It’s no secret that time management is crucial to your success as a business owner. If you find yourself wearing all the hats all the time, you know that you need to bring on new team members. But how do you know when it’s time to bring on your next hire, and how do you make the most of your new employees once they get there?
Growing your team, if done correctly, requires preparation—emotionally and financially. We’re going to look at three ways to prepare yourself, your business, and your team for successful growth while maximizing your ROI and freeing up your time and brain space.
Releasing control
Your business is your baby. But the truth of the matter is you won’t escape the daily overwhelm if you don’t build a team. One question I hear from a lot of clients who are ready to grow is “What if my team doesn’t do their tasks in the same way I always have?”
Spoiler alert: your new team members won’t do things in the same ways you do—and that’s a good thing.
By expanding your team, you open your business up to new, possibly better, ways of operating. We can’t know everything all the time. Making room for new people, new ideas, and new ways of completing tasks enriches your relationships and your operations.
To make the most of your new hires, you need to create systems and develop your own leadership skills. Establishing an infrastructure for growth can be challenging, but ultimately a very profitable one.
Just remember your team will make mistakes. They won’t get everything right the first time, but chances are neither did you.
Hiring your first employee
Take a second to assess the lowest dollar tasks you are performing in your business. Chances are they are ALL administrative. For most business owners, hiring a virtual assistant or administrative assistant is a great first step toward building your team.
Start by identifying the back end or customer service tasks that must happen. In the past, I’ve delegated very routine marketing tasks to administrative assistants. Reaching out to potential clients on Facebook can be a time-consuming task. Either you spend time you don’t have halfway connecting with people because your attention is drawn elsewhere OR you can template your best conversation starters and tell your VA to go get ‘em!
By documenting and systematizing your tasks, you ensure the transition is as seamless as possible for your business—and your new employee. After identifying the tasks you’d like to delegate, create a quick video of yourself in action, and offer that as training to your new hire!
When you’re no longer consumed by the onslaught of administrative tasks, you are free to sell, generate additional revenue, or provide an additional service to your clients. The return on your “free” time is massive.
Preparing for additional team members
Your administrative assistant is in place, but how do you know when it’s time to bring on your next trainer, massage therapist, or esthetician? This decision completely depends on the business, but here is how to make sure you’re not caught with your financial pants down:
Using the Profit First model, create a new bank account, and start saving for your future team member. When you can allocate their salary to the account each week, it’s the right time.
By knowing their salary and banking that amount every month, you are creating the one-month salary buffer we recommend, but you are also getting an accurate view of how far you potentially have to go before you’re ready to financially commit to a new team member.
Once you can easily bank their salary month to month, you’re ready!
If you find yourself struggling to stash the money away that you need to grow your team, and increase your peace of mind, reach out to us. We would love to help you implement Profit First so it works for you.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed in your business, growing your team seems urgent—and sometimes it is! But the more you can prepare yourself and your finances before adding on a new team member, the better the ROI is for you, your business, and your new employees. When you make deliberate financial and training decisions, you create a team as loyal to your business as you are!