The First Employee or is it The Second?

Your business has gone well and now you have too much work to do!

So now, you think you need an employee to grow the business.

Firstly, if you are doing everything, look at the admin tasks you can give to someone else or automate.

For example, who enjoys doing the bookkeeping or procedures.

  • There are good bookkeepers who are freelance. For as little as an hour a week, they will keep things in order and probably lower the accountant’s fee at the end of the year.
  • There are health and safety specialists who write procedures for a living
  • There are people who word process from dictation at all hours.
  • Use something like google diaries and ask for access to your subcontractors’ diaries.
  • There are others.

After these adjustments, you will spend more time using your real expertise with less irritation.

If you still have more than enough work. Do you know others that will freelance with you and not steal your customers?

Draw up an agreement you can find sources to cover the issues. However, the experience, loyalty and motivation of the person are much more important. What will they do when tempted with short-term gain versus delayed gratification? If they do not pass this test, you do not want them. ( To discover more about this put “Marshmallow Test” into your search engine).

You need to make sure they are really self-employed see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/esi.htm

None of the above involves any major change in cash flows.

If you want to take on an employee, it does involve looking at cash flow and the employment laws. For more go to the next blog “Employing my first employee”.