Most people get this backwards. They hire too early, hoping a new body will solve their operational mess. It doesn’t. It won’t. It just spreads the mess across two people instead of one.
Hiring should be your last resort, not your first instinct. Before bringing someone on payroll, do this in order:
1. Document
You can’t improve what you haven’t written down.
Start by making your internal processes visible. Not theoretical workflows—actual step-by-step instructions for what you (or someone) does every day to keep things moving.
Use whatever you like—Notion, Google Docs, Loom videos. The point is to externalize tribal knowledge so others can follow it.
Why it matters:
- Identifies bottlenecks, redundancies, and time-wasting habits
- Lays the groundwork for automation or delegation
- Makes onboarding and scaling not suck
Example: Break down how support tickets are handled, from how they come in to how they’re resolved. Every click, every decision.
2. Automate
Now that you know how things work, eliminate the parts that don’t need humans.
You don’t need someone manually sending emails, updating spreadsheets, or tagging CRM contacts.
Common candidates for automation:
- Zapier/Make for data flow and task chaining
- AI support agents for FAQs and triage
- Email campaigns (obviously)
- Internal reminders, status updates, basic reporting
Why it matters:
- Scales with zero marginal cost
- Reduces error and increases consistency
- Lets your humans focus on non-robotic work
Example: Route form submissions through Zapier to Slack, CRM, and Google Sheets—no human touches it until it needs judgment.
3. Outsource
If it still requires a human, but not your human, outsource it.
You don’t need a full-time graphic designer or bookkeeper. You need outcomes.
What to outsource:
- One-off or repeatable creative work (design, writing, editing)
- Back office (payroll, bookkeeping, basic HR)
- Customer service, if templated and supervised
Use Upwork, Fiverr, or actual agencies. Just don’t outsource without clearly defined inputs and deliverables.
Example: Hire a freelance writer to produce blog content based on your outlines. Don’t overthink it.
4. Hire
Only after the above do you hire in-house. Not to “do work” but to own outcomes that are central to your business.
You’ll know it’s time when:
- You’ve tried outsourcing and it’s not enough
- The task is strategic, not just operational
- The coordination cost of freelancers exceeds the cost of salary
When you hire, do it right:
- Clear job description
- Process-aligned onboarding
- Regular reviews and accountability
Example: Bring on an operations lead who can manage your freelancers, own the automation stack, and close loops.
TL;DR
- Document first so you can see the mess
- Automate anything repetitive
- Outsource anything that doesn’t need to be in-house
- Hire last, and only when it’s the bottleneck
Get the order wrong, and you’ll build a bloated, fragile company.
Get it right, and you’ll scale lean and stay sane.
