Expansion Plans

Most Entrepreneurship ventures began as a Solepreneur or a partnership between two maybe three individuals who decide to go into business together. If the business is successful eventually you will hire other individuals to join the company and begin to put together your business team. For most growing business this is a daunting and anxiety filled process. Yes you’re excited that your company is growing and you’re able to expand, offer jobs, operate at a higher level and generate additional revenue, but you have to trust this new person who hasn’t been privy to the road and the experiences that came with getting the company to this point. How does one add members to their growing company and build a strong team that can help the company continue to reach its goals?

First off be realistic! You may hire a babysitter or nanny to watch your child and they may do so very well, but it’s not their child. He/she isn’t going to receive the level of love attention and care that they would from their parent, but as long as they aren’t abusive to the kid, make sure they get fed, and put them to bed on time you’re happy. The same can be said with your business, even the most stellar dedicated employee is never going to treat your business with the level of attention and reverence that you as the owner will and you’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Take your time: I’ve seen people put more thought into what type of laundry detergent or deodorant to use then they do in deciding to bring on a new team member. Making a hasty hiring decision b/c you need to generate sales immediately, need to get a project done and are currently shorthanded, or just want to get it over with will haunt you in the long run. Take time and decide the type of person you’re really looking for, make a list of all the attributes you want to see in an ideal candidate and use that as a bass line when interviewing. If a candidate has over 70% of the attributes that are on your list you can consider them strong. That doesn’t mean you hire them immediately it only means that your consideration of this candidate is now higher than it was prior to the interview, make sure the vetting process is extensive.

Use interns to train yourself how to manage and find diamonds in the rough: Here at Highbrid media we ran and still do run an intensive internship program. This program has proven invaluable in many ways but the biggest benefit has been it’s allowed us as the principals to hone our management skills and learn how to manage, motivate, and in some cases eliminate talent without exposing the company to risks that can come with hiring/firing full time employees. Another benefit is we’ve been able to add permanent team members to the company that have gone through our internship program learned the ins and outs of the company and when they are hired it’s a turnkey transition for employer and employee.

Utilize the resources available to you: Obviously I can’t speak for everywhere but in New York City where Highbrid medias HQ is located NYC Small Business Services has a great program that will not only find employees for small businesses who are hiring but will train them for you as well, free of charge. This service especially works well for businesses whose employees will have a labor intensive job where they have to repeat certain tasks time and time again with efficiency like a restaurant or construction site. If you’re outside of NY research the small business services in your or surrounding areas to find out if they offer similar services.

Hiring new team members and expanding your business is an exciting and necessary step for growth. If done the right way it can propel your business to heights way beyond your expectations. If done the wrong way it can be a huge detriment to your business and could ultimately cause the demise of your business. Choose Wisely!