Owning your own online business comes with its own challenges but one of the biggest milestones is hiring your first employee.
Delegating will become one of your most important tasks as a business owner. Once you put on the “boss” hat it can be intimidating to know what tasks you can intrust someone else to do. I’ve often talked about how amazing it is to have a virtual team that can help you with daily tasks that can be draining for a business owner.
Think of how much free time you’d have if someone else was answering emails, managing your social media, running your advertisements, building your website, or overseeing your funnels. You would clear off so much “busy work” off your plate that you would actually have time to do what you love (or what makes money!) in your business like create new content.
Now as excited as you are to start building your team out, let’s figure out who your very first hire should be and here’s an unpopular opinion:
Don’t hire an assistant first.
I know many business advisors will disagree with me on this one but hear me out, your first hire should actually be a house keeper.
(crickets?)
Ok hear me out on this one. It is so important your work environment supports you and sets you up for success. When you work from home and are your own boss, this is even MORE important. With not having a typical office environment or a boss watching over you, there’s not much keeping you accountable to be productive.
I know that when you work from home, a typical day looks like throw in a load of laundry, answer a few emails, pick up the kitchen, start a blog post, laundry needs switched, bathroom needs cleaned, get on Instagram and scroll for way to long, vacuum, fold some clothes, start dinner, husband comes home, eat dinner… and now you’re exhausted.
What was actually accomplished in that time? Not much.
But here’s the problem, and I bet you’re the same way, I can’t work in a messy space. If I know there’s a load of laundry that needs done or dishes in the sink, I can’t think straight. By having a cleaner come in once a week, it frees up your schedule and allows you time to spend on activities that actually make money.
Still not convinced? Implement it slowly.
If you’re still not convinced or you think someone couldn’t possibly clean the house the way you like it or master your “kon mari” fold, implement a house keeper in slowly. Maybe you’re not ready to have someone come every week, but you could have someone come once a month and do a deep clean of the house.
If you’ve never had a cleaner before, here’s a little tip.
It will be awkward the first few times.
Should you stay, do you leave? Do you make small talk? How much instruction do you give? Typically these worries all work themselves out quickly and you will get into a rhythm. You may learn you don’t like being home when the cleaners are there so you can schedule your Target run for that time. Or maybe you’ve got a chatty gal so you learn to work with your head phones in.
The other tip, don’t pre-clean before they come. It’s so nerve wracking having a stranger in your home and especially a person that is going to be up close and personal with the inside of your microwave and behind your toilet. You’ll be so worried they will judge you for the mess you’ve lived in that you will likely feel tempted to clean the house before they come.
We both know that just defeats the whole purpose.
This is why having a house keeper eventually come every week will help because you’re not needing to clean between the professional cleanings (fyi you still will have daily tidying up like dishes).
If you’re having a hard time getting your husband on board try coming up with a monetary monthly goal together. Once you hit that milestone then you can celebrate by bringing on help that will allow you more time to make more money.
If you’re having a hard time getting your husband on board try coming up with a monetary monthly goal together. Once you hit that milestone then you can celebrate by bringing on help that will allow you more time to make more money.
Keep in mind the value of your time.
In some areas you can have a housekeeper come for as little as $30 a visit. Considering they’re typically there for around two hours, that’s as low as $15/hr. Once your online business makes more than $15/hr then you can justify bringing on a cleaner.
I know it can be nerve wracking to make the commitment but here’s the great part – there’s very little commitment. You don’t have to sign a contract or pay for several cleanings up front. If you try it a few times and don’t like it, you can always go back to doing it yourself – but trust me, you won’t want to.
Just imagine how much farther your business would be in 1 year’s time if you could clear up most of your day for money-making activities! You could scale your business so much quicker and bring on additional team members like an assistant. At the very least, you would have less stress and more time available to do things you love and spend time with your family.
