Thinking About Hiring? Start Here First

Hiring support for your business can be a total game-changer—or a total headache. If you've been thinking about bringing someone on (even just a few hours a week), this episode will walk you through the things I’ve learned after two decades of hiring—both as a business owner and from years working in management and as a recruiting business assistant.

We’re talking about how to avoid the mess, miscommunications, and “oh no, what did I just do?” moments that can come with bringing someone new into your business.

Here’s what I cover:

• What you actually need to do before you even schedule the interview
• How to structure interviews so they’re informative, not awkward or overly formal
• Setting up your systems to make collaboration smoother (and save you time)
• Why clear expectations and regular communication are non-negotiable
• The legal (and ethical) difference between a contractor and an employee—and why it matters
• A few simple ways to make your new hire feel appreciated without overthinking it

Hiring isn’t about finding a unicorn. It’s about building a working relationship that supports both of you. And like most things in business, it works best when you’re intentional about how you set it up.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Free Hiring Training
• Hiring Guide
• 4 Signs You’re Ready to Make Your First Hire

If you know someone else who’s in that “I think I need help, but I’m not sure how to hire” stage—send this their way. And as always, if you like the show, subscribing and sharing make a big difference. Thanks for listening.

Learn more about BizMagic or the BizMagic Podcast.

Transcript

Welcome back to another episode of the Biz Magic Podcast, your place for all things tech in your online business with solid. Of General Biz Chat two. My name is Patty Meyer and I am the CEO and founder of Biz Magic, where my team and I support entrepreneurs who are overwhelmed by the backend tech of their business.

We create, implement, and teach the tweaks that help our clients make a bigger impact with less stress. Today we are talking about something that can, in a lot of ways kind of make or break your business's growth. And that is hiring and building a team that actually works. And that's even if this team is just one other person supporting you, right?

And it's something that can. Sounds simple. Sometimes you just hire somebody to help you, right? But if you've never done it before, it can start to feel really complicated, really quickly. And I've been hiring people for over 20 years at this point. And I also spent over 10 years working as the business assistant for a contract recruiter.

So I've seen hiring from a lot of different angles as the business owner who needs help as the person vetting candidates and connected them to opportunities. And of course, as somebody looking for work, because that's there. And so, because I've had all this experience, I'll be really honest that getting this right.

Can take time and experience and it takes effort, but it doesn't have to be as overwhelming as it feels or it sounds, and you don't have to get it perfect the first time. So today I'm gonna kind of cover hiring, but two areas specifically. One, how to interview and hire well, especially contractors and remote team members.

And two, how to create a working relationship and environment that supports both of you long term. So let's start with the hiring process. One of the most important things I can say about hiring is this. The interview should not be your first step. You'd want to vet as much as you can before you get on a call with them, and I do recommend Zoom whenever possible, just because you get to see the person and get a feel for their energy a little bit different.

But this means reviewing their portfolio or their resume or an application, asking thoughtful pre-interview questions, maybe a quick skill test if that's needed. You're looking for. Signals that they might be a good match, not just in skills, but in culture, right? And, and how they communicate. And in their approach to work those extra steps, they save time for both of you.

You don't wanna spend 30 minutes interviewing someone who clearly within five minutes is not fit. That's not wasting just your time, it's wasting their time as well, right? So when you do get to the interview, you keep it human. So to do that, I recommend creating a little application if you can do that, um, that asks some of these questions, things that are non-negotiables for you, things that are really important, um, and not just yes or no.

Try to ask those open-ended questions in an application as well, because as more as, as much space as you can give them to share, the better because it allows you to see their thought process a little bit. See how they communicate, see how they write. Look for any typos, that sort of thing. When you do get to the actual interview, keep it human.

I always like to start by asking them to tell me about themselves. Not just, why do you want this role, right? Like, we don't want to just have them try to convince us why we should hire them and, and stroke our ego as to why, oh, you're such a great company and I wanna work with you. Right? You wanna understand more about them.

So maybe ask, why are you doing the work you're doing? What is it that lights you up about the work you do? What brought you to do this type of work? That question tends to open things up in a different way. You get the insight. Into what drives them, how they see their work, what kind of energy they bring to the table.

From there, let them talk, give them space to share their experience, what they enjoy, what they're good at. You can learn a lot by just listening and watching how someone communicates when they're not being guided every step of the way. You also wanna be really clear about the role you're hiring for. Be honest about what it looks like, what the expectations are, what the pace is.

Then ask for their thoughts. See what questions they ask, what ideas they bring. If they've done something similar before, if they just say, yeah, I can do that. No problem with nothing else. That's usually a red flag to me. You want somebody who's engaged and curious and not just checking the boxes because there's no proof that they can do it.

If they just say, yeah, I can do that for you. Like I've learned that the hard way. Trust me. So now let's say you've made it through this interview process. You feel really good, you've hired somebody after hiring them. How do we set both of us up for success? Right? Hiring is just the beginning. If you want it to work for both of you, there are a few core things to pay attention to.

So the first is communication. You wanna talk early about how you'll communicate. Is it email? Is it Slack? Is it Voxer? Do you wanna do weekly calls? Biweekly calls? Monthly calls and be open to finding a rhythm that works for both of you. A lot of business owners assume I'm paying, so it should go my way, the way that works best for me.

But the best working relationships are collaborative. Your contractor or employee is a human too, and when you meet each other in the middle, everything runs smoother. Okay. The second is task and project tracking. This is a non-negotiable. You have to have a place to track tasks and projects. Otherwise, you're left in this kind of position where you don't really know what's going on.

You kind of feel like, well, should I ask what's happening? Should I ask if they've gotten this done? Like it, it, it gets a little muddy really quickly, and it's another layer of communication. Trello, Clickup Notion, Asana, whatever you're using, it needs to exist and be kept up to date. Otherwise, you'll spend more time chasing things down than actually moving forward.

It offers accountability for both of you, and it's just a great way to stay in communication and stay on track. You also next wanna look at expectations and feedback. Be clear about what you expect, including deadlines, including quality, communication. Also be realistic. Don't expect. That somebody's gonna read your mind or absorb your entire business after a week, and please give feedback.

If something isn't working, say so. Don't just sit on it. It is so important for you to voice what is going on. People cannot improve if they don't know there's a problem. Even if the problem is just, oh, I don't like the tone of voice you're using, or, uh, you're using my colors, but that's not. Quite the style that I want.

If you don't do something about it, it's gonna grow right and you're not giving them an a chance to step up and you're not giving yourself a chance to grow in communication and feedback. On the flip side, if something is working, say that too. Positive feedback helps people stay grounded and confident in their work.

I also recommend that you ask your new hire how they prefer to receive feedback. Some people like a feedback sandwich and some people want really direct, clear, like, no fluff. Just tell me what's going on. Tell me what your thoughts are, how I can do this better or differently. Um, and if you're not sure, ask, right?

Like, don't worry about over communication. I don't believe that you can over communicate, especially in. The beginning. Okay. And the next thing is you wanna make sure that you create space for questions. And this is a really big one. Create an environment where questions are welcome, especially at the beginning.

Whoever you hire is going to have more questions upfront as they're learning your systems and getting to know how you work. If you don't love answering questions constantly, that's totally fair, and there are some workarounds for that. So you can create a shared document that they can drop questions in and you can respond to them in batches when it makes the most sense for you.

You can schedule weekly or biweekly check-ins that. Uh, allows you that space to answer questions. You can proactively record loom videos or write SOPs or instructions as needed, especially for repeatable tasks. The more proactive you are in this case, the fewer fires you'll need to put out later. But no matter what, make sure that you're okay to answer questions because that really builds trust and that's really, really important.

And finally, this might feel small, but it's not. Say thank you. Let them know you appreciate what they're doing. A little recognition can go a long way. It can be as simple as a thoughtful message, a gift card, a birthday card, a handwritten note, an actual gift. Just something say thank you. When they've done something, well say, this was so awesome.

You rock. I really appreciate you. Like, be genuine. Don't just say it. Be genuine. Say thank you whenever possible, and let them know because. It builds trust. It shows you value their contribution, and it makes people more likely to want to keep working with you, which is what you want. I wanna take a quick second here to kind of have like a legal sidebar, if you will, about in an employee versus a contractor.

This is something that a lot of small businesses and solopreneurs. Kind of miss. There is a real difference between hiring a contractor and hiring an employee. And the IRS takes this very seriously and so should you not just because the IRS takes it seriously, but because it is, it, there is a difference and it's really important.

Contractors control how and when they work. You are hiring them for a result, you are not managing their hours or giving them a specific process. You are actually not allowed to tell them where, when or how what they can do their job. They pay their own taxes. They are a business that you are paying to provide you with a service.

Think of it as if you go into a grocery store. You cannot go in and say, Hey, I wanted to come in at 2:00 AM and you were closed. You have to open this store at 2:00 AM for me. And oh, even though you're a grocery store, I really would like for you to carry two by fours. Right? Like you wouldn't do that at a store.

Think of this as the same way when you hire a contractor, they are not there to do whatever it is that you want them to do. They're there to do what you've agreed to do together, what they say that they can offer service wise, and they are there to provide the service that they know how to do, when they can do it, when they choose to do it, and how they choose to do it.

And don't get me wrong, it's agreed upon, right? Like you're discussing this in the beginning and agreeing upon it. But you do have to follow those guidelines. Employees are a different story. You have a lot more oversight over employees, but it's also more responsibility, including taxes, benefits, and compliance.

So. There's pros and cons to having both, and most people that are listening to this are going to be hiring contractors, so you really need to, and I highly recommend you look into what it means to hire a contractor and make sure that you're treating them accordingly. So again, I know hiring can feel intimidating, but it doesn't have to.

The key is to really slow down, pay attention, and remember, you are building a relationship, not just checking off your task to-do list, right? When you hire intentionally and set things up well, your team can become one of your biggest strengths really in your business, and that takes a lot off your plate.

So that you can focus on the work you actually want to be doing, the work you're actually passionate about, the work that allows you to bring in more income. And if you're kind of unsure about hiring, if you need some help, you need some tips. I have a blog post. I have a free. Hiring training. I have a guide, um, that you can use like a little workbook for hiring.

I have all of that stuff on my website, but I will also link it in the show notes here. I also am happy to strategize with you on hiring again. I've been hiring in some form or another for well over 20 years at this point. It is something that is for me I can do in my sleep and um, so I'm super happy to offer any advice to share, to help you hire, um, and help you with the hiring process.

Any and all of those things I'm here for. So. Feel free to reach out to me. You can find me as always at patty@bizmagic.co or directly on my website@bizmagic.co. Till next time,

thank you for listening to another episode of the Biz Magic Podcast Like most. Small businesses and podcasts, we rely heavily on word of mouth. So if you like what you heard today or in any episode, please share with your friends and colleagues and rate, subscribe, and comment on your favorite podcast platform.

Till next time, cheers to your magical biz success.