Hiring Your First Team Member As A Force Multiplier

We break down why your first hire can either multiply your growth or quietly create a second job you did not plan for. We share the shift from hiring “extra hands” to hiring a heavy hitter partner who brings speed, judgment, and real relief to the owner. 

• the real cost of hiring for affordability instead of impact 
• hiring down versus hiring up for a first role 
• why training and oversight can erase the time you hoped to save 
• what a partner-style first hire looks like in practice 
• speed as an early-stage business advantage 
• problem solving and critical thinking as non-negotiables 
• the “handled it” phone call as the litmus test 
• using simple tasks to vet execution and focus 
• hiring to complement our strengths and cover our weaknesses 
• when it finally makes sense to hire a trainable team member 

Love design, but think like a business owner? If you're ready to leave your nine to five and want to do something that's buildable and scalable, check out linden-creek.com/franchise and see if Linden Creek is the right fit for you. 
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Transcript

The Stakes Of The First Hire

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Your first hire is one of the most important decisions you are going to make as a business owner. You get it right and you have this gorgeous multiplying effect that does brilliant things to your business. You get it wrong and you are gonna run into some very serious challenges early on. My name is Alisa Sparks, and this is In Good Space. I am here today with Alan Sparks, CEO, C O O and Spouse.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Messing that up. I really don't want that crap put on your hand.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

He's got something with a C that's really important. So there we go.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Sort of. There we go. Sort of.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Today we're really excited. We're gonna dive in and talk about who your first hire should be. Um, the reason we felt like this is a valuable conversation is what we have learned along the way, and what I have learned even the hard way is that first hire is obviously crucial, but it's probably not the person that you're expecting. So we're gonna deep dive into that today.

Overwhelmed Owner Seeks Extra Hands

SPEAKER_01 1:04

So let's dive in. What does this conversation typically look like? A franchise owner picks up the phone, calls us, or, you know, is on a call with us, and they go, I am strapped. I am stressed, I am overwhelmed, I can't do the marketing and the sales that I want to do, and be at the installs and be everything to everyone and make sure the warehouse is good. I think it's time for me to hire some help, right? That's right, that's how this conversation kicks off.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

So we kick back with a question of them like, who do you think you should hire? Right. You know, and so the answer is always like, oh, I need somebody to help me with this, and I need somebody to help me with that, and I need somebody to go here and do that. And and really it's somebody to just be another set of hands.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

And right and um I'm a new business owner. So like I'm tight on cash, I'm still reinvesting into my business. So we need to go and look for cost effective solutions on a hire because now I'm committing to somebody's salary and compensation.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Absolutely. So one of the things that we teach them, and we'll talk about this, is the difference between hiring down or hiring up, right? Particularly with that first hire. Because that first hire can either spring you forward or it can really set you back. And when you're getting off the ground, like time is money, right? And you don't want to waste three months, realize dang it, I got the wrong person, scrap them, and then you're starting over in a sense.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

So one thing we've found um or have watched happen is when you are hiring somebody just to be a second set of hands, right? To like help in the warehouse, to be useful at an install, et cetera, that maybe doesn't have the design experience or acumen, the sales and marketing experience or acumen is maybe um needing training and development in several ways. That does not mean they're a bad person. That doesn't mean they're not a good hire, but they're probably not the best first hire. And the reason that we say that is because of this. When somebody comes in and doesn't have every skill set you need them to have to say, go free, do this, and I'm never even gonna look at what you're doing and it's gonna get done right. If you can't do that, what's gonna happen is you now have created a second job for yourself. So you used to be able to do it yourself and you were doing these things. Now someone else is doing it, but you're coming behind the scenes and verifying and validating that everything is done correctly. You are making sure they're trained up and they're equipped and have the skill set to do those tasks successfully. And so what ends up happening is instead of being the installer, or instead of, you know, whatever these tasks are you want to delegate, you are now the trainer of the installer. You are now um oversight and management in coaching and reinforcing. And so you're changing your time for instead of doing the work to training on the work or to managing the work, but you didn't actually give yourself any time back.

Hiring Down Creates A Second Job

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Love design, but think like a business owner. If you're ready to leave your nine to five and want to do something that's buildable and scalable, check out linden-creek.com slash franchise and see if Linden Creek is the right fit for you.

The Partner Hire Aha Moment

SPEAKER_00 3:54

So who would you define? Let's just throw it on you, CEO, to be clear. That's you. Um, let's just throw it on you. Like, who do you recommend?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Yeah, can I be totally transparent with you?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Um, I hope so. If you had asked me three, four years ago, like who should your first hire be, I would have told you exactly that person that I said, don't hire. Sure. Um, I would have been like, pick the cost effective person, you can train, you can teach, save yourself money. Um, but something really interesting happened. One of our franchise owners did not hire that person. They were like, hey, I have this friend. I'm gonna hire them. I think it's gonna be really great. And I remember transparently thinking, like, they're probably a little overqualified. They might get a little antsy. I don't know if this is the right fit, but like, props to you, let's go, right? Um, and this person had a lot of skills. They were good at people development, they were good at customer service, they were great at designing, they had um this beautiful resume and experience. And I watched them step foot into the business with our owner. And all of a sudden, every action that normally would take somebody a certain amount of time, they were getting there like seven times faster. And their team member that they hired was actually bringing a ton of value and ideas and systems and executing the systems to make them even better at what they were doing. And as I watched this happen behind the scenes with their employee, they, as the owner, were able to step out and focus even more on marketing and sales. And it was this aha moment for me that I was like, that's the right first hire. Because what this person hired wasn't just an employee to do the work. They hired essentially a partner. They hired somebody that said, Here's my vision, here's my mission for Linden Creek at this location. I want us to accomplish and do and be this. Will you come by my side and can we do this together? I'm gonna take this, you take this, go team. Let's go divide and conquer, right? And what was really fascinating for me to get to watch that um as it was executed is they got there faster because of it. The pressure of the owner was drastically different than what I was seeing in everybody else because she knew that so many things were handled behind the scenes and were gonna be handled with care and with love, that it made it so much easier for the owner to just execute and do the things they really needed to focus on doing. And so today we say, like, you should really be hiring and looking for a partner on that first hire. Are they gonna be the cheapest one that you can find? Nope. Um, but are they going to give it the return on investment that you need in that partnership as you build and grow? Absolutely.

Speed And ROI Beat Cheap Labor

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I think one of the things that you're really good at in Linden Creek and then also conveying as a necessity for having a successful business is speed. And I don't I think speed is most apparent when you're coming out of the starting block. Like you can't come slow. Yep. Like there is pressure, there's been investment made, right? And so it's like we need to move and we need to move at a different clip. So I'm gonna say something here so you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I would say, you know, because usually again, you're trying to pinch pennies here in the beginning. This first hire is an investment. Look at it that way, right? And so part-time help yields part-time results. If you're attacking your business on the front end on a part-time basis because you have one foot and some other door, then you're gonna get those results in your business. It takes an all-in effort right from the beginning. And if you have somebody by your side, again, we've talked about it, you get there twice as fast. So speed is key, and having somebody that can buy into your mission and your vision is also essential.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Yeah, I think those are huge aspects because the reality is when you're starting your business, like you've signed a lease for a warehouse.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

And that warehouse lease is a lot more than your mortgage, more than likely. And you have to pay it every month no matter what, right? So the sooner you can grow your top line revenue, the sooner you can just get that up and out, the better. And so making an investment into this strong heavy hitter is important. Um, one of the skills I think is important in that heavy hitter. Yes, speed is definitely like part of it, even for them and their decision making, but their ability to really truly problem solve is something that's important. I mean, that's a crucial skill.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Critical thinking.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

It's a crucial skill in staging, period. You know, even when we're designing a space, it's like, what do I have in the warehouse? What does the house actually need? How do we make those two into a beautiful marriage where like I'm executing something incredible for our client that's strategic and methodical? Hey, we're at the install. Something didn't go as planned. The lamp broke, you know, in the driveway. We've had these things happen. Like, how do we problem solve and navigate this without picking up the phone, calling, you know, the owner and saying, Hey, how do I make this happen? Like you need somebody that can think on their feet, that can execute, that can solve it. And you are gonna know that it's that person when you get a phone call that afternoon that says, Hey, just so you know, the lamp broke in the driveway this morning, but we already handled it. We went and picked up a new one, then we made these adjustments and here it is. Right. And so, like, that's your defining moment is like, do I get the phone call when the emergency is happening, or do I get the phone call at the end of the day when it's already been handled and executed? And that's how you know if you've got your heavy hitter.

How To Vet For Execution

SPEAKER_00 8:50

Yeah, that's so true. One of the things we do here at the main location here in Raleigh is when we hire somebody, one of the things I like to do is give them a bunch of simple tasks, you know, as we're trying to vet this person, to see can you handle simplicity? Some people can't. Some people overanalyze, they overcomplicate when it's unnecessary and that slows you down, right? So can you handle these lists of simple tasks, stay on tasks, stay focused? And how fast can you get it done? And do you do it well? Um, a that builds confidence in that person, it builds trust from you to them, right? That's key. But it also very quickly gives you a chance to identify do I have the right person here or do I not?

SPEAKER_01 9:27

I think the other thing to think about is really reflecting and going, what are my strengths as a business owner? Right. Like, yes, technically as a business owner, you have to be everything to everyone. You have to be marketing, you have to be accounting, you have to be sales, you have to just be a designer. But there are probably some things that you enjoy more. There are probably some things that you are better at. So figure out what those are. Figure out where your weaknesses are and hire for somebody that has that skill set because now you've just doubled your skill set as a business just by hiring. It didn't mean that you had to go through and train and learn and figure out how to level yourself up. You brought somebody in that instantly was there the next day to help and build the business. And so you're really looking for your partner in crime, right? Like the person that can do this and build this with you that is excited about the vision.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

All right. So let's simplify for the people out there. Attributes of that first hire need to be speed. What else?

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Problem solving.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Problem solving, critical thinking, right? Um and then go with another one.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Innovative.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

Innovative, right? Able to think, think quick, think on their feet. Yeah, right. Um, I think those are good qualities.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Yeah, those are good ones.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

And then here's the like the fun part,

When To Add A Trainable Hire

SPEAKER_01 10:36

right? You've hired this heavy hitter. Um, they're fantastic at what they do. Your business keeps growing and you go, hmm, pause. I need to hire somebody again. Now is when you get to have the opportunity to go, cool, let me bring somebody in that maybe doesn't have all the skills they need to like jump on boat tomorrow and be ready to execute. But somebody that I can train, somebody that's the right culture fit, that's excited about the organization, that I can build up and help grow. Because what's beautiful about this is now, yes, you can train them if you want to, because you have support managing day-to-day. Or you can have your new your first hire be the one that's training and it doesn't allow you to miss a beat. And so this is where you can save a little bit on payroll if you need to, but your business continues to deliver the same consistent results because you've got your heavy hitter right there to make sure the consistency is there.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Perfectly said, nailed it.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

When it comes to the first hire for your business, hiring for affordability can actually work in reverse and be more expensive than investing in that key player.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Also, making the right hire is a force multiplier, right? So, really being able to focus on who is that person that's gonna help you double your efforts and move the ball forward. That's an investment, right? Make sure you're making the right investment.

Key Takeaways And Subscribe

SPEAKER_01 11:49

To stay up to date with more conversations like this one, subscribe. We're excited to keep talking about ways to level up your business and build and grow. Until then, thanks for spending time with us today. This is In Good Space.