I've experienced a lot from running two successful Virtual Assistant and Social Media Marketing companies, and today I'm bringing you the rights & wrongs of hiring and delegation. Growing any business relies on adding members to your team, whether that means hiring actual employees or outsourcing/delegating particular tasks.

The 5 Steps To Smarter Hiring Decisions:

1. Know What To Outsource Based On Your Stage Of Business – you don't need to outsource everything right from the get-go. As your business grows, your hiring needs will change.
   1. New Business Owners – main hiring needs include technical assistants, who have a particular skillset that you don't have yourself. Examples: web development, graphic design, audio/video work.
   2. Growth Phase – begin outsourcing tasks that you have been doing, and no longer have the time to keep up with. Examples: accounting & copywriting.
   3. Scaling Phase – bring on new teams who can handle work underneath of you as your client base grows. Examples: fulfillment & sales.
2. Hire For Talent, Not For Price – "you get what you pay for" only goes so far. Ignore the price tag, and look for evidence of a particular contractor's skillset. Check out their portfolio, their past work, and their past clients and judge their quality of work for yourself.
   1. Portfolio – the very first step in considering a contractor is to look at their portfolio of prior work.
   2. Application – put your contractor through an actual application process and observe how they handle it.
   3. Test Drive – hire them for one job as a test, and see how the process goes, and how well you work together.
3. Hire Slow & Fire Fast – be proactive about the needs of your business and look ahead at the particular areas that you'll need to hire for. Hiring last-minute on impulse is never a good idea. Once your team is growing, be aware of warning signs that a particular worker or contractor is not working out, and get them out of your business right away! Next two those two main steps is to trust your gut, and adjust the rules as necessary.
4. Know Where To Find Great People – ignore freelancing places such as Fiverr or Odesk, because the culture there is too focused on cheap work as opposed to quality
   1. Craigslist – create a "looking for" post on Craigslist, laying out particular instructions on how to apply for a position. A detailed application process will naturally filter out anyone not competent enough to adhere to your systems.
   2. Facebook – join Facebook groups in a particular niche, filled with high-level players in their space. You'll begin to see the members in a group who know what they're talking about.
   3. Referrals – never discount the power of referrals. When you trust someone to make recommendations for you, you know that they're only going to choose qualified and competent candidates for you.
5. Invest In Your Brand Authority – never skimp on establishing yourself as an authority in your space. Hire team members who will develop your brand above & beyond what you could do on your own. Find professionals to hire for your brand including graphic design, P.R., and administrative assistants.

Time Stamped Show Notes

• 0:52 – Introduction
• 3:03 – What should you outsource during your different stages of business?
• 7:00 – Why you should judge contractors by talent, not by price
• 11:20 – Hiring slow, firing fast, and trusting your gut.
• 14:12 – 3 places to go for hiring
• 18:25 – Developing your brand authority
• 20:26 – Recap

Today's Action Step · Go forth & delegate! Resources Mentioned

• My Facebook community The Balanced Entrepreneur
• My Facebook fan page