When do I hire staff and how do I train a freelancer? Your questions!
By: Sandi Krakowski
This question came in on my Facebook page last week. I thought it would help all of you for me to answer!
"Sandi, I have a question that really bothers me and I hope you can give me (and others) a good answer. The business is growing nicely thank God and I hired help – with logistics, answering emails, etc. The only thing is, there are times when there's hardly anything to do, and there are times when there is so much work I can use 2 helpers.How do I help my business grow, keep my worker working in quiet times, and manage all the traffic in hectic times? I considered hiring freelancers every once in a while but I don't want to give away all the management secrets of the business just to anyone who comes and goes. I just can't find the right formula for my business! Thanks so much, Yikrat Friedman, Israel"
What a great question! I'm excited to help you Yikrat!
Here are a few tips for hiring, outsourcing and also, dealing with the management issues that can arise in the process.
1. Don't hire people if there isn't any work needing to be done.
Simply hiring someone isn't going to bring success anymore than creating a website would do so. You work your business hard until you can't do it all on your own any longer and then you get some help. Start out small and build up. Put some 'self imposed pressure' on yourself to keep things growing with that new hire and you'll enter a momentum phase where their help makes things easier and produces more profits. We started out with help just 10 hours per week and we now employ 15 staff here at A Real Change. Grow with your business.
2. When you have those times when you could use 2 helpers, always have 2 good people you can count on.
Even though most of our staff are now employees, we still have a few contractors who have worked with us long enough now that I can call on them for busy times, when staff are sick, extra works comes in before an event, etc. The reason they work so well for us and with us is that I began my relationship with them on the grounds of being able to 'call as needed'. They've always saved a few hours just for ARC and it's worked out beautifully- for 3 years! Build that trusting relationship with a few contractors early and it will make it easy to call on them when you need them.
3. Stop chasing smoke and mirrors.
There's no perfect formula so you can stop looking for it now. It's all about trial and error. It's a delusion that one day you get to the point where your business is so big everything just hums along. NOT true! The bigger it gets the more people who need to be trained, the more team meetings you'll be having, the more follow up required and so on! Bigger business means MORE management so I want to bring something to your attention that could be holding you back more than just this small dilemma with hiring and help. By the way, this is a very small dilemma and one that every entrepreneur must work through.
You mentioned a concern about giving away your marketing secrets and having freelancers who 'come and go'. This is not the committed state of an entrepreneur that you must get to. This is a state of being suspect, non-trusting and also guarded. None of these will serve you in the long run. Work with an attorney to have a confidentiality agreement, even with contractors, that serves you AND those you hire. Then let it rest. If you are in a state of fear and distrust you're less likely to hire people who can be trusted. BECOME what you want to hire is a big key to this process.
These stages of business are a normal process of company growth, they're not something to get caught in along the way. Getting good help, creating more work, knowing when to hire and when to fire are ALL a part of the journey. Learning to trust and learning to forgive is also a big key in this process as well that can't be overlooked. Funny isn't it? It shows up in other areas of our life simultaneously, so look for it. An open hearted business owner always grows quickly. 🙂
I want you to spend some time writing out two things-
WHY are you doing this?
WHAT do you hope to accomplish in one year?
Go beyond just how much you want to make and generic statements like pursuing your dreams. Get real specific on these and I'd be willing to bet that the other pieces will fall into place more easily.
With love,
Sandi Krakowski
