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Should I Hire Somebody?
3:24 with Paul BoagIf you're working lots of extra hours, recognize weakness in your expertise, and have to deal with a number of tasks you hate, it might be time to hire someone to work with you.
[? How to Run a Web Design Business with Paul Boag ?]
0:00
Okay so now it's time to talk about the issue of whether
0:04
and how you grow your business.
0:08
And the thing that instantly springs to mind
0:10
when you talk about growing your business
0:14
is, "Should I hire someone?"
0:16
It's a big question, isn't it?
0:18
And it seems an enormous committment to hire your first person.
0:20
So we're going to talk about that just for a couple of minutes.
0:24
The first thing to say is, "Are you working evenings and weekends?"
0:27
Essentially, "Are you working too hard?"
0:33
That's a really good indicator as to whether you need some extra help.
0:36
But also, there's more to consider than just, "Are you working too hard?"
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You also need to ask yourself if whether you're actually doing things in your job
0:44
that you're not very good at.
0:48
Are there areas where you're weak,
0:50
and you could do with some help and support.?
0:52
Are there parts of your job that you hate?
0:54
Because I have to say for myself, that there are certain things
0:59
that are involved in running a web design agency that I hate doing.
1:02
Invoicing, chasing bad debts, doing accounting, and things like that.
1:06
They're the kind of things that probably you're not overly excited about.
1:11
So could you be getting someone to do those for you?
1:15
Are you looking to eventually remove yourself entirely from your business?
1:18
That is an option—maybe one day you just want to sit on the beach
1:23
and enjoy the glorious sunshine with a cocktail in your hand
1:26
and actually you want the business to carry on working
1:31
irrespective of you.
1:33
So are you going to hire someone?
1:35
If you are considering this, what are your options?
1:40
Well one option is to consider hiring someone part time initially.
1:44
That certainly helps with the overwhelming feeling
1:48
that it's a massive decision.
1:52
Because hiring somebody is a big responsibility,
1:53
and I think for a lot of people, they are held back by fear
1:56
of taking on that first employee.
2:00
But remember, you're providing somebody with an income.
2:02
You're enabling them to feed themselves and their families and have a good life.
2:08
That's a good thing to be doing and not something you need to be afraid of
2:12
even if you can't guarantee you'll be doing it forever.
2:17
If you are worried that maybe you'll take on someone
2:20
and then have to lay them off at a later date
2:23
then be honest with your prospective employee.
2:25
Tell them that you're concerned that this might not last forever.
2:28
Say that you can guarantee them X amount
2:33
of employment over a period of time.
2:36
But then, let them make their own decision
2:38
about whether they want to take the risk or not.
2:40
Another option if you wanted to mitigate the fear and risk of hiring someone
2:42
is to take on an intern.
2:48
Afterall, they've never had a job before so you're not stealing them away
2:50
from a secure job, and you're offering them an opportunity to get involved
2:53
with a whole new industry and start off on their career.
2:58
So you really don't need to be that intimidated
3:01
about hiring that first member of staff.
3:05
You can go part time, you can be really honest and up front with people,
3:07
and you can even consider an intern.
3:13
So don't let that put you off.
3:15
If you're busy, if you're working long hours,
3:16
if you need some help to fill those weaknesses,
3:19
get yourself an employee.
3:22
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