To Hire or Not to Hire? That is The Question
When you first started your business, you might not have known if it would be successful or not. But maybe now you’re a few years in, and everything is going really well: you’ve established several repeat clients, enjoy the work you’re doing, and are meeting your financial goals. (Avoid a Journey to Nowhere: Set Your Business Goals Today) Nice!
This is great, but do you sometimes feel overwhelmed? Are there times you have to turn down projects because you don’t have the bandwidth to complete them with everything else you have on your plate? Maybe you’re even hearing from disgruntled clients who aren’t happy that you’re missing deadlines or who feel the quality of your work has diminished (which can be the result of having to rush to finish multiple projects).
If these kinds of issues keep popping up, it’s probably a good time to consider hiring someone to help you run your business. Let’s talk more about this idea and how to go about hiring your first employee.
Not Sure You’re Ready?
When asked why they haven’t hired anyone yet, small business owners typically respond in one of these three ways:
- Excuse #1: I can’t find someone I trust
- Excuse #2: I’m the only person who can do this
- Excuse #3: I can’t afford it
None of these excuses are actually true. There are people out there who are trustworthy and who can produce high-level work. You just need to find them. And you can afford it – for example, you might decide to save up enough funds to hire someone, re-work your budget, start out by hiring a part-timer, or find a student intern who can work for college credit. There are a lot of options out there; you just need to be creative and open to different possibilities.
So once you’ve decided to move forward, how exactly do you go about hiring someone? This whole process can be broken down into the following four steps.
Step #1: Set a Goal with a Deadline
First, determine when you want to hire. After six months? A year? No matter when, set a goal with a deadline (to learn more about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, click here). Having an established objective will motivate you to keep moving in the right direction.
Step #2: Create a Workspace for Your New Hire
Remember: you have options. You can choose to set up a place for your employee to work within (or nearby) your office, home office, or they can work remotely.
Step #3: Be Deliberate with the Hiring Process
Don’t just hire the first random person you find. Instead, create a detailed job description. (This will help you to be clear on exactly what you need and are looking for from this person.) Post an ad and then review all the resumes you receive. Be selective, conduct thorough interviews, and check references. Depending on the type of position you may even want to include a background check.
Step #4: Take a Leap of Faith
It is no doubt scary to put your trust in someone else when it comes to the business you’re working so hard to build. But you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much your business will expand when you let go of some of the day-to-day activities and really start to focus on income-producing activities instead.
A Final Word From Tuesday Brooks Founder of AJOY
When you’ve personally invested so much into your business, it can be hard to relinquish control. Trust me, lots of us can relate! We know how you feel! You may worry that no one else will put as much effort and hard work into client projects as you do. But if you carry out a deliberate and thorough hiring process, you will find the right person who you can trust and who will work with you to build your business. Without trusting others, your business will stagnate and be unable to reach its fullest potential. So if you’re swamped with work and missing deadlines, put some serious thought into taking your business to the next level by hiring someone else to help you get it there!