Welcome to another episode of Silence is Golden where we share invaluable tips for your WordPress business.
Today's main topic is how to prepare for your first hire. Simon and Troy also discuss some new shiny tools that they have discovered including their new microphones. (Troy tells us that he is, in fact, in love with this new mic.) They also discuss what to do when a friend or family member asks you for help with a “quick website”. And the guys disagree on whether Asana is a good project management system.
Watch the Video
Stuff That Happened
5 Ways to Deal With Projects for Friends & Family
We've all been there – a friend or family member asks you for help with a “quick website” and things get awkward. This is a great article from Web Designer Depot about this very topic.
Simon’s favourite point in this article? “Don’t do it”. It’s the safest option. The feels are the thing that gets us caught out – we feel like we need to give discounts and free work to friends and family. So Simon’s advice is either go all in and treat them like a client or go all out.
Stuck on Your Headline? Use This Cheat Sheet of 16 Formulas.
It doesn’t matter how tasty your content is. If you haven’t created a mouth-watering golden crust, no-one will want a bite out of it. Try these headline formulas in your next epic piece of writing.
Boost Efficiency with Project Management Templates in Asana
Simon would like some feedback on his tutorial video about Asana and creating projects so that you can have repeating processes and checklists.
Troy explains that he is finished with Asana because it’s messy. He also thinks that when someone assigns a task to you with a due date it doesn’t instil much motivation as the person doesn't have ownership of the task. As the old saying goes:
Involvement breeds commitment
He thinks everyone should have their own to do list but Simon disagrees and says that Asana helps to have visibility of what is going on in the business.
If you do use Asana, Troy says to be careful when you’re assigning a task to someone. Have a conversation first and check that they are ok with the task, understand it and discuss their workload so you can choose an appropriate due date together.
Stay up to Date with the Latest
If you like to keep up to date with the industry news and learn cool stuff, then make sure you are signed up to our weekly newsletter, the WP Wednesday, which will send you news articles such as the ones we discuss on the show.
Let’s Get Unstuck
Around the 17-minute mark, we help some of our members get unstuck.
In the Agency Mavericks Facebook group Sandee asked us:
I'm interested in determining the best role to fill for someone who is new to leading a team. I am thinking I need a general purpose VA type for now, but I'm not sure, so I'd love to hear what a typical first hire is.
Troy says that first, you need to ask “Why are we looking to hire someone?” Usually, the answer to this is that you’re too busy, but that’s the wrong answer.
For Agency Mavericks – when we run out of capacity to impact our community is when we need to hire. The more people we hire, the more people we can help. So you need to change your mindset and think about what you would do with the extra time and how that would add to the company. Don’t just hire someone because you’re overwhelmed because you could probably automate some of the administrative tasks.
You want to think long term. For example, if you're going to hire a developer you want to make sure that they have the capacity to grow into a Senior Developer role to take on the tasks of hiring, managing and training other developers.
In short, it all comes down to the one question – what hire would add the most value to the business in the next 90 days?
Onto our next Facebook question – Jasmine asked:
Any advice on how to cope when you hire people who are smarter than you? I'm deliberately choosing super smart people to help me grow my business and working with them is exciting but also a bit scary as a new manager
- Get out of their way and let them do their job. Talk about the desired outcome and if they are a good hire they will figure out a better way to get there. You can then ask them to document it.
- Most people won’t accept the risk of building their own business and they want the security of working with or for someone else. You as a business owner are willing to shoulder the risk. So just because they might be smarter than you, there is a reason why they are not running their own business and crushing it. So just keep that in mind
- Focus on the value that they will bring to the company rather than feeling threatened by it
What Made the Wee Come Out?
Zoom + Notability + iPad + Pencil
At the 26.50 minute mark, Simon says he is excited because he has a new MacBook and has discovered an awesome combination – an app called Notability + Zoom. When doing calls with clients on Zoom you can film yourself with your phone, whilst writing notes and screen sharing on your iPad. FUN!
Mavericks Mastermind
Around the 28 minute mark, Troy welcomes our new addition to the Maverick’s Mastermind group. We then cut to a clip of our last Mastermind which we ran in San Diego where Troy shares some of his advice on consulting.
The Golden Nugget
Around the 31.30 mark we talk about the Hiring Process:
Why Is Important to Prepare?
You need to ask why you are hiring and how it will positively impact the business – not just because you’re too busy. When Simon first started hiring he didn't ask himself how the new hire would add value to the business. The hires were inexpensive but needed a lot of direction which was taking up a lot of his time and it ended up being a nightmare. Basically, he added more to his plate and less in the bank account.
How to Prepare
One of the courses in the Agency Mavericks Blueprint is about how to prepare to hire. One of our coaches Kristina Romero created a spreadsheet to help you prepare for your hire. It lists all of the tasks that you do regularly, how often you do them, what skill is needed and then you can break them down into roles.
It's also a good idea to have consistent and repeatable processes in place. By having documented, repeatable tasks, it makes it much easier to hire and less time is spent on training.
If you don't have written processes, don’t let this hold you back from your first hire. Just ensure that once your first hire starts doing their role, then ask them to write the process for you.
Tool of the Week
At the 46.20 minute mark, we find out what the tool of the week is.
Simon already mentioned this earlier, but he is pretty excited about Notability which is basically a smart piece of paper. You can bring in PDF templates and draw on them, record audio and draw on that and more! He says it's great for coaching, teaching and for meetings.
Wrap Up
Know anyone that is thinking about hiring? Then feel free to share this article with them.
Or let us know if you have a great process in place for hiring. We’d love to hear from you!
