Ready to launch your web-based business to the next level of success? Then you’re going to need the right help! Hiring driven and talented staff and consultants are some of the secrets to helping your small business truly thrive without burning yourself out. Before you can hire those helpful professionals, though, you need to follow these key staffing steps:
Perform a Background Check
Before you hire anyone to help your web-based business grow, you’ll likely want to conduct background checks on potential employees. To protect yourself and your business from legal issues, you need to be aware of any rules set by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that apply to these checks. In some states, you may be able to collect background information about any employees as far back as seven years, but you may not be able to base employment on any arrests that did not result in an actual conviction. In fact, you may not be able to check for criminal information until after you’ve made a conditional job offer, so make sure you know your state’s required practices for keeping hiring practices legal.
Look for Temporary Help
As you grow your web-based business, it can take time to really understand your staffing needs. One thing’s for sure: You can’t grow a business all on your own, which is why you should consider using online job boards to find people to help with those tasks that can take up most of your time. You can review candidates from online staffing companies to find a temp staff writer to manage your blog and web content, or a virtual assistant to help organize your online appointments. You can also hire a web designer to improve the appeal and functionality of your website. Cascade North can upgrade your site and make it more user-friendly, along with creating custom graphics.
Consider Whether Branding/Marketing is Needed
If you want to push your web-based business to the next plane of success, you will want people to listen to your business and take it seriously. That’s where the importance of branding comes into play for small businesses. Your brand is what connects people to you and your business, makes those people trust you and allows your business to build those all-important loyal connections with customers and even other businesses. To determine what kind of branding expert your business needs to thrive, you need to figure out which branding elements you really need help with to succeed. Different agencies and freelancers will offer various levels of help with visual branding tools, messaging and positioning, and focusing on the most-needed elements can help you avoid paying too much for these professional branding services.
Get Help With Financial Tasks
Typically, small business growth comes with more expenses and, hopefully, more profits. You may be used to handling bookkeeping for your web-based business solo, especially if you are the only employee. However, as your business continues to grow, you will likely need to consider hiring professional bookkeeping or accounting help. Knowing the difference between the two is crucial for deciding which professional will provide the most assistance to your web-based business goals. For example, a bookkeeper will work in-house or remotely to handle daily financial tasks, while an accountant will dive deeper into those financial records to help prepare your small business for reports, taxes and audits. With these differences in mind, you can also decide if these positions—and the others mentioned above—should be staff or contract depending on your business’s budget.
Properly staffing your web-based small business is the key to achieving your goals without sacrificing too much of your own time. This will allow you to build your web-based business up to the next level of success and will help to ensure its long-term growth and prosperity.