Entrepreneurs are generally pretty bad at doing anything that feels, in any way, like relinquishing control over the businesses that they’ve poured their blood, sweat, and tears into building.
Yet, sooner or later, as your business grows in scale and complexity — and especially if you’ve been able to turn it into an increasingly profitable venture — there’s likely to come a point where you’re just not able to realistically handle everything that needs to be handled, all by yourself.
Hiring staff members — or, at least, people to deal with some of the nuances of various projects or of your business in general — is an art in and of itself. Here are a few tips for preparing yourself for hiring staff members for your small business.
Research Advice And Best Practice To Refine Your Approach
There are a lot of expert opinions, easily accessible online, on the best practice when it comes to hiring and putting out ads for jobs. The ever-changing world of technology means that the specific techniques you use may, likewise, need to adjust on a regular basis.
By reading a good hiring resource blog, signing up for relevant newsletters, watching videos on the subject, and so on, you’ll be able to gather a whole range of suggestions and recommendations that you might otherwise never have even considered.
The more you’re able to get a clear sense of what it is you’re looking for, and the best strategies for finding it, the better.
Decide Whether Or Not You Need To Hire Someone Full-Time, Or If Freelancers Can Get The Job Done
It’s not too surprising that the average entrepreneur may feel a sense of creeping dread at the prospect of hiring team members, when you consider the fact that many entrepreneurs work from home, and have no distinct office space at all.
No doubt there’s a combination of embarrassment and natural wariness of inviting someone to set up a corner office in your living room.
The thing is, much of what will need to be done in a small business — and even in a not-so-small business — could potentially be handled by freelancers, rather than by in-house staff.
Virtual receptionists exist, who can answer the phone for you while being nowhere in your vicinity. Likewise, freelance writers can handle your newsletter copy, while freelance graphic designers can craft you a website to envy.
Plan The Interview Process In Advance And Clarify Your Hiring Standards
An interview is a costly thing to set up — not always costly in the sense of costing money, but costly, at least, in the sense of requiring you to invest your time and energy — and for the interviewee to do the same.
For that reason, it’s a very good idea to try and get the most out of any interviews you set up.
If you have a decent notion of what it is you’re looking for, you might be lulled into thinking that you should just “wing it”. In reality, though,
planning out questions in advance, is likely to make the entire exercise much more fruitful.
