Are you working every minute you are awake for your business and community? Does all this work exhaust you or does it light you up?

If you find yourself bogged down with the day to day tasks of your business, it might be time for additional help!  This post will help you to transition from solopreneur to entrepreneur.  You can move from doing everything all yourself to leaning into your strengths and inviting others to join you with theirs. 

Together you can build a strong team and still enjoy your life.

Hire for your weaknesses

Chances are, you are the one doing everything in your business and your reason for hiring is to relieve some of the tension and burnout you are experiencing. So, hire out for roles that rob you of your productive and creative energy.

If there are areas in your business that involve tasks that are not necessarily your strong suit, then hire out for those tasks.  When we work in an area that does not come easy for us, it can often drain us of our productive and creative energy.

When we are in ‘the flow’ of things, we are usually performing some sort of project or task that comes easy to us, lights us up and motivates us to keep working.  We can get so involved in what we are doing that we lose track of time!  This is when we are bursting with creative juices and are the most productive; we are truly present in what we are working on.

When you are in ‘the flow’, you are working out of your own strengths and passion.  You definitely do not want to give that role to a hire.

Instead, hire out for the areas where you are not as strong.  This might be tasks that a virtual assistant can do, such as social media, reception and clerical work. Or maybe it’s your bookkeeping. 

When you hire someone who is strong in an area where you are weak, it frees you up to focus on your strengths; the very strengths that often sets your business apart from the rest.

Plus, your new hire adds their own strengths, complimenting yours and most likely, performing that role better than you did yourself – creating an even stronger business.

Just be sure to hire out in the areas where you have a solid process and expectations are clear.

If you do not have a solid process for creating, sharing, and scheduling posts on social media, then that is not something that can be easily handed over to a VA.  Likewise, if you don’t have a system for client management or delivering services, it can be incredibly complicated to hand that role over to a new hire.

Hire for FIT and SKILL

Make sure you like the person you hire. It matters – listen to your gut! Red flags in an interview are reasons to move on.

Start by looking for someone with a similar personality to you.  You need a hire who compliments you; someone you can work well with.  If you are a very positive person with a can-do attitude, you don’t want to bring on a negative Nancy. 

Be sure this person is a good fit for the job and has the appropriate skills.  You don’t want to take on someone who knows what she is doing but doesn’t mesh well with the company.  Likewise, you don’t want someone who is great, that you absolutely love to hang with, but lacks the skills needed to do the job.

You need both.  So, consider the prospective hire’s work habits, strengths, weaknesses and how they best perform.  Will that person mesh with your existing team?  If it is just you right now, will that person compliment the way you do business?

During the interview, dig for REAL answers and ask why when an answer feels off.

Consider testing the prospect’s skill level by giving a common, imperfect scenario and see what questions they ask, what assumptions they make and how they do. Mock assignments or projects are another great way to test for both skill and fit. 

Give the prospect 48 hours to turn it in. Are they on time?  Did they ask any questions or just assume?  Is the work up to your expectations?

Hire before you NEED to and WHEN you can afford to

It takes time to train someone and get them immersed in your business in a way that makes it helpful to have them on board!

Hire when you have the time to invest in them.  You will need to show them what and how you want things done.

If you wait until you are on fire, you will waste money by paying them to watch you do it yourself.  This could create a tentative relationship from the very beginning.

Start small if you need to. Your new hire needs to either save you money or make you money.  If your new hire costs you money, then it’s best to reassess the situation. 

Work with folks who can side hustle for you if you don’t have a full budget yet.  These are often independent contractors or freelancers who can provide services for a small fee.  Business.com has a great list of places to find freelancers.

But the best place to find someone who can side hustle for you and will be a good fit for your growing team is simply through word of mouth within your own network.  Who do you know, who has hired freelancers or contractors? 

Start asking around!  If someone you know, like and trust can give you a recommendation, you will have a better chance for success when hiring for your business.

Create a Win-Win Culture

Make sure your team is doing tasks they LOVE and EXCEL at. The group moves better if everyone is in their FLOW!  This will be easier to do if you hired for strengths and passions from the beginning. 

Check in with your team regularly to see if any changes need to be made. Maybe a simple adjustment in one place can fix a bigger problem in another. STAY OPEN to all ideas!

Regularly meet with the team and communicate the importance of working in alignment with everyone’s strengths.  Weekly team meetings, postmortem debriefs, and annual reviews are a great way to keep open communication. 

Be ready to pivot when things are out of alignment.  You want to empower your team to do things on their own, freeing you up for the tasks that keep you in your flow and your business moving forward. 

Sometimes shifting your management or leadership style a bit is all it takes to get things back into the groove.

Wrapping It All Up

If you are ready to hire, the best way to grow as a business is to hire a team that will energize and compliment you.  You should look for someone who’s skillset is strong where you are weak.  Hire someone who fits into your current team and business; someone who melds with you but still has the skills needed to do the job.

And remember to hire before you need to.  If you hire when you have no other choice, you will lack the time to correctly train your new hire.  This will set you both up for a negative experience. 

And finally, creating a win-win culture will assure that your entire team leans into their strengths, empowering them to work towards one common goal: the growth of your business in service to your clients.