Hiring Your First Employee

There are a handful of days in each of our lives that we won’t forget. For a solopreneur, the day you hire your first employee is likely one of them. When I founded Kane Communications Group in 2013, I wasn’t sure I wanted employees. I launched my firm to provide strategic PR and marketing counsel to c-suite leaders. By 2015, Kane had grown to the point where I faced a choice: start turning clients away or start hiring. This was a crossroads for me. That first hire not only changes your business, it changes your life.

Below are a few questions to help you decide if it’s time to hire.

1. Capacity: Do you have the capacity to get high quality work done, on deadline, without consistently working burnout hours?
2. Skillset: As your business grows, do you have the variety of skills needed to deliver your product or service?
3. Outsourced support: How does outsourcing or using freelancers impact your profitability? Freelancers can cost more than an employee over time and they may not be as committed to your success.
4. Personal goals: What kind of life do you want? Do you want to be responsible for others or have the flexibility that can come with being a solopreneur?