Well done. If you’re reading this, your start-up has likely reached that magical stage where the workload has surpassed what you (and your co-founders) can handle. It’s both anxiety-inducing and exhilarating. Recruiting a team for your start-up is a big step in the journey, and will greatly impact future outcomes, and the continued success of your business.
The problem is, this is your baby, and it’s not easy to give over care of your proverbial baby to just anyone. The roles that need to be filled will be high-level and high-responsibility.
The task of building your start-up team can be cumbersome and daunting, and the timing of your hires could be make-or-break. Below we share some factors to consider to determine if you’re ready to start hiring for your start-up.
Make sure your product is rock-solid
Before you bring anyone on board, it is absolutely vital that you have your business and product figured out. Along with that, ask yourself if you’re generating enough revenue, and whether it is sustainable for the foreseeable future. Hiring too early can detract your focus from growing the business and product to managing people, process, and expectations.
The truth is, nobody knows your business like you do, and in its formative stages, you’re best-placed to lead it to the place you want it to be. Once you’re confident that your start-up is in that sweet spot, then you can consider hiring. This will also bode well for new employees, who will likely enter into a more stable working environment.
Establish the skills your start-up requires
It’s no use hiring if you aren’t 100% sure of what your requirements are and will be in the near future. The last thing you want to do is hire a team, without a plan for who needs to do what. A smart alternative may be to enlist the services of contract hires to assist in the meantime, which would also help you to establish what skills you need, and which gaps need filling.
Do you have the budget?
The thing with landing the best talent is that they come at a pretty penny. On the other hand, hiring inexperienced, junior staff may also cost your start-up in training, onboarding, and most valuable of all, time from your end in order to get them to a point where they can work independently. We strongly recommend waiting it out until your start-up is in the best financial position, with steady revenue, before bringing permanent hires on board.
Whether you decide that you’re ready now, or still need to wait it out, the help of a virtual assistant will stand your start-up in good stead. It’s the perfect middle ground between investing in long-term staff, and having no help at all.
Outsourcery offers flexible, outsourced virtual assistant packages tailored to your business’s needs. We’re proud to run one of the most stringent recruitment and selection processes in the virtual assistant industry, so you can rest assured you’ll be in good hands.
