Category Archives: Hiring People for Your Small Business

Guidance on how to go about hiring people (employees and independent contractors) to help you grow your small business.

How to Motivate Employees, Sharpen Your Business Communication Skills

Dealing with Indecisive People

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Tips for Managing People Who Can’t Make Up Their Minds

Indecisive people are a frustrating part of life. Here are some tips for dealing with an indecisive person and helping them make up their minds already!

We have all had to deal with indecisive and difficult people at some point in our lives. Whether it be the manager who can’t decide on how to format a report, or a wife who can’t make a decision on whether you should go to Olive Garden or The Spaghetti Warehouse, indecisive people are a frustrating part of life. Here are some tips for how to deal with an indecisive person and help them make up their minds already!

Limit Their Options

When dealing with an indecisive person, you simply cannot offer them an unlimited list of options. You have to narrow down and limit their options to two or three choices; no more than four. If you allow them more than four options you will find yourself in for a very long day… maybe even longer.

Take Them to Task

Most of the time, an indecisive person will be the type that doesn’t really want to do anything physically. They just want to talk about things forever. So I find that one way to get indecisive people to make up their minds is to take them to task on their “visions.” Let them know exactly what they will have to do in order for certain choices before them to be carried out. This will also help narrow down the list of options because more than likely, once the indecisive person hears about all the work they will have to do in certain cases, they will be less thrilled about those options.

Clearly Outline the Benefits of Each Option

Sometimes indecisive people have a problem deciding because they are not able to process information well. They sometimes have a hard time deciding what are the pros and cons of a situation. Help them out. Give them specific reasons why each option would be ideal. Just two pros each will do. When you find that they are favoring one or two choices over the others, that’s when you hit them with the biggest “con” or downside of one of those two narrowed down choices. BAM. They will think about it for a few moments, and after a short while will probably choose the opposite option.

Wrap it Up

Now that you have gotten them to commit to one option, you have to wrap things up quickly. Do not allow them extra time to think about the decision they just made. Tell them: “Great, I will get this going.” Reassure them by saying things like “This will be great” or “I’m glad you made this choice,” and then leave the room to get things started.

Be Firm

The most important advice you can get when dealing with an indecisive person is to be firm with them. Don’t waiver like them or play into their dysfunction. They will start to think this is a fun game and you will end up going back and forth forever. So put your foot down, let them know that there is a firm timeline that you have to follow, and stick by your narrowed down options. One sign of weakness, and an indecisive person will have you tied up in knots.

Don’t think you’re alone if you frequently have to deal with indecisive people in your everyday life. They may seem impossible to work with at first, but if you implement these options, remain calm, and use your charm and wit to get things done, you will find success dealing with indecisive people.



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

Decide and Plan for a Small Business, Entrepreneur Ideas, Home Business Ideas, Make Money Online, W-2 W-4 W-9 Employees

Tips for Working as an Independent Contractor

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An independent contractor is a professional who often acts in the capacity of an employee to a business, but without the strings attached. As a contractor you may work with multiple clients on very different assignments. The way you market your services, manage your time and choose your clients are all key to success in this type of job.

Market Your Services

Consistently finding clients who need your services is one of the most difficult challenges of working as an independent contractor. The ideal scenario is to have multiple projects going at any given time to ensure a consistent income. Put your virtual business card down in as many different reputable places as possible. Set up a profile on the major reputable freelance sites. Send bids to businesses who request contractors online. Create an SEO-optimized website to draw traffic for keywords that specifically describe your service. Consider hiring an online advertising expert to help you use Google AdWords and other advertising vehicles to bring in serious potential clients.

Set a Reasonable Schedule

It is very easy to find yourself working well into the night as an independent contractor. After you spend a long night burning the midnight oil, you finally go to sleep at 4:00 a.m., then your client on the other side of the country calls at 7:00 a.m. To avoid this scenario, you must set firm business hours that clearly indicate time zones and make sure that all of your clients know them. Request that clients email you in advance to set an appointment for a phone call or instant messaging session so that you aren’t thrown off of your schedule with other clients.

Be Choosy

As excited as you may be to have a potential new client, sometimes it is best to pass on certain projects. Evaluate the client the same way he is evaluating you. Are his demands reasonable? Does he communicate with you in a productive and respectful manner? Does he complain about past contractors? If you ignore warning signs you might be setting yourself up for issues down the line. Work for people who have plenty of experience working successfully with independent contractors, and who communicate their needs clearly.

It takes time to get the hang of working as an independent contractor. Ideally, over time you will learn how to successfully navigate different personalities and situations. If you need help, talk to more experienced contractors and read their blogs to learn how they manage client relationships.

 



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

Hiring Process, Recruitment, W-2 W-4 W-9 Employees

The Rewards and Challenges of Hiring People

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When you first start your small business you might not have the funds available to hire people. But as time goes on and you start to turn a profit or you get financial assistance and things start to get a little busy, you might want to consider hiring some help. Let me help you explore some of the rewards and challenges of hiring people to your new small business so that you can reason your way through this important decision.

Rewards

There are a number of rewards to hiring people to consider:

  1. Help! The most obvious reward of hiring someone is that you get the help you have probably are desperately in need of to really launch your small business. You can assign someone to the dull details of running the company while you work on your vision for growth and new products or services. Oh, and you actually get to take an actual lunch once in a while.
  2. It’s a tax deductible business expense. Employee wages are tax deductible. You might also be able to deduct reimbursed employee expenses that you’ve paid out of pocket, like uniforms, tools and training.
  3. More brain power. Two heads are better than one. You may find that hiring someone else to help you will add value to your business in ways you never imagined. Hiring the right person can add a new level of insight and innovation to your business.

Challenges

  1. Recruiting can be costly and takes time. It may seem like this is the easiest part of hiring someone, but the recruitment process can be time consuming and expensive. When you hire someone you want to make sure that you find someone who’s really qualified, so you’ll want to post ads on hiring websites, take your time sorting through applications and of course interview people.
  2. When it doesn’t work out. Another challenge that you may face when hiring someone is coming to a point where you realize that the new hire isn’t working out for your business needs. It can be difficult to let someone go and they might qualify for unemployment benefits, which could cause your state employment tax rates to increase.
  3. There’s a lot you need to learn and know. Your state likely has an entire handbook of information related to employment laws. You are required to follow them to the letter to avoid problems. For instance, there are rules about break times, full-time versus part-time hours and overtime pay that you must follow. And of course you’ll need to hire a payroll processing company to figure out the proper employee withholdings and issue checks.

So Is It Time to Hire Someone?

Take all these considerations into account when deciding if it’s the right time to start hiring people. If you’re still unsure, try hiring a qualified W-9 worker (independent contractor) to see how things work out, then make the step of getting a full-time or part-time W-4 employee.



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

W-2 W-4 W-9 Employees

W-2 W-4 W-9 Employees

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Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

How to Motivate Employees

How to Motivate Employees

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Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

Recruitment

Employee Recruitment

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Hiring Process

Hiring Process

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Independent Contractor

Hiring an Independent Contractor

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Hiring People for Your Small Business

Treat Your Employees Right

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“Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.”

– Stephen R. Covey



Starting up a small business, even if it's just on the side, is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Why? Because everyone needs an additional source of income in our new economy. Click here to sign up for educational and motivational posts to keep you on track.

How to Motivate Employees

How to Motivate Employees to Love Their Jobs

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Anyone who runs or manages a small business knows how difficult it can be to keep employee morale high. According to a recent Gallop poll, 70 percent of Americans don’t enjoy showing up to work each day. This just won’t do if you want your business to thrive—your employees play a vital role in the success of your company. If you can somehow motivate them to start to love (or at least strongly like) doing what they do, it will be beneficial for everyone involved.

Don’t Neglect Praise

It’s essential to give praise to your employees when it’s deserved. Many managers feel as if doing so will show a weakness of some sort, but it can actually serve to improve the employee’s job performance by leaps and bounds. Relate this to your own life—if your spouse or a loved one gives you genuine thanks and praise for completing a task, doesn’t it make you want to do it more and even better the next time? One caveat: be sure that you’re being genuine in your praise; you don’t want your employees to think that you’re reaching or being patronizing with them.

Limit the Rules

It’s important for every workplace to have rules, but restricting your employees too much will most likely cause them to develop a strong distaste for their jobs. Don’t lose an otherwise very strong employee because he took a seven-minute bathroom break instead of five—that type of nitpicking is counterproductive and doesn’t look at the bigger picture for your business. Give employees room to breathe if you want them to love their jobs.

At the same time, if an employee is completely disrespectful of all of your business rules even after several warnings, it may be best to let him go and give another qualified person a shot at the job. Too much contention with an employee who refuses to get with the program will create a tense relationship, and tension is a strong barrier to motivation.

Reward Employees with Meaningful Gifts

One of the best ways to get your employees to truly love what they do is to show your appreciation with gifts from time to time. A pat on the back is nice, but giving your employee a pair of tickets to the next home game of his favorite basketball team is even better. The gift has to be meaningful, which is why you should know a thing or two about each of your workers’ interests besides their work performance. The occasional meaningful gift shows that you have good will towards your employees, and they’ll respond to this in ways that you might not have ever expected.

To put it simply, employees who love their jobs are more productive. Since your job as a small business owner is to increase productivity, getting them to love their work more is highly beneficial to you and your company’s performance. If you can keep the level of motivation high, everyone involved will have something to gain.