Tips on Hiring Your First Employee

 There will come a time in your small business when you will realize that you cannot do everything on your own. Or that you really cannot outsource all the work needed for your new business to flourish.   That is when you need to think of hiring your first employee. It is a major milestone in your business, this is why you need to do it right. Below are some useful tips on how to hire your first employee.  

Don’t procrastinate 

As soon as you’ve realized that you need help in your business, you should post that For Hire ad already. You need to make sure, however, that you can afford to hire an employee.   You wouldn’t want to hire someone only to let him/her go a few weeks or months after because your business ran out of money. You need to keep in mind that hiring an employee is totally worth it.   When you hire an employee, you don’t only get an additional person to do legwork, you can also get valuable insights from another individual. When you have an employee, tasks that usually take weeks to finish will be done in days.   Think of hiring your first employee as one of the best investments you can make for your business.  

Hire someone with potential 

A common mistake of employers is hiring someone based on their track record. The best managers, however, can see the potential in an individual. The best employee for your business is someone whose passion and interests are similar to yours.   To unlock someone’s potential, you need a mix of passion and skills. If you judge an applicant based on what she has achieved in the past, you might miss out on the opportunity to hire someone who can truly help your business grow.  

Let applicants demonstrate their skills 

It is easy to answer interview questions. If you really want to see what an applicant can do then the best thing to do is to let them demonstrate their skills. If you are hiring a copywriter, for example, then let an applicant write a short copy.   If you are hiring a salesperson, then tell the applicant to sell you something. Such a test of skills can quickly separate those with potential from those who do not.  

Take care of the legalities 

This is a boring yet necessary step to take if you are going to hire your first employee. You need to prepare a contract and you need to set the terms of employment with the help of your lawyer of course.   By doing so, you are making sure that your business and your future employee will both be protected. There is a good chance that your first hiring experience will not turn out the way you want it to.   The last thing that a start-up needs is to have legal problems. After you take care of the legal aspects of hiring an employee, you now have the peace of mind to focus on more important aspects of your business.