If you’re an online business owner currently juggling ALL the tasks: from managing all day-to-day operations, inbox management, calendar management, content creation, marketing,  etc., this is for you.

If you’ve been running your online business for a while and you’re ready to grow, but you keep finding yourself struggling to stay on track with all the extraneous administrative tasks, and as a result, you’re procrastinating on taking action on things that will really move the needle forward in your business, it’s time to make a major shift…

And at first, the thought of hiring might be a little bit overwhelming, but trust me, figuring this part out may just be the best decision you make for both your business growth and your personal life in 2023. 

If you’re ready to reclaim your time, save more of your creative energy on the projects and aspects of your business that you love, and add more space in your day for rest, self-care, and connecting with your family and friends: it’s time to consider hiring your first team member.

If you’re wondering: Where do I even start? 

I’ve got you covered. In this blog post, I’ll cover: Who to Hire, How to Hire, Where to Hire, and the five key steps to the hiring process to get you ready to confidently bring on your first team member!

You’re just steps away from hiring the dream team that will support your business growth.

One of the biggest things I love about my work as a COO and Systems Expert supporting female entrepreneurs like you to organize their businesses are making systems and processes SIMPLE and effective so that they can be automated and repeated to create flow and ease in your business as it grows.

Stage 1: Who to Hire

The first stage of the process begins with the common question of business owners and recruiters alike: Who do I hire? 

 You may be in a space where you know you need help, but start by taking time to consider what role you actually need to hire for.

Is it an executive or virtual assistant to offload admin tasks for you like inbox and calendar management? Or is creating content for social media taking up all of your time?

In order to best assess who you need to hire, start by auditing these three things in order to get clear on both your expectations and what tasks you need support with.

1. Audit your time: Start by tracking the time it takes on each task in your business, even the tiny things! every task adds up in time and mental energy.

Pro-tip: Use a free time tracking tool like Toggl to help!

2. Audit your tasks: Over the course of a week (or month), write down every task you do in your business and put it in one of these three categories: Annoying, Don’t Mind It / Neutral, and Love It.

• Be super honest with yourself in this audit- because let’s face it: you can’t do everything (and you shouldn’t try to!)

• After a week or a month, evaluate everything in the ‘Annoying’ column and see if there’s a common theme.

• Whether you notice a common task trend, or you have a little bit of everything, either is totally fine! 

• Example tasks: post on social media, make social media graphics, find hashtags, keep track of analytics -> social media manager

3. Audit your systems: After assessing your time and tasks, audit what systems you have in place. Do you have a project management tool, a content management system, or an email marketing platform?

Take inventory of all the tools that you’re currently using to manage your online business, and consider whether there are places where you could create more ease in your day-to-day operations with systems → If you need a resource, shop my Systems Starter Store HERE.

Lastly, consider what tools your new hire will need to already have expertise in, or will need to learn in order to support you in your business.

Common ‘First Hire’ Roles for Online Business Owners

• Virtual Assistant (most popular + broad -> perfect for blend of different types of tasks)
• Content Writer
• Graphic Designer
• Video Editor
• Social Media Manager

Tips to Prepare for your First Hire:

1. If you have tasks you KNOW you want to delegate ASAP, start recording Loom videos of yourself doing the task now! This will set you up for success by saving you time and energy by simplifying your training processes.

2. Try to hire for ONE main task or skillset, instead of finding a ‘unicorn’ who is juggling a variety of tasks. If something happens, it will be much easier to find someone else!

Step 2: Create Your Application 

After auditing your time, tasks, and systems, it’s time to start your application! 

This is your opportunity to attract your dream team members.

What to include:

1. Description of the role:

• About the role: Once you have your list of ‘annoying’ tasks, turn that into a super cool job description that someone else would LOVE to do!
  • Include key task list + your expectations: Read: This is CRUCIAL- if you expect someone to be online everyday (Monday-Friday) or you need quick turnarounds, say that upfront.
  • Hours of work- total guesstimate based on your audit.
  • Growth opportunity in role.

2. Introduction to You & Your Business

• Include a short & sweet description of Who You are, What you do, and who you serve.

3. Include Customized Application Questions to get to know your candidates

Application Question ‘Must-Haves’

• Name, email (don’t forget this!), website
• Resume / Portfolio
• Technicalities: time zone, availability, start date, hourly rate
• Previous Experience (1-2 questions)
  • Example: Tell me about your experience with content writing.
• Samples of work (2-4 samples)
  • Be specific: blog writing sample, Pinterest graphics, etc.

Examples of other Questions to Include: 

• Personality / leadership questions (1-2 questions)
• Tell me about a time you overcame a challenge, how would you solve [XYZ] problem.
• Work Interest
• Favorite task? Least favorite task? Typical work day?

4. How to Apply & Deadline

• I highly recommend creating an application form! Or, you can choose to have applicants email you directly with their resume, cover letter, and portfolio.
• Include a specific close date and time (add Time Zone)

How to Create Your Application Template:

Create your first application template with ease with one of these key tools:

• Airtable (my fav!)
• Google Forms

Once you create your first New Hire form, you can use this as a template for all new hires, and customize as you go, streamlining your hiring process, and making it easy as you begin to scale your business and grow your team.

If you want plug-and-play application templates, check out my Your First Hire Kit!

Next, Determine Where to Post the Job!

Here are some examples of great places to start:

• Entrepreneur, VA, or Digital Nomad Facebook groups
• Post on your social media!
• Freelancing websites (linked in description):
  • Freelancing Females
  • 90 Day VA
  • HERHQ Directory
  • LinkedIn
  • Upwork or Fiver

If you have a specific niche, let me know and I can give you some resources!

Step 3: Interview 

Once you’ve created your application, it’s time to determine who to interview and how you want your interview process to work.

1. Who to Interview 

Pro-tip: Don’t overthink it.

• Decide your hard ‘no’ and easy ‘yes’ before looking at applications.
• Value potential and work ethic more than experience.
• The ability to figure things out and bring new ideas to the table is hard to teach – Asana isn’t.
• If someone looks interesting, schedule an interview.

2. How to Interview 

First things first: make sure you like their vibe!

• Questions to ask:
• Experience
• Job Specific Questions
• “How would you handle XZY if you didn’t know how to do it?”
• hint: the answer is always google it.
• Long-term plans
• Pay Rate / Packages- send them to you after interview

Step 4: Paid Test Task

Why should I have a paid test task?

There is no better way to see how people work than to let them show you!

How to do a paid test task:

• Narrow your candidates down to your top three.
• Create a super simple, 1-2 hour task that they would actually do in this role.
• Give them 5-7 days to complete the task.

Examples of Test Tasks:

• Make 2-3 social media posts.
• Write 1 blog post.
• Edit 1 podcast episode.
• Design 2-3 Pinterest pins.
• Problem-solve specific issues.
• Write customer service replies.

Paid Test Task Quick Tips:

• Email with deadline + hourly cap.
• Send an invoice to xyz@me.com.
• Review the test task & potentially have others review it too.

Step 5: Kick Off & Onboarding 

Congrats! It’s time to onboard your new hire. 

Pro-tip: email everyone who did not get the job! It’s best practice since candidates invest their time and energy applying. 🙂

• Sign contract & pay first invoice.
• Set them up on any tools you use that they need.
  • Project Management Tool, Slack, Canva, Google Drive, etc.
  • Use password manager (LastPass)
• Schedule a Kick off call

Get clear on expectations: 

• Method of communication
  •  Examples: Voxer, Slack. 
  • Pro-tip: Do not text your team tasks. Keep in mind that we are freelancers and also have other clients 🙂
  • Try to keep all TASKS in a Project Management tool so nothing gets lost!
• Working hours, Time off
• Turnaround time for tasks (in general- fast or slow)
• Set Check-ins and meetings
• Give them their first task!
  • Start slow – 1 to 2 tasks at a time!
  • Leave time for feedback and revisions.

I hope this post leaves you feeling ready to take the leap to hire your first team member!

Consider this your invitation to make 2023 your year to grow, scale your business, and create the lifestyle you’ve always envisioned.

Ready to make your first hire with ease? Check out my Your First Hire Starter Kit that includes trainings, templates, and resources for hiring and onboarding your first team member! Plus, a bonus SOP masterclass to save you time training your team.