How will I know when my business needs to employ a team?

So you have been in business for a little while, you are hitting all your targets and life feels great. However, being a one-person band does have its challenges and if you want to take your business to the next level you are going to need to consider hiring a team. The difficulty most of the businesses I work with have is recognizing when they should do this. With that in mind I thought I would focus this blog on the telltale signs that you are ready to build your team.

Are you turning down business? – No business likes to do this, but small businesses and start ups can face this dilemma and can really struggle to keep up with the demand for their product or services. Hiring staff means that you will have greater capacity to take on more work. Before you take on an employee you will need to consider your finances carefully, is there already, or is there potential to be, sufficient work for the employee to do long term and will the revenue you receive from it cover their wages. If it won’t then you’ll be out of pocket and no business wants that! Get yourself a simple cashflow forecast sorted, it will help you to see your finances clearly.
Are you receiving complaints? – Many small businesses spread themselves too thin from time to time. This can result in an increase in the number of complaints about workmanship or the length of time it takes for you to do their jobs. This is not a position anyone wants to be in as unhappy customers are bad for your reputation.
Are you struggling with your daily admin and paperwork? – If your business is growing rapidly it is very easy to leave essential tasks such as answering the phone, responding to emails, invoicing, doing your accounts, at the bottom of your to do list. Getting good support in this area will pay dividends, new business leads will be responded to, you will get paid for the jobs that you have done and your accountant will be happy as your expenses and books will be up to date. Ultimately you’ll benefit from increased revenue and productivity.
Your business needs expert skills – depending on the stage of your business you might find yourself needing Marketing Support, Website Design and Accounting. When looking to cover off these areas it is worth considering how regularly you will need help in these areas. Rather than employ someone on a full time basis in house, could you either employ someone part time, or outsource these areas on an ad hoc basis. It will help to keep you costs down.
Your company vision needs you to have employees – Your decision to start employing a team will be based on your ultimate goals. If your game plan is to be a sole trader or you are working part time around family commitments then you may not feel that you want to have a team of people working with you. If however, your desire is to have a highly successful and growing business then you will need people to help you make that happen. Similarly if, you ultimately want to sell your business then potential purchasers are going to want a team already in place rather than having to do that for themselves.
You have the money – Having a team is an investment. When it pays off it helps you to take on more business, frees up your time and generates more revenue for you. Before you take this step you need to look at your cashflow and revenue forecasts. You need to ensure that you have the money in reserve to be able to pay wages and business overheads until your new team member(s) are generating the revenue to cover their costs.

If you see yourself in this position of not really knowing what to do in relation to getting help let me know and we can arrange a telephone call to see if business coaching would work for you. Click here to send me an email or give me a call on 07952 112432