Image by Grant Wickes via Flickr
Small businesses are where America’s jobs are and your small business is no different. When a business is small and lean, it’s usually more agile than its larger counterparts but there’s less room for the bloat that you usually find in the ranks of a coorporation’s employees. Make sure you’re cutting the fat and focusing on productive team members with these small business hiring tips.
First of all, try to hire people that look, think and act differently than you do. You want new hires that can bring fresh ideas to your small business. When you hire someone who’s had different life experiences than you, they can help you discover new ways to reach customers, think of ways to incorporate different technologies and challenge your overall belief systems. This doesn’t mean that you should hire your total opposite - it’s important for you to like your new employee because you’ll probably be working with him for a significant amount of time and it’s important to have similar goals. As long as your new employee is likable, smart and knows who the boss of the operation is, feel free to consider someone with a different background.
Second of all, have a clear idea what you need your new hire to do and how long it will take to do it. If you don’t have enough work for a full-time employee, you’ll save a significant amount of money by looking only for a part-timer. If you do decide that your businesss would benefit from bringing on a full-time employee, knowing what kind of work you want the person to do will help you choose the right person.
