Time to hire

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     for managing and growing your small business.

     You are always short-handed in small business. Never do you have all the help you could use. So you tend to do everything yourself--including taking out the trash.

     You started your business because you had a passion. Maybe it was baking or yoga, engineering or repairing automobiles.

     But the time it takes for you to do everything has become too much. It's cutting into sleep time, and you could use a vacation. You are absorbing too much of the activity. 

     If you cannot afford to add a full time employee, consider a part timer. High school and college students always need a little extra money. You can hire one for 3 or 4 hours a day. Retirees also need more money and want to keep busy--a valuable asset to them and you.

     You might consider bringing in an intern. Not every business is an appropriate venue for an intern. But a law office, a chef, an insurance agency, a small advertising firm, even a specialty grower of plants, and others can bring interns into their operations. Interns work for the experience and little pay is involved compared to a full time experienced employee.

     If you decide to add a full time employee, consider the position carefully. This is an opportunity for you to extend yourself. It's a time to carve out those activities that take up lots of your time and turn them over to the new person. Or it's a time to bring in new talent--someone who can do things that you don't know how to do. Whatever the case, write down the things that you expect the new person to do--and then talk it over with them.

     Whichever path you take--part timers, interns, or full time employees--you are extending yourself. Then, you can concentrate on the parts of the business that you enjoy and the parts that are critical to the future of the business. Extending yourself allows you--and the business--to grow. 

     It's time to hire when you get yourself overworked. Just make sure that your new hire fits into your long range plans.

     New employees need to be trained. I've found that I can train a person to do just about anything. What you look for is someone who knows how to apply himself/herself to the tasks at hand, comes to work on time, has an interest in your business, and shows self discipline and integrity.