Amanda NorthcuttFounder & CEO | Keynote Speaker, LevelUp · B2B sales as a solo is HARD. I’ve got you. I help consultants & coaches sell high-ticket services comfortably & confidently, while enjoying consistent, predictable revenue | Founder & CEO | Speaker |

Fear Is the First Hurdle to Hiring

14 Aug 2025 · 1 min

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In this monologue, Amanda Northcutt explains that fear—specifically fear of cost and fear of hiring the wrong person—is the primary obstacle solopreneurs face when trying to expand their team. She describes her coaching approach: first uncovering the founder’s specific fears and past negative hiring experiences (e.g., repeatedly hiring assistants on Upwork that didn’t work out), then using therapy‑style probing questions to surface the emotional underpinnings of those fears. Northcutt argues that a founder’s emotional state permeates all business decisions, so addressing these fears early prevents self‑sabotage and leads to a healthier hiring process.

Chapters

Fear is the first one because oftentimes when they're a solopreneur, they're running things by themselves, they are afraid of how much it would cost or they're afraid that they're going to hire the wrong person. And so when I work with someone like that, I address those first things. I say, okay, what are you afraid of or what's gotten in your way in the past? Well, you know, I had one person who told me that they tried hiring 5 different assistants off of Upwork. I'm like, okay, let's unpack that. How do you feel about that? And I've had clients tell me, oh, this is like a little therapy session. I'm not a therapist, but I do ask. This is therapy. Yes, exactly. Ask a lot of those types of questions because having been in all the companies I've been in, especially with the tech startups, the way that the founder feels about things impacts every other decision in the business. And I want to make sure— excuse me— I want to make sure that we address those things upfront because it will impact the entire hiring process. And in some cases, people will self-sabotage. So, that's one of the first things that I want to call out.