Major entrepreneurial dreams come true and you’ve decided to start your own business. And congratulations because you’re in a very prestigious position. As you begin to make money on your small business that started out with just you in the garage starts to grow, you’re going to want to think about hiring new people.
While you might be chomping at the bit to get some talent in on your team, it’s so important that you take the time to determine who you need for the jobs and vet your candidates properly. Whether you’re looking to hire a virtual medical receptionist or a CEO to work alongside you, you have to be thorough in your choices. Your business needs and budget is going to dictate the rules that you have to fill, but any employee that you hire should have several essential qualities. Let’s take a look at some of the most important people that you should be hiring for your business.
- A COO. The COO is one of the most essential players in a business. They are the chief operations officer and they will focus on the day-to-day operations that keep your business running smoothly. They can work alongside you so that things can push forward while you focus on business growth. You can hire externally for this position, but most of the time founders typically assume these C-Suite executive responsibilities. If you’re starting out with a friend, one of you could choose to be CEO and the other can choose to be COO.
- A product manager. What are you selling? Whatever it is that you’re selling, whether it’s a product or a service, you need somebody to manage it. They have a vision and a strategy for development, and they’ll take your products to new heights. They’ll usually work closely with any marketing and engineering teams to create and market your products effectively and appropriately.
- Chief Technology Officer. You need somebody who specializes in tech and development. They will be crucial to your business success, especially if you’re a tech startup. You can hire freelance front and back end engineers to take advantage of your tech support online, but having someone on your internal team to take charge will make a big difference. This is a role that you can split into two separate positions as your team experiences growth.
- Expert in charge of marketing. Whether you choose a chief marketing officer or a community manager, you need somebody who’s going to focus on your customers and how they view the product or service that you have available. Hiring an expert that has small business marketing expertise is going to help to propel your business higher. When you ensure that you reach the right marketing demographics, you’ll be able to scale up. They should be able to write copy and design collateral. As your business grows, they would be the manager overseeing others who can do the same thing.
- Sales management. You need somebody to focus on generating new leads or turning the leads that you generate into sales. They will bring money in for your company and is a critical role because a small business owner who masters this can last longer than others.
- Financial chief. Whether it is an accountant, you need to think about having somebody in charge of your finances. Experts will often recommend that you outsource your accounting or finance. Having somebody in house can make a big difference to how you view your business. If you hire a CFO, the startup that you have will benefit from their expert help when it comes to getting a loan later. Having somebody on the team who is responsible for money will really make a difference to how successful you really are.
- Customer service Rep. Your business needs somebody in charge of effective customer service solutions. Building positive relationships with your customers and clients is going to help you to grow your brand. It doesn’t matter how great your products or services are if your business doesn’t effectively communicate. You need somebody in front of the customers.
- An admin genius. Hiring an assistant, either virtually or in house is evidently the best thing you could do for your business. You need a gatekeeper, somebody to be able to answer the phones, prepare meetings and ensure that your business is able to function. All that paperwork and admin legwork can be done by somebody exceptionally organised and you get a chance to hire them.