When we start out in the world of business, the majority of us work from home, set our own hours, and embrace the chance to do things solo for once. When you’ve answered to a boss or colleagues for your whole working life, this lonesome working can be the best thing about self-made business. Finally, you can do what you want, when you want to do it. In truth though, whether you want it to or not, there’s a chance your business will grow beyond your capabilities. It’s a good thing for sure, but it does mean you’ll need to consider letting people back in. And, when you do that, the enjoyment you got from working alone can fast fade. There is an undeniable risk of slipping back into the situation you were trying to avoid in the first place.As such, many business owners can be a little reluctant to embrace the employment role. And, that’s understandable. It does mean giving up some level of freedom and control, after all. What’s more, it changes your job role just when you’re getting used to things. But, as with anything, preparing for this change could be your best chance of weathering it. In fact, once you get into the nitty-gritty of the alterations you’d need to make, you might find they’re not so bad after all. For proof, let’s take a look at the main changes and how to cope with them.You’ll be setting an example
The most important thing to note is that, when you take staff onboard, you become an example for them. That means you can forget slobbing out in your pajamas or slacking off in the afternoons. In many ways, you should think of this like motherhood. Kids absorb everything you do and often follow suit. Your employees will do the same. As such, it’s essential you set a good example which reflects the work ethics you’d like them to mimic. You can learn a little more about how to do that with sites like https://www.techrepublic.com, but it isn’t rocket science. For the most part, you just need to dress right and work hard. Given that isn’t a bad idea for the owner of a new business anyway, this may not be the massive change you fear. Instead, you’ll probably find that your mentality improves thanks to efforts here. It’s a blow that you have to give up the slippers and endless cups of tea, but you can’t have it all, right? There will be more paperworkWe can dress employment up all we like, but there’s no getting around the fact that it brings a fair amount of paperwork. From the very moment you advertise a role, you’ll need to start sifting through endless resumes and applications. Even after the interviewing part is over, employment involves contracts and legal agreements. And, that’s not even to mention the monthly payments you’ll need to sort out, and the continual tracking of hours. Admittedly, most of this stuff is done on a computer nowadays, but the sentiment is the same. In many ways, you may find this is the hardest thing to adjust to. At this stage, you can focus on your business. All your efforts go towards progression here. But, employment can add no end of admin work to your to-do list. And, that’s far from ideal. In reality, though, adjusting here is as simple as setting aside extra time to take care of these things. Let us not forget that you’ll have added work power behind you anyway. So, setting aside two hours for this in the morning isn’t going to stop production anymore. What’s more, once your business grows enough to allow it, you may find that you can employ admin and HR staff to take care of this for you.
Things will get legalAdmittedly, starting a business can seem like a pretty legal matter from day one. You likely already know about the joys of registering and declaring expenses. But, when staff are involved, you can expect things to crank up a gear. The reality is that employers have a load of legal stuff to take note of. In fact, by the time you’ve finished, you’ll feel like a lawyer rather than an entrepreneur. You need to focus on learning everything from minimum wage to break allowance. You’ll need to verse yourself in health and safety standards and make sure you have holiday pay policies in check. Failure here could end in lawsuits which would put your dreams to bed in no time. The good news is, though this sounds like a lot, it’s a one-size fits all issue. Once you’ve done the initial groundwork, you’ll know the lay of the land. All you need to do from then is ensure you adhere to the standards you learned. And, that’s not half as hard as you would think. Office health and safety, for instance, is often as simple as ensuring your carpet is well laid and your desk corners aren’t sharp. If even that seems too much for you, rest easy that you can pay people to take care of this down the line, too.
Workspace will matter more
Speaking of health and safety, it’s also worth noting that your chosen workplace will matter much more with other people around. Your home office was a good starting point, but it won’t serve a work team. Some employers do now bring staff into their home setups, but it isn’t ideal. As well as limiting your employment capabilities, this can blur boundaries. What’s more, it’s hardly the professional image you’re going for. Instead, you’ll want to take business into a commercial office. This can seem like a lot of added expense for someone starting out, but again, remember that employees increase income. As such, this should be easy enough to manage, especially if you rent rather than buy. Note, too, that you may need to reconsider your cleanliness. Some of us work with a clean desk even when we’re solo, but others like to mess things up a little. If you do that with staff around, though, health and safety would have a field day. What’s more, you should remember that you’re setting an impression. If your desk is messy, there’s more chance the rest of the office will be. That’s far from ideal. Again, though, taking care of this isn’t as tough as you’d think. If you really can’t master keeping clean while working, office janitors like those found at http://rwcleaning.com could always take care of this for you.
You’ll need to play teacher
You’re a business owner, not a teacher. As such, the last thing you likely want is lessons on your hands. That isn’t what you signed up for. But, when you take people on board, you have a legal obligation to provide training. You should undoubtedly embrace this if you want top performance. Some employers go all out with everything from first aid courses to specialist training. Or, you may opt to stick to the basics of customer services. Either way, every employer should dedicate at least some focus to this. Again, though, that might not be as much of a challenge as you’d expect. There are many companies out there which offer resources to take care of this for you. What’s more, as can be seen from resources like those found at https://www.ej4.com/what-is-microlearning, microlearning is by far your most effective option here. So, you shouldn’t even need to spend too long on making this work. When it comes to it, you may even find that you enjoy taking on the role of teacher for brief periods.
The sky will be your limitThe last and most important point to note is that employment means the sky will be your limit. The hardest part of solo business is the need to turn customers down. We’ve all been there. While you wish you had eight hands, that just isn’t the reality. At least, not until you take other people on board. Then, you can have as many hands as you like. You could say then, that the biggest change is your ability to say yes to big deals. What’s more, employment will also provide you the chance to expand your processes and develop your products further than ever. And, isn’t that what business is all about?
A final wordThere’s no denying that embarking on employment can be daunting. It’s a little like looking over a cliff edge with no idea what’s at the bottom. The only guarantee along the way is that there will be a lot of work involved. But, as you can see from the points discussed, that work won’t always be as hard to master as you may expect. In reality, few business owners regret taking that leap. Yes, your work life will change once more. But, life is built on change. And, anyway; you know what they say. Apparently, a change is as good as a holiday.
