Did you know that 20% of businesses fail within their first year? It’s true. Starting a business is not an easy task, which is why a fifth of newly opened businesses never make it to their second year. One of the reasons for this gruesome statistic is the fact that you have too many people playing jack-of-all-trades. A strong team is the backbone of every business.
I know that in the initial days of starting a company there are limited funds for new employees. But still, you can’t have your CEO doing the development, the sales, the marketing and everything else in the company. You need to hire professionals for most of these jobs. But which ones should you hire first? Some positions are more important than others. To ensure that your business is set up for success, make sure to hire these five professionals in the first year of starting a business.
Recruiter
One of the first hires every start-up has to make is hiring a great recruiter. A recruiter will help you find other candidates for your team. Also, hiring a recruiter will help you streamline your hiring process according to law and keep you compliant with legal regulations in this field. As your business grows, the role of the recruiter will become even more important. Not just that it will take the hiring process off the hands of the CEO, but it will also help with improving employee satisfaction.
Accountant
Many businesses are reluctant to hire an in-house accountant early on. They tend to outsource the job to accounting agencies until they hit it big and get enough money to hire an accountant. An accountant can help you save money by filing for tax deductions throughout the year. Also, an accountant will ensure that all your taxes are paid and that salaries come on time.
Research shows that 82% of businesses that fail in their initial year fail due to cash flow problems. An accountant will keep an eye on your finances and help you manage your cash flow on a day-to-day basis. As your business grows and continues to develop, an accountant will take care of your future needs including new hires, investments, managing growth, and helping you qualify for corporation tax, for example. Accountants can help your other departments also by providing financial and other reports that your marketing, sales and other teams can use to improve their processes and techniques.
Marketing Specialist
You can have the best company in the world and provide the best services in the world, but without a marketing specialist to get the word out, no one will even know that your company exists. A marketing specialist can create an elaborate marketing plan that will promote your brand in across a variety of channels, such as TV, newspaper and radio ads, social networks, online and offline banners and all other types of promotions. For starters, it’s advisable to hire one person that will cover the marketing field completely. Later on, you can continue to develop a marketing team that will cover different fields and hire a social media specialist, media buyer and so on.
Customer Support Representative
When a new business is started there are usually a lot of setbacks. That’s why, even in the early days of your business, you should make sure to hire at least one customer support representative. Customer support will help you keep your existing clients happy by answering inquiries and solving problems along the way.
Your current customers are 3 to 10 times more likely to purchase your product than a cold lead. So customer retention is the key to keeping your business afloat. And you can’t boost customer retention by treating customer support as a side job. You need to hire a person that will dedicate all of its time to your clients.
Sales Representative
Once the marketing plan is set and leads start coming in, you’re going to need someone to close the deals and make the sales. Sales representatives are an essential part of every company as they are the ones that generate money. You can hire up to two sales representatives early on as they tend to be expensive. As your business continues to develop and your company starts to offer more services and products to sell, you’ll be able to expand your sales team.
Starting a business can be tough especially in the initial days. There’s a limited amount of money to spend, which is why you must choose your employees wisely and fill in the roles that are the most necessary first. But no matter how small your business is, you should make sure to make these five hires first. Failing to hire these professionals in the initial days of starting a business will have disastrous consequences later on.
Author:
Michael Deane is one of the editors of Qeedle, a small business magazine. When not blogging (or working), he can usually be spotted on the track, doing his laps, or with his nose deep in the latest John Grisham.