The Rewards and Challenges of Hiring People

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.

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