When & How To Hire For Your Small Business

[ad_1]

One of the most popular questions I get from fellow small business owners is how to know when it is time to seek additional help.

I started my blog 10 years ago this fall and in the beginning, it seemed like everyone I knew was hiring assistants left and right. It wasn’t until my business was truly standing on its own two feet, about two years in, that I figured out why I needed help. E-mails were going unanswered, scheduled conference calls were being missed, and sponsored posts were being dropped left and right. I simply couldn’t keep up with my own calendar and the output of work started to slowly slip.

Listen, I am really awful at managing and hiring people. After all, I started this blog and my business as a way to avoid working in a red tape environment. I never took any management courses in school, never in a million years dreamed that I would be responsible for managing a staff, and I am not the best at hiring. I was exceptionally lucky to have found my first few assistants, but in between a rough patch I knew it was time to seek outside help.

One of the strongest things you can do as a small business owner is to come to terms with your weak points and hire people whose strengths outweigh your own weakness.

Once upon a time I somehow got on The Grapevine newsletters where they blast out potential jobs to people. I was always drawn to their listings because they seemed to creative in nature, yet offered stable and “good” jobs in LA and NY. I knew needed help to find someone perfect for my own company, so I reached out to Grapevine.

Lori helped me find my last assistant, Erin, who was with us for nearly 3.5 years. It was an incredible match. Rather recently, Erin spread her wings to become an editor. Without hesitation I reached back out to Grapevine to help us find a great fit and we’ve been so happy since. They made the entire process feel so easy and were able to find a great match for us within 2 weeks! We were also offered peace of mind with the way Grapevine does their secure background checks and industry insights on salary, etc.

Whether you are using an incredible agency such as Grapevine, or hitting the pavement to seek talent on your own, here are my top 5 tips when seeking employees:

1. Make a List

Over the course of a week, make a master list of all the things you hope for your employee to tackle. Any and all things you are hoping to delegate that take up too much of your time should go on this list. This will also help you formalize a job title.

2. Figure out what type of assistant you need

Take a look at the list you’ve compiled and try to find a common theme. Are most of the tasks of personal nature or more administrative? It might involve a little bit of both, and that’s okay. Just be very clear with exactly what type of help you need so you can include it in the job listing.

3. Take Notes

During interviews, be sure to take a lot of notes. You’ll be surprised by how much you may forget when you are stacking interviews back to back.

4. Get Creative With Interviews

Sometimes I’ll ask candidates for a list of people they are following on Instagram. Or, I’ll give them a random question to shake things up and see how they respond. It’s a quick and easy way to get a gauge on someone’s personality.

5. Don’t Settle

The worst mistake you can make is settling on someone that you think might end up working out in the long run. Trust your gut and at the end of the day, hold out for the right person… not the right person right now.

Do you have any pro tips for hiring? Leave a comment below!

xoxo jacey

Source link
[ad_2]

source https://earn8online.com/index.php/314017/when-how-to-hire-for-your-small-business/