OK, this is where the hiring gets really interesting. Why? Because once you have more than 10 employees, two very interesting dynamics come into play:
- The business owner can no longer effectively have everyone reporting to her—10 reports is too many. Up through stage three, the business owner is usually leading the team (or having everyone report to a partner or “office manager” who is a close confidant of the business owner). But now you have more than one team, more than one leader. Someone other than the business owner is leading people… and that can be a very scary proposition if you don’t have the right people on the team.
- You’re now hiring people you (or your team members) don’t know. Up through stage three, most business owners are hiring their friends and family members ,or friends and family members of employees. This creates a bond of loyalty. It also tends to bring in like-minded individuals who inherently share a set of core values. But once you reach stage four, you start hiring people you (or your team members) don’t know. That, too, can be a very scary proposition if you aren’t hiring the right way.
Sadly, many entrepreneurs never get the hiring right. They become disgruntled business owners, lamenting the difficulty of “finding good people,” always taking on the burden of running the business, weighed down by all that needs to be done. Rather than hire another employee, they keep the money in their pocket, because after all, THEY are doing all the heavy lifting. Makes sense… except this approach stunts business growth, limits the entrepreneur and traps her in the business. This is one of the travesties of business ownership: The business ends up owning the entrepreneur, instead of the other way around.
So, how does the stage four business owner avoid these pitfalls and hire good people who can help carry the load, serve customers and grow the business?
Tomorrow, I’ll share a few insights I’ve learned over the years in working with stage four businesses.
SBS Idea of the Day: Examine your current situation, whatever Stage of SBS you’re in. Do you own your business or does your business own you? If you’re on the wrong end of the stick, resolve to change it. You absolutely can. The whole point of my daily blog is to show you how you can own your business… and your freedom.
