Ashley's Tip of the Week: Hiring

Hey guys, it's Ashley here with a quick tip this week to keep you motivated inside of your business. This week we're talking about hiring tips. I know you have heard me talk about the difference in being an entrepreneur and a CEO and one of the main differences is we are more interested in saving time versus saving money because we know when we invest in creating more time in our schedule that we can eventually make more money because we're working on income generating activities. And the number one way to do that is by hiring and outsourcing. I know for me, when we very first started to hire people at the boutique hub, it was incredibly intimidating. I fortunately had been in a position of leadership in economic development before starting the hub. So I had managed employees before. But I'm going to tell you what, having them as your own, when it's your own business, your own flesh and blood feels totally different. And imposter syndrome can definitely kick in and kick your butt. I have faced that multiple times myself. So I want to give you just a quick couple of tips that are going to help you in the hiring process to feel like a true boss. All right, first tip is manage the people and not the position. Hire for the right people and not the position. In Jim Collins's book. Good, you'd great. He talks a lot about having the right people on the bus and always being able to rearrange the seats on the bus. And so when you're thinking about the needs of your business and you're writing a job description where you're going to start advertising to hire someone, don't get caught up in the details of all the things that that person must do do. Instead, look for the right person who's trainable and coachable and maybe can morph into a couple of unexpected positions in your company. So you may hire two part time people that are awesome and have the right skill sets to fill one full time position. Don't be set on the position, be set on the right people. You can always rearrange them later. All right, tip number two is be clear with your expectations from the start. One of the number one reasons we run into employee issues that often lead to firing or letting go of an employee is unmet expectations. And that comes back on us, the employer, because most often we weren't clear with what the expectations were up front. So it's kind of difficult for someone to manage and meet those expectations if they don't know what they are. So it's about being a leader and not always being a best friend. It's about setting where the boundaries are in your business and what your expectations are so people can live up to them. If you think, you know what, I don't want to micromanage people. I'm just going to let them do their thing. They will fail you every single time because they don't know where the ceiling really is and where they need to strive to reach the next level. All right, third tip. Train, train, train. You are the coach of your team and there is no successful athlete that does not get where they're going without having a coach. It's the fourth quarter. It is crunch time. It comes down to not who the best players are on the court, but who is the best coach with the most strategy. So you can never get enough training with your team, whether that's in the onboarding process or week to week with your ongoing meetings with your entire team. Continue to train. There's never ever, ever enough training in the world. All right, finally, make sure you document everything. And I mean document from expectation standpoint of having an employee handbook or an operations manual, but also when there's communication that takes place place with your employees, good and bad. Make sure you have an employee file that's private to you where you can document all conversations, all follow up that's necessary. Great kudos tickets that you've written out. If you have the little kudos, tear off sheets from the boutique boss store down to maybe places where they did let you down and you needed to have a conversation with them because at the end of the day, if something happens where you do have to let go of an employee, it's incredibly difficult to do so if you don't have good documentation. Guys, you are the leader of your ship. Do not let imposter syndrome set in. You are meant to grow this business and be the CEO and step into the new role of leadership that's going to allow you to continue to grow. So have faith in the business that you have built in the skills that you possess and go easy on yourself. Have a little grace for learning as you go. And remember one of my favorite servant leaders of all time. You probably know him, Jesus Christ. He was a true servant leader who didn't lead from preaching and telling people what to do, but by serving other people and showing them how to do it. So never forget how to be a servant leader in your own life, in your own business and with those around you. Guys, hope you love this. Quick tip. I am available every day on Instagram @ajalderson or at the Boutique Hub hope you love these quick tips and we'll be back soon with season four of the podcast.