Growth Strategies for Entrepreneurs – Hiring the Right People

As an entrepreneur, your business is your baby. From the outset, you’ve been a one person army, doing everything and managing alright…but now, the work has reach a tipping point. Effective growth strategies indicate it’s time to hire someone new to take part of the burden off your plate. Unfortunately, letting go of that control can be a challenge. Rushing into a hiring decision is never a good idea, especially when it’s your first hire, so planning ahead and being picky is the key to a successful hire. If you haven’t considered a growth strategy, it might be time to take a step back and assess the options.

The first step is determining the type of person you want to bring in. Do you need accounting help? Part time office support? Full time sales? Contract work? By assessing where a new employee will fit in the office, you can not only create an effective job posting but you can start to settle on skills and qualities you will be looking for in an employee. Then, when you start receiving applications you have set criteria on which to initially base your assessments to determine the best people to interview.

An effective growth strategy includes due diligence. It’s always a good idea to spend the time verifying an applicant’s professional experience, level of education and employment status. Many employers don’t check references but these can offer confirmation of work history and work ethic. Ask for at least two professional and one personal reference. Professional reference calls should revolve around duties performed, professionalism and skills. Keep in mind, relevance plays a part in these questions, so keep everything as closely related to their potential employment with you as possible. A personal reference call can include questions about work ethic, character and whether or not they would hire the individual for a job.

**Discrimination should be considered when calling references. Be sure your questions are not construed to be discriminatory by avoiding topics like age, race, national origin, religion, disabilities, sexual orientation or marital status.

Criminal history? You’ll need permissions to do a background check to investigate this personal information but it’s never a bad idea to check out an applicant’s past just in case. There is a lot of public information available online. A simple search can yield a large number of results that can be helpful in establishing the credibility and character of an applicant.

Growth strategies can help guide this hiring process. Should an applicant make it through the “redtape” of the interview process, great! If not, don’t give up too quickly. Taking time to find just the right fit is important. In the end, gut feelings can help the decision, so don’t rule them out

Taking a leap with a new hire is not only a risk but an investment, so putting in the time is the only way of maximizing on your growth strategies. The first hire is always the biggest leap and therefore the hardest but each hire after should get a bit easier. As the culture of your organization is established you’ll have a better idea of the “right” person. Patience and focus will help guide the rest.

Buy A Small Business with Sunbelt Business Brokers

Let our experienced brokers guide you through the process of finding a business that fits all your criteria. Browse by location to find a business for sale in your area.