Taking the leap to becoming an employer

Kaya,

I have recently been in that leap of faith place. I had to hire two people or face the fact that my business could not progress. It is scary. I mean, what if things dont get done? Or done as well? And, I have to train someone! AND...And and...

Some encouragement...take heart. It is for the best. Accept the bumps in the road as one moment and enjoy the feeling of growth. I did and it was much easier. Good luck and let me k now if I can help.

~~Dee

I was just having a discussion about this very thing yesterday. I think at this point, I am more interested in contractor relationships than hiring...but it is great that you have enough business to start thinking about it!

Kaya, I hired an admin as a subcontractor last summer and I am so very glad I did. I pay her $15/hour for about 5 hours a week. When I did a class, she was availalble to help with all those particulars as well. Her hours ebb and flow as my needs do as well. She has other clients so it's not like she's completely dependend upon me.

Just to let you know how important she is, the last quarter and this month have been very hard(although I have high hopes...) I eliminated all frills and am down the bone with expenses but keeping my admin has been a priority.

I personally would be hesitant to have an employee at this time since my cash flow is so unpredictable and it's expensive to pay all the taxes and overheard. But in this climate, I'm sure a subcontractor would be happy to have the work.

The other issue is having the mindset that your focus is better served in marketing and developing your skills and business and not in the tasks of data entry and bookkeeping or whatever. It will free your energy up to let someone else take on those tasks.

Hope this is of help!

With delight, Amy

Congratulations!!!! Bringing others into the process represents growth. Now you get to do what you do best and have someone else do the rest. That's nice... I started first with independent contractors, then went to employees (geez, have you ever seen California Department of Employment paperwork?). Now I'm using a virtual assistant and it's worked the best because it fits the cycles of PR (busy and then not busy) and there's basically no tax considerations (in Ca. we have to pay some taxes/workers comp for independent contractors). In any case, I hope you are enjoying the success!

As a VA, I would support Karen's suggestion of going the virtual route. A big advantage is that you don't have to file any employment paperwork, worry about payroll taxes, or even provide workspace. The work is done under contract from their office.

Most of the work in the job description could easily be done off-site. VAs do internet research, support shopping carts, manage your blogs, maintain client databases, issue and track invoices, and compose correspondence. In short, VAs doe the mundane day-to-day tasks that take up your time and energy.

I would suggest that, if you choose the VA route, you visit the International Virtual Assistants Association. You can search for VAs in your area. As your business continues to grow, the VA can grow along with you until you get to a point that you really do need someone full-time. It's a win-win situation.

Good luck with your decision and congratulations on your growth! Well done!

Best regards, Phyllis Harber-Murphy CAP More Than 9 2 5 Virtual Assistance www.morethan925.com

Making the leap to becoming an employer adds levels of responsibility that can be daunting at times. I'd recommend engaging subcontractors or virtual assistants. I've tried both approaches in my eight-year-old business.

You'll learn a lot as you experience either choice. Just be clear about the results you expect and the value you assign to the help you engage. Monitor both so you and your business get best value.

And don't forget to ask yourself if you are enjoying your business more or less with the help you hire.

Good luck!

Nancy Juetten

I am at this point with my business as well. I find that my to-do list keeps getting longer every day, which tells me that I'm not keeping up. I have had an in-house assistant before, and I think it's time again. But it can take a lot of time and effort to find the right person, especially when you're looking for someone who is willing to start "small" and grow with your business. And of course, if you had the time handle finding and hiring someone, that would mean you don't actually need them. So it's kind of a catch-22. Ideally, it would be great to hire someone BEFORE you need them, but that's not how things work in the real world of course.

While I don't have an answer for this, I do have one suggestion for making the process a little easier. You might want to consider using an employment service like Kelly Services or Oasys to hire your people through. They handle all of the payroll and tax stuff for you, you just have to submit the hours to them. They charge a fee (usually a percentage of the hourly wage) to do this, but it can save you a lot of headaches. I have used this type of service before and it was very inexpensive. Although I think I'm getting a special rate through my company so it might not be cost effective for you. But it would probably be worth taking a look at.