While it’s a great problem for a small business to have, sometimes the workload simply becomes too much for one person to handle on their own. I recently hired my first employee as a solution to this very situation. His name is Charlie. Not to make the HR professionals cringe, but I hired this particular applicant because he was the cutest of the candidates. And he proved to be a great cuddler during his interview. So far he’s been a real asset to the business; however, he does have a tendency to nap on the job, stroll across the keyboard at crucial moments, and distract the boss with repeated and urgent requests to throw toy mice. I’ll deal with these items at his next performance review.
All kidding aside, if you’re not ready to hire an extra employee, but you occasionally need or want some extra help or collaboration, here are some options to consider.
Use Networking Groups to Outsource
Every community has these. You can join your local Chamber of Commerce, or a formal business networking group like BNI. Look around and see what opportunities exist in your community. You’ll meet people who work in other industries, and have skill sets different from your own. When you end up with more work than you can handle, you’ll know exactly who to talk to about out-sourcing various facets of your business. As small business owners, we tend to try to do it all ourselves. But you may reach a point where it’s time to consider hiring someone to do your bookkeeping, or marketing, or take care of some landscaping and maintenance chores that you don’t have time for. Having an established network of professionals across all disciplines will make it easier to find the help you need.
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