We have a feeling you’re on track for hiring an employee if: Your business is thriving. Your social media accounts are growing. Sales are skyrocketing.
You are on a frickin’ roll, sis! ✨
And you are ready to start building out your team.
You are ready to say goodbye to doing all the things. You’ve had enough!
Honestly, who can blame you?
The more your bomb biz continues to grow, the more your caffeine addiction will too, because it is not even humanly possible to keep up with all the work on your own without pulling a couple of all-nighters.
And you need your beauty rest, queen!
So build that biz!
But here’s the thing.
Don’t skip straight to the step where you post your cute lil’ Canva graphics saying, “We’re hiring!”
Building your team is one thing, but building your #DreamTeam takes work.
But — it’s worth it!
Putting in the time and effort into seeking out the *perfect* people to collaborate with makes your biz run like a well-oiled machine.
Here, we’re offering five tips for hiring your dream team, so you can focus on your job of being the best biz owner you’re meant to be.
Let’s get started.👇🏽
1. Track Your Time
When you are operating like a one-woman show you might not feel the need to track your time because you don’t have to report it to your boss.
But, you are the boss.
Every penny that comes in is yours (once you’ve paid off your biz expenses, of course!) so you might think, who cares how long or short things take me.
In this circumstance, time tracking might seem a *little* useless.
But when you’re thinking about hiring someone for your dream team, this is an essential place to start.
You need to start tracking and identifying exactly how much time each task is taking each week.
This is the first step to understanding what tasks are slowing down your productivity and exactly what roles you need to fill.
Most entrepreneurs working solo are doing customer service, sales, accounting, bookkeeping, content management, rendering the services to your clients (of course!), and more.
It’s overwhelming!
By tracking your time diligently, you’ll be able to see on a week-by-week basis what is taking up all your precious time and what is slipping through the cracks.
Because let’s face it, as your business grows and you continue to operate as a one-woman show, you simply can’t keep up with everything. Sooner or later, some of the balls you’ve been trying to juggle solo will start to drop.
And that is totally normal.
This is where hiring your dream team comes in.
Look at how you’re spending your time and decide what tasks you’re ready to offload in order to focus more deeply on the things that matter most to you as well as what will drive business growth.
This will free up more time for important projects that keep slipping through the cracks and ensure everything continues to get done with the help of your team.
2. Craft a Job Description
Once you know what tasks you need to offload, it’s time to craft the job description(s).
You’ll first want to go through the list of tasks and group related things together.
If you want someone doing customer service, that probably won’t be the same person as the person doing your accounting.
(Unless you find some amazing communications/accounting wiz. In that case, go off, sis. 💃🏽)
You have to be clear about exactly what you need in your next hire so you can choose the most qualified person for the gig.
That way, the people that apply for the position are well-suited to the role and you don’t waste all your time sifting through accounting leads when all you want is a social media specialist, ya feel?
If you’ve grouped your tasks together and realized you have a few different hires you need to make, that’s great!
✨ #DreamTeam ✨
Prioritize which hire comes first and clearly communicate how many hours you need from each member of your team.
Doing this will help ensure that you’ll get a handful of qualified specialists doing the tasks they do best, rather than one overworked person who can do one thing really well and has to do all the other things kinda poorly.
Remember, you’re working toward a well-oiled machine, not a bunch of overworked and over-caffeinated team members!
3. Identify the Position You Are Hiring
Now that you’ve got the role description(s) under control, you need to decide whether you want to hire an independent contractor or employee.
An independent contractor has more freedom to work how they choose *independent* from you and your biz, but you have fewer responsibilities as their boss to manage their pay, benefits, etc.
Meanwhile, an employee operates under the protocols set out by you, the employer, when it comes to hours, methods, location, etc. However, you have more responsibility to provide benefits to them, file taxes differently, and a whole lot more.
If you’re still a little lost on what they both mean and which one is right for this particular hire, check out another post to help you decide if you should hire an employee or an independent contractor.
It’s important that both you and whoever you hire have a clear understanding of what type of role it is that you’re looking to fill.
If you are looking for someone to become an employee and participate in the inner workings of your company, you don’t want to hire someone who is looking for the freedom of being an independent contractor.
This kind of misunderstanding will cause conflict. 😩
Avoid this by being clear about your needs as a business owner right off the bat.
Again, this will save you the time of sifting through tons of applications from independent contractors if you are searching for an employee and vice versa.
Communicate, communicate, communicate!
4. Tell the World About Your Available Position
Finally!
It’s time for that “We’re hiring!” post.
Share it on your socials and always remember to spread the word to industry colleagues that you trust.
They might know a fabulous person to fill the position, and if you already trust their opinion that can go a looooong way.
We recommend heading over to our verified business directory — which includes women in a variety of industries, already vetted by us — and browsing for potential candidates there.
If you’re looking to keep your hire local, definitely share your job posting at colleges and universities in your area.
Getting the word out is exciting! 💫
It’s a sign that you are growing and expanding, so don’t hold back when it comes to letting the world know that your dream team is looking for its newest member.
The beauty of online business is that you can build your team with literally anyone in the world through the wonders of the worldwide web. How sweet is that?
You will find your perfect match, we promise.💛
5. Hire for Current Tasks
This last tip is something new business owners can find a little confusing.
But what it comes down to is that you should only hire for projects your business is currently working on. In other words, focus on hiring for the projects in your business that are required in order to continue operating as you are.
For example: Let’s say you’ve been thinking about implementing a Pinterest strategy. Love that for you! 💛
Pinterest is the place to be these days!
But before you jump the gun and hire a Pinterest manager, your first hire should actually be someone who can take on tasks that currently need attention.
For example, have you been slacking on your social content? Neglecting your email list? Forgetting to follow up with potential leads?
… 😳
Get those tasks covered before trying to take on a new project like a Pinterest strategy.
This will free up your time to be more involved in working on your Pinterest presence and only then should you hire a Pinterest manager.
Yes, the obvious choice would be, “I want a Pinterest strategy, therefore I’ll hire a Pinterest manager.”
But trust us, hiring for current tasks is a much more sustainable way to work that allows you to focus on every new step you take in growing your business.
Bonus Hiring Tip
We want to share one additional thing to remember during the team-building process: Hire slow and fire fast.
This means being thoughtful about what areas of your business really need that extra support. You’ve got to plan out *exactly* what your new teammates’ roles will look like.
And most importantly, it means taking your time to vet your candidates, conduct interviews, assess their skills, and get to know them.
Only once you’ve done an extremely thorough search is it time to get that contract signed with your newest dream team member.
You care so deeply about your biz, so make sure that your new hire does too.
On the other hand, when it comes to firing someone, this is where you can pick up the pace a little bit.
A lot of people feel so bad when their new hire is a wrong fit. They pour a lot of energy and resources into trying to make it work, when in reality it would probably be best for both of you if you just went ahead and cut the cord early on.
If you feel like you’re giving adequate training and support, but your new hire just doesn’t seem to share the same values or work ethic as you do, and isn’t producing quality work, it’s okay to let them go.
It’s no one’s fault, but you have to be a strong leader and do what’s best for your business.
And friends, don’t wait and waffle about, “Should I or shouldn’t I fire this person?”
If you are having doubts, your gut is probably right. Trust your intuition!
Finding someone whose vibe works with your vibe is very possible when you are intentional about each step in the team-building process.
Once you’ve found this ideal person, you’ll be set to work together to take your business to the next level.
And friends, when you do find that dream team member and are ready to launch into your work together, before you do anything else you need to sign a contract.
Luckily, Coaches & Co. has got you covered!
Ready to keep growing your team? Check out our ready-to-use, lawyer-approved, plug-and-play legal contract templates, so you can upgrade your business policies while staying Profitable & Protected™✨
*The information presented in this blog post is for educational & informational purposes only. This should not be a substitute for customized legal advice from a licensed professional in a private setting. If you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney. This is not a law firm.
