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As the founding father of 3X, I’m no stranger to hiring. My first company went from zero to $5 million in just a few short years, which meant we were hiring latest people every few weeks to sustain with growth. There was constant pressure to stay ahead of the curve, but not too far ahead.
I’ve learned some vital lessons along the way, especially about when to hire and when not to hire. It’s not an easy decision. If you hire too slowly, you’ll be able to overburden your staff and lose your edge in finding latest clients or supporting the clients you already have. If you hire too quickly, you’ll be able to fall behind in terms of profitability and money flow. It’s all the time a tightrope to walk, and there are no easy answers.
When founders ask me for advice on this topic, I like to recommend taking a measured approach and avoiding emotional decisions. While hiring a latest worker isn’t necessarily a everlasting decision, it might probably have lasting consequences if you make the incorrect selection. Before you begin recruiting, interviewing, and hiring more people, I like to recommend considering these five things.
1. Protect your bottom line
Entrepreneurs are not risk averse. We leave the house every morning. Ask yourself this easy query: Will a latest hire immediately put you in a negative money flow situation? If so, it’s probably higher to wait. Without a sufficient money flow cushion to cover additional costs, you’ll be able to quickly lose your head. Consider waiting until you have at least six months of money in the bank to cover the costs of each latest hire. (*5*), you risk putting too much financial pressure on the entire organization, especially yourself.
2. Take a close look at growth trends
You can avoid hasty hiring decisions by taking a close look at revenue growth trends—and not only over the past few weeks or months, but over the past 12 months and beyond. Are you seeing regular growth or just a blip in sales? Do some research and try to determine where sales are headed next quarter, the quarter after that, and over the next 12 months. Be brutally honest with yourself. Entrepreneurs can sometimes be overly confident about the future (it’s what drives us!), but don’t be so certain that you just make decisions blindly. Try to make decisions based on data, not emotion.
3. Assess the real need
Sometimes it’s easy to imagine that a latest hire will solve all of your problems. Try not to idiot yourself into pondering that. While you and your team may feel overworked, hiring latest employees is also a lot of labor. Interviewing, training, and managing takes time. Creating latest roles and positions also takes time—sometimes (but not all the time) more work if you’ve done the job yourself. Again, it might probably be a tightrope walk in terms of how and when to make a decision. But be smart about it and don’t rush into pondering that every one your problems will disappear with a latest hire. Take the time to assess where and why you would like more help before you hire more people.
4. Talk to your team
Before you make a decision about a latest hire, take the time to talk to the people on your team who will likely be directly affected by the latest hire. Try to get their honest feedback. Sometimes the best answers come from the people on the front lines of your organization. You might find that you just don’t necessarily need more staff. You might need to reorganize or higher implement technology, or you would possibly find that some members of your team need more coaching. You can never assume too much, and if you make hiring decisions without consulting your team, you’re putting yourself and your team at risk.
5. Remember that you just are dealing with people
In the hustle and bustle of running a business, it’s easy to forget that you just’re hiring people, not resumes. Every hiring decision impacts lives. If you make a bad decision and find yourself firing someone, do not forget that losing a job is labor and affects entire families. Be smart about your hiring decisions. As employers, we have a responsibility to the individuals who work for us. People aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re mothers, dads, young adults, and others struggling to make ends meet. If you have to hire someone, hire them, but don’t forget to consider the lives of the people you hire.
Growing a business all the time requires hiring more people, and sometimes you have to push yourself a little harder to achieve your goals. I know I actually did. But do your best to make informed, data-driven, and prudent hiring decisions that profit each your organization and the people you hire.