Designing a Business: New Advice Column for Pros Tackles Hiring
Design business coach Chelsea Coryell is ready for your questions. First up? How to know when you’re ready to hire
Q. How can I know when I’m ready to hire more people?
A. Starting your own business is a dream come true for some people, but the “solopreneur” route can get old fast. Especially when you’re trying to juggle client meetings, mounds of paperwork, tracking your orders, communicating with your contractor and, let’s not forget, running to the design center to pick up more fabric samples. You can quickly feel as if you’re a hamster running on a wheel, and no matter how fast you run, you never seem to get very far.
Before you take the leap and expand your team, it’s best to first evaluate your current situation and determine if it’s time to hire some help or simply to fine-tune your business model and learn to work smarter, not harder. Remember that hiring help might sound like a quick fix for your overwhelming projects, but it will also add to your list of responsibilities. When you have honest-to-goodness employees, you must follow the guidelines set by the Department of Labor, and that is usually unfamiliar territory for us designers.
A. Starting your own business is a dream come true for some people, but the “solopreneur” route can get old fast. Especially when you’re trying to juggle client meetings, mounds of paperwork, tracking your orders, communicating with your contractor and, let’s not forget, running to the design center to pick up more fabric samples. You can quickly feel as if you’re a hamster running on a wheel, and no matter how fast you run, you never seem to get very far.
Before you take the leap and expand your team, it’s best to first evaluate your current situation and determine if it’s time to hire some help or simply to fine-tune your business model and learn to work smarter, not harder. Remember that hiring help might sound like a quick fix for your overwhelming projects, but it will also add to your list of responsibilities. When you have honest-to-goodness employees, you must follow the guidelines set by the Department of Labor, and that is usually unfamiliar territory for us designers.
Before You Hire Your First Employee
1. Make sure you have a Employer Identification Number. An EIN is basically like a Social Security number for a business. (You can apply for one online.)
2. Set up records for withholding taxes (federal income tax withholding, federal Wage and Tax Statement and state taxes).
3. Define the role you’re hiring for.
4. Find your candidates.
5. Conduct interviews.
6. Run background checks.
7. Make sure they’re eligible to work in the U.S.
8. Report your new hires to your state employment agency.
9. Obtain workers’ compensation insurance.
10. Choose a payroll method.
11. Display workplace posters.
1. Make sure you have a Employer Identification Number. An EIN is basically like a Social Security number for a business. (You can apply for one online.)
2. Set up records for withholding taxes (federal income tax withholding, federal Wage and Tax Statement and state taxes).
3. Define the role you’re hiring for.
4. Find your candidates.
5. Conduct interviews.
6. Run background checks.
7. Make sure they’re eligible to work in the U.S.
8. Report your new hires to your state employment agency.
9. Obtain workers’ compensation insurance.
10. Choose a payroll method.
11. Display workplace posters.
Phew! That sounds exhausting, and you haven’t even posted your first ad. Maybe you don’t have to take on that extra responsibility just yet.
My best criterion for determining if it’s time to hunt for the perfect assistant is this: If you’re working with three or fewer design projects at a time, and plan on working at least 20 hours a week, then you can most likely manage your workload by yourself. As long as you manage your time wisely, and run your design business using a well-organized system, simply hiring a bookkeeping service to help with invoicing and taxes should alleviate most of your paperwork headaches.
When you start building your workload to more than three large remodeling projects at a time, you’ll probably want to look for an assistant. This should be someone who could run your samples to and from the design center, handle some basic bookkeeping tasks and hopefully take some of those smaller design projects off your to-do list.
My best criterion for determining if it’s time to hunt for the perfect assistant is this: If you’re working with three or fewer design projects at a time, and plan on working at least 20 hours a week, then you can most likely manage your workload by yourself. As long as you manage your time wisely, and run your design business using a well-organized system, simply hiring a bookkeeping service to help with invoicing and taxes should alleviate most of your paperwork headaches.
When you start building your workload to more than three large remodeling projects at a time, you’ll probably want to look for an assistant. This should be someone who could run your samples to and from the design center, handle some basic bookkeeping tasks and hopefully take some of those smaller design projects off your to-do list.
If you’re designing large projects and specifying goods from multiple vendors, working with contractors and subs, then you might need an office manager or a project facilitator. This would be a person who could make calls to check stock or track your orders, set up deliveries, make sure your bills are paid and, most important, make sure you’re being paid.
One note on hiring interns from a local design program: This is a wonderful way to pay it forward in the design industry and to mentor a young designer. You might also think it’s a sneaky way to get some free labor. But be aware that it could take more of your time to teach and manage complete newbies who don’t have the motivation to give you their all (and that it can be legally risky — always check to be sure you’re complying with labor laws in your state). I always recommend that you pay at least minimum wage for a few hours a week to give them an incentive to show up, both physically and mentally.
Hiring help can be a blessing and a curse. Make sure that your business is ready to grow to the next level and that you are too as a professional.
This content contains only general information and guidance and is not a substitute for legal or tax advice. For advice specific to your area or business, consult with a qualified professional.
Have a question for Chelsea? Email it to editor@houzz.com, Attention: Chelsea Coryell or post your question in the Comments. It could be featured in a future column.
More on Houzz
Why Responsiveness Is the Key to Winning More Jobs
Pro Q&A: 3 Tips to Maximize Your Time
One note on hiring interns from a local design program: This is a wonderful way to pay it forward in the design industry and to mentor a young designer. You might also think it’s a sneaky way to get some free labor. But be aware that it could take more of your time to teach and manage complete newbies who don’t have the motivation to give you their all (and that it can be legally risky — always check to be sure you’re complying with labor laws in your state). I always recommend that you pay at least minimum wage for a few hours a week to give them an incentive to show up, both physically and mentally.
Hiring help can be a blessing and a curse. Make sure that your business is ready to grow to the next level and that you are too as a professional.
This content contains only general information and guidance and is not a substitute for legal or tax advice. For advice specific to your area or business, consult with a qualified professional.
Have a question for Chelsea? Email it to editor@houzz.com, Attention: Chelsea Coryell or post your question in the Comments. It could be featured in a future column.
More on Houzz
Why Responsiveness Is the Key to Winning More Jobs
Pro Q&A: 3 Tips to Maximize Your Time
In her first Designing a Business advice column, Coryell weighs in on one of the most common questions design professionals grapple with.