Hardest Decision In Business: Hiring The First Employee

Erik recalls the hardest decision he’s ever had to make in business, to date. That decision was hiring his first employee. Like most new entrepreneurs he found himself in a position where he was overwhelmed with work but he wasn't overwhelmed with cash. He knew and understood that hiring another person would mean that person would have to come before himself. He explained to his wife that he was getting ready to hire someone and that meant he would have to pay this person every two weeks and that meant he may or may not be able to pay himself. Luckily that didn't happen. He hired his first employee after he signed a contract for a big software development project. He was still in the middle of his first big project and knew he wouldn't be able to deliver the second project in a timely manner without help. So, he hired someone to help him finish that first project and together they tackled the second. And, it worked out perfectly. Hiring his first employee freed him up to look for more opportunities. He quickly went from hiring one person to hiring others as he started to find more work. He was pleasantly surprised to see how well things lined up between hiring others and getting more projects. If you're currently a one-man show, consider taking on more work than you can handle and hire your first employee or freelancer to help you. You will quickly see that by having more people more work will come. — Erik J. Olson is an award-winning digital marketer & entrepreneur. The Founder & CEO of Array Digital, he is also the host of the Journey to $100 Million Flash Briefing and daily podcast, and the organizer of the Marketers Anonymous monthly meetups. — Kevin Daisey is an award-winning digital marketer & entrepreneur. He started his first company when he was just 23, and is the Founder & CMO of Array Digital. Kevin is also the co-host of the Journey to $100 Million Flash Briefing and daily podcast, and the co-organizer of the Marketers Anonymous monthly meetups. — For more information on the show, and to check out past episodes, go to journeyto100million.com!