Want to add more eCourses or other products to your passive income stream? Consider hiring a “dream team” to handle all your product creation efforts. Hiring trusted and capable independent contractors is the next move, especially if you want to release a certain number of products or courses throughout the year.
However, hiring outsiders can be tricky and nerve wracking. You have to take a step back, evaluate your situation, and ensure you hire trusted contractors, noting that a lot is at stake. While it might be difficult to hand over some creative functions, hiring independent contractors such as ghostwriters, copywriters, virtual assistants, and graphic designers, among other services, helps to propel your business to the next level.
If the idea of managing a team sounds overwhelming, consider hiring a project manager to oversee the contractors. Now, you only have one person to deal with and it allows you to concentrate on your core functions and serving your private clients.
Hiring the wrong team could run down your business, so do your due diligence. If you’re ready to take this jump, here are a few tips to ease your quest to hire a dream team.
Ask for Referrals from Business Acquaintances
If there were a perfect time to leverage your acquaintances’ experience, this would be it. The good old “word of mouth” from trustworthy sources is still an effective approach when seeking a contractor. From their connections, you can find out who they like and why, and weigh it against your needs to narrow your options to the most suitable candidate. While considering referrals, however, keep your needs in mind, noting that while a particular contractor could be excellent for one business, they might not necessarily hold the right skills to meet your needs adequately.
Conduct Interviews
After narrowing your options to fewer independent contractors, it is time to dig a little deeper. As you prepare for the interviews, either online or in person, be as thorough as possible. Don’t shy away from weird or unusual questions; their response might tell you how good they are under pressure and uncertain times.
Your gut feeling also counts; after all, if you hire a contractor that you don’t like, how would you foster a healthy relationship? You don’t want to hop from one contractor to the next, a concern that you can conveniently address by developing a productive relationship, facilitating a smooth flow.
Check References and Ask to See a Portfolio
Are you willing to hire an amateur who hardly understands your business’ mechanics? Your team’s strength is as good as its weakest member. As such, before choosing a contractor, verifying their experience is essential. Request at least three references that can vouch for their services and talk to them to see if they promise the moon only to deliver stones. Check out their portfolio as well and confirm if they have active customers, or they at least have successfully handled clients in your business line. Hiring an experienced contractor offers an edge, as they are familiar with what your business demands to thrive.
Have A Job Description and Budget Set in Your Mind
If you want things to go so wrong so fast, then hit the market blindly. Instead of hiring the first person who comes your way, possibly at a monthly cost that your business can’t comfortably finance, having a job description and budget in mind before starting the hiring process. Allow these two things to guide your quest to the most necessary skills and best value the market has to offer. Undertaking quick research won’t hurt, and it could be all you need to ensure you are enlisting a dream team without breaking your bank.
Be Very Specific
Quick research gives you a vague idea of the skills necessary to build a dream team. Before finalizing the deal, however, you need to be very specific and establish the experience a candidate should hold to qualify as a match. Dig deep and consider matters such as your software and what your ideal contractor needs to possess to be the best addition to your team. Being specific allows you to not only hire the best talent but identify the skills that would benefit your business without overlapping with what’s already in place.
Scaling your business to new heights requires additional human resources. With the above tips, you can enjoy a head start as you explore the skills market.