If you’re reading this post, you’re either curious about the stages in owning a business or more than likely because you are at the point where you’ve grown your business to the point that you can no longer do all the work yourself. You are ready to bring on your first team member. Someone who has your back and willing to invest their time into your baby. You’ve recognized that you need to use your time effectively and have learned you’re only one person and you need to focus on what you’re good at. If this is you, go ahead and stand up, do a dance, pat yourself on the back, cheer and shout because you freakin go! You one-wo(man)ed the shiz out of your business and gained such momentum that your necessary next step is another set of hands. You are awesome! Now let’s find you the best fit for your first team to keep the business ball rolling. This is how to hire your first team member for you handmade business.
First, let me tell you my first team member horror story. This is not to scare you away. Almost every entrepreneur has one and while I wanted to explode and cry at the same time, I learned how to properly hire someone and what to look for in a team member. (And what to avoid) It’s the reason I choose to share my business tips with you, in hopes you can avoid my mistakes or misfortunes.
In my second year, I decided I would hire a sewer. I knew if I could find someone who was great at sewing it would free up an incredible amount of time for me to work on other things. I went to over 15 fabric stores, quilting shops, and craft shops asking around for anyone who could sew. I contacted a few people, only met with 1 and hired her on the spot. She was a very sweet woman who had her own quilting company so I thought “sewing and quilting is pretty much the same thing” perfect! Boy was I wrong. They are very different in most ways! I dropped off every bit of fabric I had with all measurements, step by step photo directions for sewing each piece, quality requirements, etc. and I left.
A couple weeks went by with unanswered texts, calls, and emails. I finally received an email that said: “almost everything is done, please come pick it up, I’ll leave it outside.” The thought of my products sitting outside was bad enough but this next part was the real horror. NOTHING was sewn correctly. Everything was wonky, the wrong sizes and most had gaping holes or were torn. I was now out over $1,500 in products. When I asked why she hadn’t called or why everything was incorrectly sewn, she replied “I cut fabric incorrectly, she was busy, and that I should have known she was a quilter not a sewer.” Mind blown. I asked her to send back any materials of mine she had left (barely anything) and it took 4 months to get anything back.
Instead of taking a minute to check in with any of my reach outs throughout the process, she went ahead with sewing all the fabric I had invested in without a care in the world. I quietly paid her and let her go the next day. The three biggest lessons I learned from this are; find someone competent in their skills, make sure they understand your requirements and find someone you trust and can communicate with. It’s so worth it to take the time to get to know someone and their skills prior to hiring them.
Back to your non-horror first hire! If you’re in year 4-6 and you have zero need for at least one team member you need to take a look at your company and reevaluate what’s going on. Whether it’s your income or product demand something is not moving along or growing. Check in with your business plan and figure out how you can start to grow. Or maybe it doesn’t seem like you need another person; trust me, this is coming from a very meticulous one woman team for the first 3 years, but when I finally hired someone to help me, I asked myself “what took so long to hire them!?” Upfront costs for a new hire always seem scary but figure out how to work it into your product pricing and you’ll be so happy you did. As a business owner, you need to focus on what you do best, the rest can be outsourced.
So how do you know someone will be a good fit? This is what I suggest to look for in your first (every) team member. Remember this is your business so hiring a friend or family member just because you know them will not be beneficial. Hire the person who best meets your needs.
Trust
If you’re good at reading people, this will be great for finding someone you trust to let into your work family. DO NOT hire anyone you have not met in person. I understand if your first team member is an SEO genius living a million miles away; but if this employee is someone who will be working closely with you and your company you need to know you can communicate effectively, trust their judgment and skills and rely on them for your business needs. Trust is a huge part of that.
Competence=Confidence
Someone who is competent in what they do, in turn, has the confidence to do it. Competence=Confidence. A.K.A. Don’t hire a “sewer” who later tells you a giant machine does their quilting for them. You wouldn’t hire someone who just made their first Instagram account to run your social media, would you? No! You would hire the millennial with 34K followers on their own account, because they have confidence in their abilities and they know how to grow, in turn helping you grow.
Flexible
Flexibility can have a big impact on the person you hire. For example, some months I send my sewer over 45 clutches and 20+ pillows to sew, the next month I may not have a large order and not need to send anything. You need to make sure your employee understands the needs of your company and whether its a large holiday order you need quickly or need to take a short break, find someone who can be flexible with your needs. They need to be able to grow with you and the business.
Dependable & Reliable
If you’re looking for someone through a hiring site be sure to read reviews. What people liked and disliked about working with that person. If you’re hiring just by meeting someone or through other people, unfortunately, you don’t know how dependable and reliable they are until you work together. Make your requirements and intentions specific and upfront so there is no question if your new hire is not living up to par.
Be Ready to Appreciate Them!
When you hire someone and they do their job, or if you’re lucky, go above and beyond be ready to appreciate your team!
Remember when you’re hiring your first team member this doesn’t mean they have to be a full-time salary paid employee. They can be hourly, an intern, piece rate worker, etc. You don’t have to offer a competitive salary to find a talented, hardworking employee. Find someone that understands they’re your first employee for your small business. Someone who is okay with not making crazy money to start and genuinely supports the idea of your business. Someone who supports you, your goals and won’t run if work slows down or takes a break.
It’s not realistic to grow as a business by yourself. When you’re still convinced you can do it all, think about how you’re stalling your growth when you’re doing the work that has nothing to do with actually growing your business; like marketing and new products or strategies. You don’t want to wake up one day and realize all your hair has fallen out, you have no friends left and you’ve lost business because you couldn’t handle your companies growth. Write down exactly what you want in your first team member then start looking for that person. You may find yours among friends or at a local college or somewhere random. Just start looking. You’ve already recognized that you need to use your time effectively. You’re only one person and you need to focus on what you’re good at. Don’t be afraid to let someone else help you with all those other tasks.
Know what your good at what you’re bad at and create the team around you that compliments that.
Shout out to my absolutely amazing sewer, Savanna, thank you for being the exact dream hire I needed.
