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Self-care and the concept of spending less time in your business is all the rage as more research has linked several diseases to chronic stress. Like the ambitious entrepreneur that you are, you are probably planning to automate some of your processes and hire more contractors so that you can focus on doing the things that matter to grow your online business. But there is a right and wrong way to hire more people in order to take this much-needed time off.
Five years ago, I started an online magazine. However, coming up with relevant content consistently became an anxiety trigger. To make up for this flaw and keep the magazine afloat, I employed a strategy recommended by every business strategist: hire a dream team to make space for profit and growth.
So, I put out a call for writers in Facebook groups and asked for recommendations. I conducted Skype interviews and picked the first people who said yes. In no time, I had my team and went from publisher and magazine editor to team leader overnight and was pleased.
But the happiness was short-lived. It turned out that I was terrible at managing others and six months later, I kissed my magazine goodbye, quit the publication brand cold-turkey, and have since learned my lessons.
If you are trying to hire more team members—especially remote workers, to scale your online business, here are 5 hiring mistakes you should avoid.
1) Not having a business plan or marketing strategy
Never discount the importance of a business plan and marketing strategy. This simple, unassuming document holds the plan for your growth, exposure, income goals, project timelines, and project capacity.
Because the idea of creating more time and space in my life by getting more writers seemed so appealing, I thought a business plan or strategy didn’t matter. It felt it was too stuffy––only corporate businesses did that. I thought all I had to do was create an editorial calendar, assign writers to topics, follow up on the assignments, then publish posts.
Would we grow large like Essence magazine or would we charge membership fees to access locked content? How would we sell and bring in partners? I honestly had zero ideas. And because I didn’t have a strategy and vision for growth, I failed miserably.
2) Hiding behind your emails
Any introvert who prefers small, cozy interactions with people and sometimes emails to verbal communication? Yes, me too. However, when you are building a location independent business, you have to show up to be seen and heard. Unfortunately, I learned this late.
Hiding behind my emails tanked my online magazine because I was an invisible leader. All I did was one Skype interview with my new team members and that was it. As a result, I failed to reintroduce the excitement and urgency of the movement we were trying to create. I didn’t know who they really were. I never asked them what their goals were and how they would like to grow with me. I didn’t discuss compensation for their skills; instead, I offered to bring them exposure and “upgrade” their titles sometime soon.
As an entrepreneur, you shouldn’t just be present; you should inspire excellence in your team. Hiding behind your emails will do neither.
3) Lack of consistent communication
If you have quarterly or yearly plans, please share them with your team and make meetings mandatory. Yes, you hired them so that you could take time off work. But this time off shouldn’t be at the expense of keeping your business in operation.
Here’s the mistake I made: I hired my team and sent out a detailed editorial calendar. Then I created images for social media challenges, blog posts, and shared these on my social media platforms and with my email readers…all by myself.
There were no days set aside for the team to virtually meet. Neither were their roles explained. I went quiet for days only to send emails out of frustration about upcoming deadlines.
Did I get replies to my emails? Yes, I did, but they were always apologies for either failure to read the previous emails or failure to show up at “scheduled” meetings.
4) Not signing some sort of agreement
When you make the conscious decision to be an employer, you need to have contracts and agreements to help define your relationship and expectations on paper. Confidence is not enough.
When I brought people onboard, there were no contracts, no pledges, no vows. Just smiling faces on a Skype chat that never detailed the vision and strategy for the magazine. I wanted to create a culture of engagement that wasn’t defined by rules and regulations. I thought since I was building my team for free, I shouldn’t make it too hard for them to be present. Well, in my bid to please everyone, I couldn’t hold anyone accountable.
You, however, can do better. Signed agreements help define the scope of practice for your team members and also ensures personal accountability.
5) Sending lengthy emails with no call to action
Your email address is right at your fingertips. But please, limit the use of email to personal communication.
Five years ago, I sent emails and then called for responses to those emails. When I didn’t get timely responses, I’d reignite the conversation, creating a long thread of conversation—with myself.
But studies have shown that the number of business and personal emails sent in 2017 was 269 billion, and this number is expected to rise to 319.6 billion by 2021. With this report, I don’t need a guru to tell me why my emails were never returned. I didn’t stand a chance, and with no call to action, I was merely a clutter to the brain.
A better way to use email is to avoid rambling, keep only the relevant information, and make your call to action very clear. Use Google Docs, Trello, Slack, and Basecamp to strategize and brainstorm about your business goals instead.
Conclusion
Handing over the daily operations in your business to someone else can be scary, especially when you are thousands of miles apart. But by understanding how to hire team members, communicate your goals and set the expectation for all parties involved, scaling your business for more profit becomes easier as you focus on more revenue-generating activities.
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