When to Make Your First Hire: The Spreadsheet Test That Works

Thinking about your first hire, or wondering if the last one is actually paying off? This episode is for the business owner who wants help and wants to know the help will earn its keep.

Co-host Rebecca Kaufman, Amanda's sister and a former member of her team, puts Amanda in the hot seat on hiring: how to know it is the right time, and how to get the quickest return on the decision. Amanda, founder of Clairvenu, gets into the help to get first, the four categories most hires fall into, the worst hiring advice she ever paid for, the spreadsheet test that replaced it, and the thinking behind hiring her own sister.

In this episode, you will learn:

🗺️ The first help to get, before you start: a mentor, an accountant, and a lawyer

🗂️ The four categories of help (admin, delivery, sales, marketing) and how to measure each one

😬 The worst hiring advice Amanda ever paid for, and the cost of hiring emotionally

📊 The spreadsheet test: map every activity, cost it out, and ask "can I make a trade?"

👭 Getting comfortable with firing before you hire, and what Amanda weighed before hiring her sister

🌱 Culture over "A players," and starting small with a freelancer to build the skill of giving work away

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CHAPTERS

00:00 The right time to hire, and the quickest ROI on it