“Cash flow is really tight, but I’m also overwhelmed. When should I bite the bullet and hire an assistant?”
I get this question, or a variation of it, fairly regularly. I’ve employed assistants, virtual or otherwise, for a good part of our 12 year history. More than that, I’ve led Heart of Business to become a team with both real employees and contractors, and along the way I’ve learned a thing or two. Painfully, lots of mistakes, some of them expensive, but I’ve learned.
Which leads me to want to give you two entirely contradictory answers. The first answer is, “Get all the great support you can as soon as you can, because you can get *so* much done *so* much more quickly — and better — than on your own!” I have been amazed, just *AMAZED* at how much more creative and productive I am, the whole company is, with a team working together.
The other answer is, “Hold off! It’s too easy to spend money on help, and it goes fast, and you can dig yourself a big hole that way!” Hire the wrong person to do the wrong things and you can end up in a situation that is hard to come back from if you’re already living on the edge.
Those two answers, of course, aren’t useful to you at all, because it’s the same debate already happening in your head.
Let me give you 3 tips that will hopefully help you sort it out. Then I want to hear your questions, as well as anyone who has wisdom to share on this potentially thorny topic.
The first tip is this: work out a clear audience you are trying to reach, a clear offer you are wanting to give them, and some consistency with bringing in revenue before you hire help. Hiring help multiplies what you have. If you don’t have anything clear, then multiplying that vagueness gets expensive fast.
The second tip, presented as an if-then statement. If you already have experience running a team or working with an assistant, then get clear on a discrete section of your work that you can hand off, which frees up a significant chunk of your time to do more of what only you can do.
If you don’t already have experience running a team or having an assistant, then pick one smallish project, maybe only a couple of hours of work, to hand off to get practice. Because it takes practice to hand off your tasks.
The third tip is advanced, and it involves going beyond just getting administrative help. The shift from managing tasks to managing projects goes a step further when you manage processes. A task is a single to-do completed in less than an hour, often much less. A project is a collection of tasks that work toward a single goal.
A process, or work-flow, is thinking in systems. There are many things your body does over and over again, like exchanging carbon dioxide and oxygen in the alveoli of your lungs. Same with your business.
Getting someone who can help turn your business into a series of workflow processes, then manage them successfully means that you are going to be very freed up to mostly do the great work you are best at.
It’s time to take a moment and ask your heart: where are you? Where is your business? What does your business most need to move forward? Care with finances while you get the basics worked out? Or is it time to loosen the pursestrings a bit and get the help you need?
Struggling with this question? Or have you been through this before and have a story or wisdom to share?
With love and appreciation,
Mark
p.s. There comes a time when a book or class isn’t enough.
There comes a time in most businesses when a class or book alone isn’t going to do it for you, when you are ready to have some personal support. Someone to look at everything you are doing, and help you sort out your priorities, so you can focus on getting the right things done, and done as easily as possible.
Even more, someone who, when you get stuck, can support healing and growth for both you and your business. Like, for instance, doubling your revenue? Seriously.
Is it maybe that time for you? Check out our Organic Business Development Program.
7 Responses
Great post as always, Mark. My two cents: There never is the
Hi Jutta- thanks for bringing so many resources and insights to this post! Thank you, and I know you are absolutely right about there never being a perfect moment.
Recently I read an interesting book about this growth dilemma: Robert Copping: “The Heart Of Business Success – How To Overcome The Catch-22s Of Growing Your Business.”
Ahh..there is another good book, if you consider hiring your first employee: “Hiring Your First Employee – A Step by Step Guide” by Fred S. Steingold, NOLO’s Small Business Essentials. With focus on the US, but also very interesting and helpful for other countries.
Great timing of this article Mark. I’m at a point in my business where I really need to hire help, yet I’m a bit scared of letting go of control. But I find myself spending hours doing crazy boring admin that stops me from doing the things on my business that would likely bring me more work, like writing and guest posting. Thanks for the gentle nudge. I’m advertising for a VA! 🙂
Clinton- awesome! I’m so glad you’re stepping in. It will be a journey, and you will be so relieved!
Great points. Two questions come to mind.
Are you hiring someone to do something you “can” do well or fairly well, but you don’t want to or shouldn’t be doing?
Are you hiring someone to do something you don’t do well or at all?
If you are not clear about it you will likely be wasting time and money. Be clear.
Thanks.