When to hire in your small business
When we interviewed successful entrepreneurs across Canada, one of the areas of difficulty they found in their businesses was the decision of when to hire employees.
So – how do you know when to hire your first employees?
- Sum everything up in a big pros and cons list — identify what benefits an employee could bring to your company, as well as the drawbacks and costs of being an employer that would result.
- Which business activities are you really good at? Which could use some improvement? It often doesn’t make sense to hire someone to perform an activity that your company is particularly skilled with.
- Consider the financial impact that hiring will have on your company, as well as on corporate culture and daily operations.
- Take a look at your business’ finances and calculate your ability to afford payroll.
- Assess the variety of options you have available, such as full-time, part-time, hiring on contract/a freelancer, or hiring a student.
- If you find you’re not ready to commit to hiring a new employee, consider contracting or outsourcing the work through personal networks or websites such as Upwork or Freelancer.
- Consider the business activity that will be happening in the next month, three months and six months. Is this a workload that you’re able to handle on your own? Think about the business processes you’re currently responsible for that you could hire help for — things like accounting, administration, manufacturing, website design, marketing and public relations.
- Once you’ve calculated an allowable budget for hiring, consider whether you can afford a part-time or full-time employee or if it would be more beneficial to contract the work.
There’s a lot to keep in mind when making the decision to hire your first employees, but with proper planning and research, it can be a very rewarding experience!
After you’ve hired: