When businesses are successful, there comes a time when that company needs to expand and, typically this expansion comes in the form of recruiting additional employees. Though, as entrepreneurs, we must tread lightly.

Prior to considering recruiting employees, we should make sure that we are working 14 hour days and have no other option but to expand our manpower. Remember that employees are not there for fun nor do these individuals exist to simply exist. This is one of many common recruiting mistakes that young business owners make.

Keep in mind that employees exist to do a job and most of the time, they are never able to do it as well as the entrepreneur can. Therefore, if the entrepreneur can do something himself or herself, they should be grateful for that and complete those tasks to the best of their abilities which will always surpass the results seen when they have someone else do it.

Keep in mind that the best companies in the world are the firms that can make the most money with the least amount of costs associated with gaining that capital.

Employees cost money. They need salaries, you have to pay taxes on them, you must pay unemployment insurance which, when all of these are combined, you’re looking at a very expensive venture.

When it comes time to hire, we must do our due diligence on the individual via:

1. Conducting more than one interview – getting to know the person as best as you can before bringing them into your daily life and business.

2. Making sure that the person has energy, willingness to learn and he or she carries themselves with a sense of integrity.

Recruiting on a Lower Budget

As an entrepreneur, chances are that you are not going to have tons of money to pay this individual, therefore it’s safe to say that you are not going to be hiring an expert in their field. Rather, your budget is going to force you to not look at current potential so much, rather it’s going to force you to look at the individual’s future potential i.e. can you train them and grow these individuals?

It is recommended that the entrepreneur formulate a formal training program so the employee can get up to speed and working as quickly as possible.

In the End

Be prepared for rejections as it’s going to be difficult to convince good employees to work for a company that does not have a name nor reputation in its industry. You’re going to get a lot of “no’s” but keep going and you will find the right people.

NYU Entrepreneurship Hope and Optimism