Hiring Help: You Can't Do It All Yourself
The toughest part of starting your own business may be hiring help.
July 10, 2007 — -- Bill Morland thought he made it through the hardest part of owning a small business when his inventory liquidation firm survived the first few months. But for Morland, and every other home-based business owner, the hardest part was yet to come: hiring help.
"Most business owners start out doing everything," said Morland, a former corporate executive who owned five small businesses but is now retired. "No one has the skills to do everything. Some think they do, but it is impossible."
As the director for the Orange County, Calif., chapter of SCORE, a branch of the Small Business Administration, Morland now spends his days advising other business owners on surviving and thriving.
"I tell them it's like a toothache," he said of the need for that first employee. "You feel it when it hurts, but you just ignore it until it becomes so painful you have to go to the dentist."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 49 percent of all businesses in the United States are home-based. Small businesses are responsible for 39 percent of the GNP, and more than half of all sales in the United States are from small businesses, according to the Department of Commerce.
That leaves a lot of small and home-based business owners with many decisions to make. Is it time to hire? What position should I hire? Should I use temporary employees? How much do I pay?
The best advice from the experts: Get help to complement your weaknesses and hire when you spend more time tinkering with your business than planning for the future.
"I knew it was time to hire someone because I was spending more time working in the business than working on the business," said business coach Leanne Hoagland-Smith.
The most common jobs home businesses need help with include accounting, marketing, legal, and general office help. Hoagland-Smith said most business owners have no problem hiring an accountant or a lawyer when they get in over their heads, but balk when it comes to marketing or everyday help.
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