. When time permits, if I can offer information, resources, connections and advice, I'm happy to. I am not a gatekeeper and I am grateful for anyone who is a part of our journey as well as my previous mentors, so I like to pay it forward and give back when I can. Requirements • Must have a valid drivers license and a vehicle they are comfortable using for this work. We will reimburse mileage., • Assistant will do a lot of loading, unloading and managing deliveries, so they must be able to lift heavy and large items. Bonuses • Previous experience as an assistant., • It would be helpful for the assistant to be knowledgeable with technology and able to problem-solve in this area with hiccups and things outside of our usual experience and knowledge. Troubleshooting printer, label printer, scanning, etc., • Knowledge of any online seller platforms (Etsy, Shopify, Faire), Canva, Adobe Suite and/or Excel would be a bonus., • Creative work experience or skills would be a bonus. Any type of art/design skill from drawing, digitizing artwork, jewelry making/assembling, renderings, painting, photography, graphic design., • Willingness to assist with/participate in set up/breakdown and selling at weekend markets and events., • Handy skills a huge plus! Mounting, anchoring, hanging, building, sanding, etc., • Social media experience and content capturing/creation a plus., • Excellent researcher. Someone who can get online on their own and learn about how to do, create or fix things, then confidently apply that knowledge to our everyday efforts and potential hiccups or dilemmas., • Retail experience. This would be useful for contextualizing the tasks you're given. Retail experience could result in additional hours helping with retail locations and potentially a specialized position. Interested applicants please respond with the following information: • Why you're a good fit for this position?, • What intrigues you most about this role?, • What you think your strengths would be in this role?, • What if any areas of expertise you may have?, • Anything above that you have strong experience in and what you don't have experience in?, • Your availability. Please also include: • A resume listing your work experience., • 2-3 references with contact information., • A little more info about yourself! Who are you, what your interests, educational background?, • Any questions you have about the role.