If you’ve been an entrepreneur for a handful of years, you might think you have everything figured out when it comes to your employees. Right? Sadly, you may not. Don’t get me wrong, by now you know what you’re doing and how to best run your business. But just like your first day as an entrepreneur, you may still be making some mistakes. They may not be the same rookie mistakes as you’ve made before, but rather are bigger mistakes. Here are two to avoid when it comes to your employees – which are an extension of yourself, your brand, and your business.
Business Mistake #1: Good Talent Costs A Pretty Penny
If you’re a believer in hiring low-wage employees and training them to get whatever kind of work you need to be done is the route to take, please think again. The problem with hiring that way is that you’ll spend the majority of your time micromanaging your employees instead of focusing on growing your business. Think about hiring people who are smarter than you are – and compensating them very well so that they’ll never leave. When you are a new business owner, this may be a tough concept to grasp. If you hire smart employees, not only will they do good work, but you won’t have to train or micromanage them as much. Plus the odds are that they’ll stick around with you for a very long time if you treat them right.
Business Mistake #2: Don’t Be Too Generous
Sometimes business owners can be a bit too generous with co-workers. When you give in to everything they may ask for, they show gratitude. Oftentimes, that quickly fades and employees start expecting things from you – regularly. Look at it this way. You have to work hard to earn your money. Your employees should too. If someone wants a new laptop or desk, don’t just give it to them. Instead, ask why they deserve the new laptop or desk. You could very well be surprised by what you can get your employees to do by making them earn the things they want. The best part about operating that way is that it will give your employees a sense of accomplishment.
The takeaway: Mistakes will be made. There’s nothing wrong with making them as long as you learn from them. In other words, don’t be afraid to fall – get right back up and prevent the same mistake from happening again. All entrepreneurs make mistakes. What separates great ones from the pack, is that the great ones learn and move on.
