29th June, 2018
You may be flying solo or in a small startup founding team, but to reach the next level, it’s time to bring in somebody.
Knowing when to pull the trigger on searching for a new hire can be tricky.
If you hire someone, will they have enough work to do? Will you be happy to delegate tasks? Can you pay for an extra person?
When you’re a small outfit running lean, that extra salary can feel like the last thing you want to pay.
Curious about those cues it’s time to take the plunge?
Are you missing out on new business opportunities and value-adding tasks because you’re spread too thin?
Startup founders can pride themselves of being Jacks and Jills of all trades. If you’re spending your time on the day-to-day bits and bobs of your business, then your focus on your business goals is down.
If you’re the one doing everything, you’re also risking burnout.
READ: How to hustle without the hassle
By automating systems where you can and having an offsider, you can do what you do best – driving the business forward.
While building a startup means you’re doing many tasks, you’ll probably end up a master of none.
It’s okay to admit that you’re not the strongest marketer, code ninja or sales whiz.
The bigger issue is falling down in those areas because you can’t admit you need help – this can kill your company before it really begins.
Take that bold step to identify what you’re not great at – or perhaps what’s needing the love as you’re pulled in ten directions at once. Then you know who to hire.
Plus, you get another voice on the team and another perspective.
More voices and diverse views on your team leads to ideas being rigorously tested before they make it to market.
READ: Your guide to hiring
Even if you’re a networking fiend and a social butterfly, your network can always expand in new areas.
After a while, you’ll hit a networking wall where everybody seems to know everybody else. New introductions trickle away.
Enter the new face in your business.
While the network of new staff isn’t the main reason for hiring, there’s double bliss in having the extra hands and connections.
If you’re a solo founder and you bring somebody on board, your business’s network boosts 100 percent (or more if networking isn’t your shining point).
READ: Social media v face to face: what wins clients?
When you’re a one-person band or in a small team, the things-to-do list doesn’t change – just the capacity to get through it.
Unless you’re superhuman (hint, we’re not superhumans) one area or a cluster of action points in the business suffer.
You get tired. Then you start slipping.
Here’s where you miss a crucial email from your customer or supplier, lose new business pitches because you’re sleepwalking through your sales deck or you make mistakes in a grant application.
You’ll just start skimping on the basics and from the client’s side, it’ll look like you’ve got in too deep.
There’s no harm admitting you’re on Struggle Street – but there’s something wrong with just accepting it.
Hiring somebody new to help take the pressure off is the first step.