What Startups Need To Know About Hiring Others For Their Business

Good help is truly very hard to find

As the GREAT ELON MUSK #mancrush once said, in regards to starting a business, "it's like chewing glass."

Starting a business is a freaking nightmare. You may have the vision of where you would like to go and where you want to be, but the path is mired in so many valleys, ditch, quicksand, and landmines, that, at times, along your trek, you may doubt, “is it even worth it?”

9 out of 10 startups fail (source: Startup Genome — the 2019 report claims 11 out of 12 fail).

Not to sound redundant, but starting a business is NOT EASY.

A lot of planning needs to be done, time sacrificed with family, friends, and lovers, sleepless nights that must become the norm — and the constant battle within yourself of whether or not you can do this.

And then, there is the dedicated time killer, dream killer, and annoying obstacle in your path known as the employee/freelancer/team member(s).

They may not be the worst setback on your journey to success, but take it from a person who has hired and fired dozens of people; employees (these freelancers) can really slow you down.

In this article, I want to outline a few things you should be wary of when hiring freelancers or employees for your startup business.

Business is WAR.

Plain and simple.

Yes, there is enough success out there for everyone, but the truth is, as the GREAT LES BROWN #mancrush once said, "every day you wake up, you are battling for the real estate of people's minds."

Attention spans are shortening, and if you can't capture a person's attention in 7 seconds or less, you have lost them forever.

For marketers, 7 seconds mark the first moment of truth. It’s the size of our smallest attention span. You only have 7 seconds to get attention and answer customers’ key question, “What’s in it for me?” — Crystal Clear Comm

Time is our most valuable asset, and when you hire someone, this is especially true.

They can either save you time or waste a lot of time.

4 Things You Need To Consider When Hiring An Employee/ or Freelancer

1 — Just Because They Say they Can Handle Stuff "Now" Does Not Mean Now

I hire many people off of Upwork and sometimes Fiverr, although I have a great DISGUST for these MERCENARIES on Fiverr.

I fancy Upwork over Fiverr because the people on Upwork do want a job, but more times than I would like to encounter, I meet more freelancers than workers.

So you may be wondering what the difference is.

A worker is a soldier; a freelancer is a mercenary.

As in war, the army that has more soldiers on its side will often win against the opposing forces.

Of course, numbers aren't always a determinant of whether or not a side will win; strategy also plays a part.

Hannibal was able to have a short victory over Rome despite having such a small army (compared to Rome) because of his element of surprise and his cunning military strategies.

But still, an army needs soldiers. A business needs employees.

And with Upwork, you can get that.

But then there are mercenaries, and mercenaries, god, if you have never heard of Blackwater, look them up.

These a-holes (mercenaries/freelancers) are simply after the next big check.

They are not loyal to your cause or business and will handle stuff on their time, NOT yours.

And they will have the boldness to do the task THEIR WAY!

Case and point, I just hired someone yesterday to do a design for me; I asked him BEFORE I sent the contract, “can you handle this NOW, not tomorrow? Can you handle this NOW?”

"Yes…yes…I can handle it now."

Twenty-four hours later, I still do not have the design.

And mind you, it was a very quick and simple design that he could have completed in an hour.

With these freelancers/mercenaries, their "now" is not the same as our "now."

As long as they get the job done, they think they have done an excellent job.

And this is something you have to be mindful of.

You must be willing to let people know you need a task done in a certain timeframe; otherwise, they will hand work in whenever they feel like handing it in.

2 — Being Too Understanding Can Waste More Time

I give two strikes, and the person is out after that. There are no three strikes.

This isn’t baseball; this is WAR!

They get a warning the first time and the second time; I just simply release them from the team.

You cannot be understanding because people look for ways that they can just “get over on someone.”

I have worked dozens of 9 to 5 jobs, and always…ALWAYS…there was that one dude or dudes who would try and find a way to get paid without doing anything.

They would always see if they could play on the boss's emotion.

In business, in having a startup, you have to be focused.

Life gets in the way; I get it.

But the dream, the goal, and the mission have to take precedent over the employee's affair.

It is not easy starting a business, and every time you are sympathetic to your employee's issues, you are delaying your dream.

As the GREAT DAME DASH once wrote, “In war, it’s not always about whose RIGHT; but sometimes it is about who is LEFT.” #mancrush

You can keep on sacrificing your time and energy to be understanding and allow your business to fall to the wayside while other businesses are striving, or you can do what needs to be done and stay focused on YOUR MISSION.

Businesses that can keep on striving are the ones that will be successful.

3 — Hourly Waged Thinking and Entrepreneur Thinking Are NOT The Same

People with hourly waged thinking are different from those with an entrepreneurial way of thinking.

One is playing checkers, and the other is playing chess.

Hourly waged thinkers are playing checkers.

I can understand why supervisors and bosses are screaming down employees' necks to have a job done at a particular time.

When you are lenient on workers, a task supposed to take maybe an hour turns into 3 hours.

And the reason is that with an hourly wage thinker, the task is the same for them.

Why should they handle 5 or 6 tasks in a day and get paid the same rate when they can get paid the same for doing 2 to 3 tasks in a day.

Hourly waged thinkers WILL delay for as long as they can because they don't view time the same way entrepreneurs view time.

They can only think in the immediate, whereas entrepreneurs think in the future.

4 — Understand People Will Lie About Their Skills Just To Get The Job

I’m guilty of this, and I am sure a few of you are as well.

This is why it is so important to ask for examples of their work and even have the temerity to ask for a sample gig to see if they can flip the bill.

You have to understand that if you hire someone incapable of doing the task effectively, all you are doing is wasting MORE TIME.

And time is easily our most precious commodity.

When you hire people who cannot do the task, you may be setting yourself back another week or month.

Don’t feel bad firing people or dismissing people who have a sob story.

We all have sob stories, some worst than others.

But in the pursuit of starting your business and being successful, why must you sacrifice YOUR TIME?

Think about these four factors when hiring an employee or freelancer for your startup business; you’ll thank me later.