I don't know what it is about hiring an assistant that made me feel so . . . wasteful in the past. My feelings went way beyond thinking that I could do everything or that only I could do what I wanted done the way I wanted it done. I think I perceived having an assistant as an unnecessary luxury.

Until I missed five meetings in one week. Yes, five. All because I forgot to enter them in my calendar, forgot to set my reminder alarm or just plain forgot moments after my reminder alarm went off and continued working on whatever I was working on at the time.

Five meetings missed. Meetings with potential clients. Meetings with current clients. Meetings with colleagues. As I found myself apologizing and using my tired-but-true "bad memory" excuse, I felt my credibility lose a few notches and potential revenue spiral down the drain.

So I hired an assistant. On paper, it seemed as though I couldn't really afford an assistant. But in practice, I couldn't afford not to have one. I hired a virtual assistant, and I haven't missed a meeting since. I haven't worked with her consistently over time--just when I needed help--but working with her helped me set up better systems for remembering important engagements.

"As my business began to grow, I realized two things: A. more of my time needed to be focused on accounting and timely payments and B. Accounting was just not my passion," admits Janet Driscoll Miller, 37, president and CEO of Search Mojo. "I didn't enjoy it, so it was difficult for me to do a good job at it and be diligent in doing it regularly."

As it is when hiring any employee, Miller says, it's difficult to know whether the fit will be right before someone starts working at your company. She had her doubts about the person she was considering hiring as an assistant, she says. But when she started working with him on a part-time basis, he immediately had a positive impact on the company.

Miller says the two main benefits of having an assistant are having the time to focus on what she is good at, which is building the business and promoting it, and feeling comfortable knowing the work--especially the accounting--is under control.

"You can't be good at it all, and that's OK," Miller says. "Go find someone to complement your strengths by filling in your weaknesses. Don't be afraid to trust others--it's how entrepreneurs eventually create enterprises. You can't grow if you can't let go a little."

Barbara Bigford, 52, CEO of Seabreeze Products Inc., has been seeing steady growth since incorporating her company in 2002. At first, her husband and some interns chipped in to help. Once her husband got a new job, however, she realized she had to hire an assistant.

Bigford called a friend for advice. After she explained what she needed, he said, "Barb, I can just hear your desperation." He referred Bigford to a woman he thought would make a good assistant.

"I gave her a few days of training, brought her to a meeting with a national retailer and realized on this trip that hiring her was clearly an excellent decision," Bigford says. "To this day, Wendy has been hard-working and conscientious. The volume of paperwork that cannot be done by an intern and must be 'perfect' is now shared with my competent assistant--something I thought only I could do."

Bigford admits a challenge was finding a person she could trust, but relying on a recommendation from a savvy friend in business worked well for her. If you hire someone recommended by a confidant, Bigford says, "then you are 50 percent through the screening process."

Bigford suggests allocating funds for an assistant at the start of your business (or start now). View it as a necessary office expenditure, she advises. Consider other monthly services you pay for to run your business well. An assistant should be no different.

The benefits are many, according to Bigford. "When new business comes around I used to feel 'do I want any more business?' Can you imagine saying that?.Now I get to give Wendy the lead, and this has given me the allowances I did not have before. I have found time to spend with my family and friends, who were starving for my attention at times."

If you're not sure what a virtual assistant can do for you, read Aliza's blog, "The Flip Side: A Virtual Assistant's Advice."