I’m a Seattle DUI defense attorney. I started my firm about 8 months ago. When I first started, it was just me. 8 months in, it’s still me. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I have to work later and on tasks that I wouldn’t normally want to work on. But it’s all part of a plan to ensure the business is successful. You should think hard before hiring staff for your small business. Here’s why.
In the service based businesses particularly, it takes time to get busy. Unless you somehow have a built in client base or have some sure fire marketing plan that gets you clients immediately, business is going to build slowly over time. You have to figure out how to get clients to find you, to hire you, and to hire you again and refer you to others. This means at the beginning stages of your business you probably won’t need much help with your business.
But you don’t want to do all the work yourself? Then go ahead and hire staff. Early on there probably won’t be much for them to do though. When the phone does rind they can answer it, or when an order does need to be processed they can do it. But what do they do in the mean time? Probably not much.
And employees can be a black hole for cash. Think about it. When you hire someone, particularly if you hire them full time, you not only pay their salary, but match their tax payments, provide insurance, vacation, and sick leave, and on top of that, you have the capital contribution required to give them a space to work. That means (usually) an extra desk, chair, computer, phone, office supplies, and sometimes even an office.
Before you run out and hire a full staff for your new business, take a minute to think about whether or not you really need them and whether or not it will make money for you. Soon my Seattle DUI lawyer practice will take off. Then I’ll need someone to answer the phones and do paperwork so I can take care of business for clients. Then I’ll need someone. Until then, I have to suck it up and just get by with me.
