You know, that amazing creature that Gwyneth Paltrow plays who manages to keep the insane life and business of Tony Stark organized and in order so he can run around doing his thing with that non-stop creative brain of his? Yeah, her.
She looks like a mythical creature, right? You’ve thought to yourself many times… “I just need a Pepper Potts” and you’re probably right.
But here’s the thing… Do you know what that entails? Do you know that it will require you letting go of some of the control? Do you know that it will require you to hire the best? Someone with the skills to do it? Someone who can manage YOU and your alpha, constantly creating mind? Do you know that will require you to reach into your pockets and pay what it takes to hire the best?
Those are all the pieces that most people don’t think about. They see this image of Pepper Potts in a pencil skirt running Stark Enterprises while Tony gets to invent bad ass machines and go have fun in the world. Then they go out and hire someone with minimal administrative experience at best and think that she will just magically morph into this amazing manager that can run your entire empire.
Ya…that’s not the case. What happen then is you’re not satisfied with the work, things don’t get done, you’re aggravated, and you throw in the towel claiming that this person who you pictured in your mind doesn’t exist. Did you give her everything she needed? Did you communicate? Or was she actually qualified for what you expected of her?
Here’s the thing… Pepper…She is a unicorn. She isn’t out there in abundance to choose from. And she’s certainly not going to run your entire empire seamlessly for $20 an hour and minimal input from you.
Bringing that person into your world takes time. You have to invest time into communicating how you want things to be. What you expect. What is your vision for the company. And then you have to allow that person the control to actually make those things happen for you.
If your vision is in your head only and the things that need to happen to make it work are only in your mind and you never share them with this person, then how can you expect them to create it for you?
Hiring a person to be your Business Manager or COO or Head of Operations is an investment, both financially AND with your time. It also requires trust. You have to relinquish some of the control in order for someone to take the reins and run things for you.
Now let’s spin this in a virtual way… YES this is possible for your virtual business too. Again, it takes someone with the correct experience and expertise to do this for you. And it may take even more of your time and attention UP FRONT in order for it to actually work.
ALSO, let’s talk about what makes Pepper Potts the character she is in the first place…
She was an established professional long before she came the CEO of Stark Enterprises. She had years and years of experience dominating the industry before she became Iron Man’s right hand man. AND as she sat in that spot, she also continued to grow her own presence and name in the industry they were in. He was the face, yes but she was an industry leader as well.
So perhaps, that’s that part that most people are missing when they are looking for a Pepper Potts of their own. They fail to realize that she is already established in her own right and THAT is in fact what makes her the correct candidate for the job in the first place.
So why am I writing this?
Because I’ve heard so many people describe this vision of having this type of person by their side running their operations for them while they live the lifestyle but they are missing something, they are not seeing the whole picture…therefore they are looking for this person in the wrong places.
So I felt the need to write this to possibly expand the thought process on finding this high level person so many want in the hierarchy of their empire… that and I find the subject truly fascinating to be honest and wanted to share my thoughts, as well as my perspective coming from experience of being the Pepper Potts to the automotive Tony Stark for many years. I have some insider information on the subject.