As a business owner, you may find yourself constantly wearing different hats. One minute you could be writing a business plan, but the next minute you may be doing sales, marketing, customer service or even IT.
Although this may be necessary initially in order to keep your costs low and your business running profitably, in the long-term, should you be considering other options?
Admittedly there are advantages of being a one-man or one-woman band, but as just one person, there are limits to how far you can go. It can be hard taking a step back and handing over the reins of certain tasks to someone else, but you have to decide whether managing the invoices, buying more toner, sending a tweet and answering customer queries is really the best use of your valuable time.
It may therefore be time for you to hire your very first employee, but before you make any decisions, it’s important to think everything through thoroughly. Here are some important things to consider:
What are the advantages?
If you want to grow your business, then you may need to come to terms with the fact that at some stage, you will need help. If your time is currently taken up with all the day-to-day running of the business, then delegating some of these tasks can help free up your schedule. This gives you the opportunity to focus on more top-level planning and development, to ensure your business can reach its full potential.
What are the disadvantages?
You will have a financial commitment to that employee and so it’s important to ensure your business is making enough money in order to pay their salary.
There is the risk that you hire someone who is not suitable for your business. This can be extremely damaging, but the risk can be reduced by following a clear and thought through recruitment process.
What else do I need to consider?
It’s important to work out how much work you actually have to keep your new employee busy. For example, you don’t want to hire a full-time employee during your busy period only to realise that the rest of the year they have nothing to do.
Make sure you are clear on why you are hiring an employee. This can help you to find someone that is suitable for the job. Do you want someone to help with admin perhaps, or someone who has expertise in a particular area?
Don’t forget that employee expenses are much more than just paying a salary. There are other financial implications such as taxes. You will also need to decide whether your existing office space is sufficient for a growing business, provide equipment to your new hire as well as training.
What should I do next?
If you have decided to hire your first employee, then you should create a job description, promote the role and start carrying out interviews. Ensure candidates have the relevant skills and experience, as well as the right personality and attitude to fit within your business. For a more detailed step-by-step process to follow, see this helpful infographic from Simply Business. This is a very important decision though, so make sure you take your time.
What are the alternatives?
If you’re not sure that hiring a full-time employee is right for you, then there are other options for you to consider. You could outsource key elements of your business to an agency. For example, you could hire a social media agency to run your Facebook Page, or an IT provider to maintain your systems.
Alternatively, you may want to consider hiring a contractor. This gives you lots of flexibility, as you can ask for as much or as little help as you need, depending on your workload and the peaks and troughs in the market. Do a simple search on Google to find freelancers in your area, or sites such as Freelancer, PeoplePerHour, Upwork and Fiverr are becoming increasingly popular.
Are you in the process of hiring your very first employee? We’d love to know how you decided it was time to take this big step. Leave us a comment in the box below.
Author Bio
Elizabeth Harmon is a writer for Open Colleges, one of Australia’s leading online education providers. She discusses various subjects, including business, careers and online marketing. She is self employed as a Social Media Consultant and understands the need to prioritise tasks, delegate work and plan for the future. You can follow her on Twitter @Liz_Harmon or see more of her blogs here.