It's time for me to hire some outside help for my business. What are my options?

Ask for a little assistance from your friends or family. The key word is "little." Hiring friends or relatives on a part-time or full-time basis as opposed to a per-project basis may lead to stress within your relationship. Be sure to compensate fairly so that the person doesn't feel "used." If, for example, you need to send a promotional piece and dread the thought of stuffing thousands of envelopes, hold a pizza/mailing party. In addition to offering pizza, offer to compensate your helpers for their time. If your kids are skilled on the PC and looking for part-time jobs, hire them for periodic bouts of data entry and pay them the going rate.

Hire an employee. You can pay the person a salary or by the hour, depending on how many hours a week you need him or her. Keep in mind that you'll also be responsible for health benefits and paid vacation time. This option is limited by the amount of space you have and whether you need to be zoned to have an employee work in your home office. Of course, your ability to afford an employee will have the biggest effect on your decision.

Use a temporary service. Temporary employment agencies provide basic services by sending a skilled person to your office for temporary, temp-to-hire or long-term assignments. Unless the agency is specialized (legal, tech or creative, for example), in most cases a temp is ideal for such basic tasks as data entry, answering the phone, running errands and other non-specialized tasks. Again, make sure your neighborhood is zoned for employees and that you have room in your home office for a worker.

Outsource work to a freelancer. Share your work with another homebased business owner. By obtaining the services of a freelance professional on a per-project basis, you can use their talents without having to pay employee benefits. While this is more costly than hiring a temporary employee, you'll get specialized services from an experienced professional.

Hire a business support service. The rules here are similar to those of hiring a freelancer. Business support services offer database management, bookkeeping, editing and proofreading, graphic services and Internet research. For a directory of business support services, check out the Web site of the Association for Business Support Services International Inc.

 

Lisa Kanarek

Founder of HomeOfficeLife.com and Author of Organizing Your Home Office For Success and 101 Home Office Success Secrets