In our two previous articles on the costly mistakes business owners with the best intentions sometimes make, we discussed selecting the appropriate entity type and establishing proper pricing of goods and services. Of equal importance is the careful selection of your staff.
It’s vital to have the right people working for you, as is determining when to hire support staff and when to outsource certain functions to a team of trusted professionals. Once the time comes to hire your own staff, it’s important to hire people that are the right match for your company culture. Skills can be learned through proper training, but it is more important to have the right “fit”. One bad hire can be very costly in terms of payroll costs, lost productivity, and possibly even legal fees.
What constitutes a good fit? It’s very important at this point to know your company’s culture and understand what you want to accomplish. Have a firm understanding of your own strategic vision so you can surround yourself with others that share in it. Before you can assemble the right team, you must first understand why it is that you do what you do. What is the long-term vision for the company and who will be the right people to help you achieve that vision? Once you have answered these questions, at least you will know what you want your team to look like. Then you just have to find them!
Another prudent question to ask is whether it makes more sense to contract out to a company providing outsourced, cloud-based back-office support rather than hiring in-house staff. Depending on your business’ age, size, and revenue, outsourcing could free you up to grow your business rather than bog you down in payroll and accounting duties, not to mention save you money on salaries and rising insurance costs. These are important questions any business owner should ask it’s best to consult your trusted financial advisor in the process. Join us next time when we’ll be discussing another doozy: the importance of protecting your business’ intellectual property.
John R. McCallum, CPA
John R. McCallum is a member with GranthamPoole PLLC and a recognized leader in the field of cost segregation and various real estate taxation matters. He has also written, taught, and spoken on many topics in the area over the years. Please contact John at jmccallum@granthampoole.com, www.linkedin.com/in/john-mccallum, or 601-499-2400. CPA License # 5323
The above does not represent tax advice. Each situation is fact-dependent, and you should seek the advice of a competent advisor. GranthamPoole PLLC is a provider of tax, accounting, advisory and strategic services, partnering with clients across a broad spectrum of industries and sizes.