Situation: I'm overworked, risking burnout. Trying to get rid of the tasks I hate/low-value and that don't need me, so I can focus on A) marketing, and B) product delivery/creation.
Main tasks to get off my plate:
Other requirements of employee:
Financials: Right now I can afford to spend up to $1000/mo before tax on first part-time employee (that's including initial training, ongoing training, and bonuses for the year.)
Let's take out 15% for training and bonuses. I wish it was more, but lets say 15%.
Leaves $850 per month budget. Divide by 65 hours of work per month.
That gives $13 per hour, as my budget.
I think that seems about right, as I was estimating $12.50/hr as an appropriate starting rate for this.
My concerns (Am I right to be concerned? What should I be doing?)
My questions for experienced hirers/business builders/personnel managers:
Let me know if you need any clarification or more information
...but, at the point I've reached, there is no way forward but the leverage of other people's time.. so ... onward~!!!!
Main tasks to get off my plate:
- (1-2 hours per day, 6-7 days a week, but can work from home and be a little flexible about exactly when it's done each day) Answering routine emails for my local business (customer service, first-time enquiries, easy inbound marketing/sales).
- (Less common, right now maybe 2-4 phone calls per week since I emphasize getting customers to e-mail) Handling phone calls/callbacks, pretty much the same role as #1 but needing phone skills. Another option would just be to direct all phone calls to e-mail us instead to simplify workflow. But it might irritate some customers to not be able to reach a live person on the phone.
- I need a physical presence at my office about 5 hours per week, but I basically just sit there. This is customer-facing, but the demands are extremely low, they just have to not show up drunk and in 3-day old clothing.
- The only other thing is, the ability to assess a simple writing sample and give an approximate grade to it. I believe that anyone who can do 1-3 should be trainable to do this skill, and it's not a "life or death" thing.
Other requirements of employee:
- Flawless english/grammar/spelling (my market demands it).
- Reliable/punctual/autonomous - the whole point is to reduce stress on me not create it, at least after the initial training period.
- Hopefully, in for the long-term and willing to take on more and more tasks or hours per week as I grow.
Financials: Right now I can afford to spend up to $1000/mo before tax on first part-time employee (that's including initial training, ongoing training, and bonuses for the year.)
Let's take out 15% for training and bonuses. I wish it was more, but lets say 15%.
Leaves $850 per month budget. Divide by 65 hours of work per month.
That gives $13 per hour, as my budget.
I think that seems about right, as I was estimating $12.50/hr as an appropriate starting rate for this.
My concerns (Am I right to be concerned? What should I be doing?)
- Answering customer contacts is a daily task, will I need to have two employees before I'm able to have e-mails answered every day?
- I will violate some law or forget some tax requirement or just generally get myself into trouble since all the beaureocracy seems to make small business difficult
- Employee will be unreliable after the honeymoon period, or will quit unexpectedly not even giving 2 weeks notice and leading to loss of customers and ruining the business
My questions for experienced hirers/business builders/personnel managers:
Let me know if you need any clarification or more information
- Can you read this plan over and tell me how it looks?
- Where should I hire from? Temp-to-hire, Craigslist, College intern, stay-at-home mom, lively retired person... who will do a great job for me?
- What do I need to watch out for? What am I not considering?
...but, at the point I've reached, there is no way forward but the leverage of other people's time.. so ... onward~!!!!
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