Things were borderline. I had enough projects to feel overwhelmed and stressed.
Constantly jumping from one client to the other. I started to think about the possibility of hiring my first employee.
But then, it hit me.
What if I decided to hire somebody and…
- I don’t have the time to go through the process of finding somebody, testing, training, creating contracts, job descriptions, etc.
- I don’t make the money to pay them in the long run.
- Now I need to take a pay cut!
- Now I need to manage people
As logical as these concerns are, looking back, I can see how limited my vision was. It was limited because of my frame of reference.
I had no idea how much my first hire would transform my business and myself.
Hiring him gave me the time and the mental space to shift my focus to developing the sales processes. Allowing me to grow the business almost 100%
Now, it took 3 people and 2 months to find him. It was very stressful and challenging. The hardest thing was figuring out what the role should look like.
Because I wasn’t sure at all about what I was looking for or what exactly the business needed. But I knew it was time to get help.
Until then, I was doing everything myself. So knowing where one role ended and the other started was extremely vague. Even worse when thinking about what kind of profile the position required.
But, as beneficial as hiring him was, the reality is that scaling your service business doesn’t happen only through people.
Hiring should actually be your last resort. Not because you should do everything yourself, but because of costs.
So if you are finding yourself in that place where I was. Considering if you should hire that first or third employee for your business.
Here is a process that allowed me to scale the business without increasing costs.
4 Questions That Will Scale Your Business
Many people believe that their business will get soooo much demand that they will not be able to keep up.
So they go ahead and start hiring in preparation for the flocks of customers that will show up.
But one thing that we don’t realize is that we tend to make our businesses more complicated than they need to be. This can fool us into feeling we need to hire somebody.
So in order to see if such a big investment is needed, I filter my decision through the following questions.
1. Does the task need to happen at all?
As we start the business, we are so focused on delivering the service that many processes get duct taped. They are clunky and inefficient. With time we grow and improve things but, sometimes we are convinced that a step is absolutely necessary.
Because we have been doing things a certain way for so long, the idea of not doing it doesn’t cross our minds.
So build the habit of asking yourself, is there a way to eliminate this step, this task? How can I make it simpler? Can it be broken down into smaller steps?
2. Can it be automated?
If the task or step can’t be eliminated, then I proceed to see if there is a tool that would allow me to automate it.
Zapier is a great tool here for automating certain areas of your business.
3. Can it be delegated to the customer?
But, if none of the first 2 options are possible, then I wonder if this is something the customer could do. Maybe is something they always wanted to do but, I always assume they didn’t.
This is very common in service businesses. As we start, we believe we have to be a 100% service concierge. Chances are, there are things the clients can do by themselves.
4. Can it be outsourced?
Before you jump into wondering HOW can I do this, ask WHO can do this?
Instead of trying to learn a new skill, look into subcontracting somebody who is an expert and has streamlined processes to deliver on this task.
They will do a much better job than you. Not to mention the hours you will save.
But if this starts to happen more often, you’ll see that it makes sense to bring that position in-house. Then group the tasks into a job description and finally open the position.
Struggling To Keep Up With Capacity?
One of the many hard things as a service provider is having to say NO to a person that:
- Showed up at your door recommended,
- Wants your services and it’s ready to give you money,
- You know exactly how you can help them,
- Fits the profile of your customer (No red flags),
- And you know they’ll buy it again,
Buuuuuut you have to say NO because you don’t have the capacity to take them in.
Not because you want to control supply and demand and strategically say no.
But because you are overworked, reacting to clients, and always problem-solving.
And so you just don’t have the capacity to deliver the service on the level of quality you strive for.
The last thing you want is to have a new client, who came because you were recommended, to have a crappy experience.
If this is something you are struggling with, I invite you to book a free Strategy Session.
In this 45 min call, we’ll look into your business to identify what’s holding you back. Then, we’ll develop a plan of action. And finally, if we see it makes sense, we’ll look into the possibility of working together.
Or at least point you in the right direction