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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.
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[? 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
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and how you grow your business.
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And the thing that instantly springs to mind
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when you talk about growing your business
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is, "Should I hire someone?"
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It's a big question, isn't it?
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And it seems an enormous committment to hire your first person.
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So we're going to talk about that just for a couple of minutes.
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The first thing to say is, "Are you working evenings and weekends?"
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Essentially, "Are you working too hard?"
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That's a really good indicator as to whether you need some extra help.
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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
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that you're not very good at.
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Are there areas where you're weak,
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and you could do with some help and support.?
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Are there parts of your job that you hate?
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Because I have to say for myself, that there are certain things
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that are involved in running a web design agency that I hate doing.
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Invoicing, chasing bad debts, doing accounting, and things like that.
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They're the kind of things that probably you're not overly excited about.
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So could you be getting someone to do those for you?
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Are you looking to eventually remove yourself entirely from your business?
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That is an option—maybe one day you just want to sit on the beach
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and enjoy the glorious sunshine with a cocktail in your hand
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and actually you want the business to carry on working
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irrespective of you.
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So are you going to hire someone?
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If you are considering this, what are your options?
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Well one option is to consider hiring someone part time initially.
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That certainly helps with the overwhelming feeling
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that it's a massive decision.
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Because hiring somebody is a big responsibility,
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and I think for a lot of people, they are held back by fear
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of taking on that first employee.
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But remember, you're providing somebody with an income.
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You're enabling them to feed themselves and their families and have a good life.
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That's a good thing to be doing and not something you need to be afraid of
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even if you can't guarantee you'll be doing it forever.
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If you are worried that maybe you'll take on someone
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and then have to lay them off at a later date
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then be honest with your prospective employee.
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Tell them that you're concerned that this might not last forever.
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Say that you can guarantee them X amount
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of employment over a period of time.
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But then, let them make their own decision
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about whether they want to take the risk or not.
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Another option if you wanted to mitigate the fear and risk of hiring someone
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is to take on an intern.
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Afterall, they've never had a job before so you're not stealing them away
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from a secure job, and you're offering them an opportunity to get involved
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with a whole new industry and start off on their career.
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So you really don't need to be that intimidated
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about hiring that first member of staff.
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You can go part time, you can be really honest and up front with people,
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and you can even consider an intern.
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So don't let that put you off.
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If you're busy, if you're working long hours,
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if you need some help to fill those weaknesses,
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get yourself an employee.
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