I’ve worked as a freelance writer for well over a decade. Over the years, I’ve frequently wondered if it’s time to hire someone else to help me. Hiring someone is scary because it costs money out of pocket. I don’t feel like I have that money. However, I’m also not sure that I can grow my business if I continue to try wearing all of the hats myself. Would I earn more money if I hired someone to help me?
I’ve Hired Subcontractors In The Past
There was a point in time where I hired people to help me. In one instance, it was smart. In the other, it was a fail.
It was smart when I made most of my money off of my blog. I did all of the blogging myself. However, I consistently faced technical problems with my website. While I could resolve some of them myself, it took me a long time each time. That was time during which I wasn’t earning money. Ultimately, I decided to hire someone to help with the tech end of my site. We worked together for a little over a year. Overall, it was a smart business decision.
It was a fail when I hired someone to do my interviews for me. This was years and years ago. I hated dealing with phone interviews but had a job that required me to do them. So I subcontracted them out to someone else. In the end, it didn’t make any sense. I didn’t really get the information I needed. Moreover, I barely made anything off of the articles once I’d paid the person who did the interviews.
So, the conclusion I’ve reached is that hiring people can be a smart choice. However, you have to plan accordingly.
What Would I Hire People For Today?
I’ve written books that are currently on the market. However, I don’t do a whole lot to promote them. After all, I’m busy writing new books and articles. Therefore, it might behoove me to hire someone to market my existing writing.
In the past, I’ve self-published my books and worked with small publishers. However, if I wanted the opportunity to make more money, then I might try working with large publishers. In that case, I need an agent. So, in order for future books to achieve success, perhaps I should hire a literary agent.
Then there are the tasks I hate. For example, I have really mixed feelings about social media. And I’ve basically stopped working on my own website because I don’t enjoy dealing with all of the updates and tech glitches and so forth. Should I hire someone to do my social media work? To work on my website? To handle admin type things?
The Fear Of Spending More and Not Making More
The idea is that I could hire someone to help me grow my business. Therefore, hiring someone should grow my bottom line. However, I have to pay that person whether or not I make more money. My budget is already so tight that it feels really scary to consider that. So I’m caught in this place of uncertainty. Is it time to bite the bullet and hire someone? In what capacity?
Have you hired someone to grow your small business? What’s your advice?
