Whether you’re a brand new business owner planning for long-term growth or an established business owner looking to expand, it’s a good idea to understand when to add members to your team.
While this depends on the type of business you have, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here are the key indicators that it might be time to hire:
- You have no time to work on growing your business
- You have to say no to new business
- You’re overwhelmed with everything you need to do
- Your level of service isn’t what it used to be
Read on to learn more about each of these!
You have no time to work on growing your business
Have you heard the phrase “working IN your business vs. working ON your business?
If you’re getting to a place where you’re spending so much time in the day-to-day chores (working IN your business) of your business that you have no time (or very little time) for the kind of planning that will help you grow (working ON your business), this is a good sign that it might be time to get help with your day to day routine. For example, if you’re a hairdresser finding yourself spending all your time on bookkeeping and scheduling you barely have time to add more clients or plan for your long term growth, it might be time to look into hiring a receptionist/scheduler.
You have to say no to new business
It’s always a good feeling to see your business growing and expanding, but it’s not a good feeling to have to turn away new business because you don’t have the capacity to support it. If you’re having to turn away potential new customers or clients who are a good fit because you don’t have the time, energy, or resources to support them, it’s probably time to expand.
You’re overwhelmed with everything you need to do
If you’re constantly overwhelmed even though you’re being organized and thoughtful with your time, but still feel like you never have time to finish everything you need to do, this might be a sign it’s time to hire. If you’re constantly “too busy”, your level of service and attention is likely to suffer, so it might be time to hire support to ensure you’re able to maintain and grow your business and continue delivering and improving your customer service and experience. Pro tip: when it comes to deciding which of your many duties you’ll outsource, think about what tasks you can easily train others to do and don’t require your specific skill set – this is usually a good place to start.
Your level of service isn’t what it used to be
You hold yourself to a high standard in your level of service, but even the most skilled and diligent business owners can start to lose their customer experience if they don’t have the capacity to keep up with it. This goes hand in hand with being constantly overwhelmed or busy – the more you have on your plate, the less energy, time, and attention you have to devote to the details that set your business apart from the rest and foster loyalty from your customers.
If you sense that your level of customer or client service is slipping, this may be because you’re too overwhelmed and need support.
We understand that hiring and managing is hard and has many moving parts. We’ll be sharing more on this topic in additional articles here on our resource page. In the meantime, check out this guide from the SBA for more support and context around hiring and managing employees.
https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/hire-manage-employees