Your business is starting to grow enough that it’s time to hand some duties over to someone else other than yourself.  You do this because there are things that you are good at and they grow the business.  Other tasks, you’re not as qualified for, and, well, they waste your time.  It doesn’t mean they aren’t needed, these task are just not your forte and others could do the same thing only better.  This is about making the most efficient use of your time.  Or if you’re like me, the entire business plan rests on having others handle the business, while I focus on the bigger picture.

So, as you begin, you may run through a series of personnel choices.  Virtual assistants are a wonderful and logical place to begin because they offer expertise over a wide variety of duties.  Temporary/part-time help would be next on the ladder as you seek to cover mundane repetitive tasks.  Finally, you’ll need specialists that are hired for very specific tasks that need great expertise.

But how do you go about finding this or any good help.  There are many, many wanna-be’s with the right credentials, but not the drive, determination or even the wherewhithall to accomplish your tasks.  (I have to even count myself in this catagory, because I’ll try most anything you ask of me)  But now, you and I are pending our limited cash and we can’t afford mistakes.  I don’t have a budget line for that.  And frankly, I’ve been taken a number of times, thinking I’d hired the perfect fit, only to find I’ve hired a subsidy.

A few have meant well, but I had to let them go, because they didn’t forward my business.  Those are difficult.  There’s an entire book to be written on letting people go and the timing, documentation, and best practice for making it happen.  Several times, I’ve invested additional training to help the person out and it always worked in my favor, but at a much higher cost than originally budgeted.

Emotions play a big part in how we hire, develop, nuture and grow our employees.  We get all wrapped up in them and when we’re disappointed, our emotions slow down our logical reactions for dealing with each situation.

But like everything else, the more practice we get at any particular action, the better prepared we are to handle it the next time it happens.

The problem with people is that they are human.

Enjoy the relationships!