Editorial Team

If you worked on a management position at your 9 to 5 job before taking the entrepreneurship path, then you know how difficult and important is to reward your employees and keep them happy for the work they do. And you probably been rewarded by your bosses as well, either with money, either with something else that was important for you.

Now, starting entrepreneurship day one, getting rewards is…zero, zilch, nada! No matter how hard you work, how many hours in the night you spend working and how many efforts you put in, there is nobody giving you rewards. And, we, entrepreneurs, kind of forget rewarding ourselves.

And that’s because we do a lot of daydreaming: we don’t go to holidays, we don’t sleep well at night, every penny goes into developing the business, and every free hour is a good moment to send that important e-mail.

But we do get a different kind of reward. Let’s talk a little about Select Limousine Service in Chicago area. It says on the site “Select Limousine Service, you are selecting one of the highest-regarded transportation companies in Chicago and its suburbs”. Now, I’m living in Eastern Europe, so what kind of reward could give me a limousine service in Chicago? Hhehe. The owner of select-limo.com is a Romanian that lives in Chicago. He contacted me a while ago to make some minimal improvements to the site – mostly making it editable and Google compliant, which I did. Now, somehow at the end at the project I’ve decided that, well…I won’t charge him, because we are both Romanians. I did however mentioned that I’m a big Honda fan and I really enjoy Honda books, and one book in Particular.

Well, not a big deal so far, until after about 10 days I received a notice from the local Post Office that I should come and pick-up a package from Amazon. And here they were, not one, but 3 books on Honda motorcycles!! You can imagine they made my day and couldn’t wait to get home and read them!!

Now, that was a different kind of reward I got! I don’t think I could get such a reward from a 9 to 5 job…

And now the second reward. About 4 years ago, I was working as a Project Manager at InterAKT Online (if you take a pick at their homepage you will see how well they ended up). Back then, InterAKT was an It start-up that was self financing after the first internet bobble – you can imagine the budgets were really tight, but at some point, InterAKT decided that to make a difference we should go to International software trade shows – an expensive things to do. We actually managed to get Government funding to pay for some expenses, and here we were, at the kitchen table, preparing the portfolios for the conference, putting flyers, CDs and everything else that we needed there in the folders. It was a huge manual labor (we couldn’t afford to get these done by the printing house). But it was so fun and rewarding to know that we are going at an International trade show!

As I evolved to my professional carrier it seemed that I will never return to this kind of primary joy and work! And somehow the excitement of organizing an event was missing. That until we got our business and got to organize our first event. And now I was back to putting invitations into envelops, checking materials with the printing house and so on!

Entrepreneurship really gives you the opportunity to do things for the first time on your own. And the joy of saying “We did that!”, or remember “Our first show?” or “How we spent the night to do that” it’s a different kind of reward for any entrepreneur.

Being a little boy I was learning Spanish with a private teacher (I then followed the Spanish High-school here in Bucharest). I don’t remember much Spanish now, but I do remember one day of my lessons, because I said something that followed me through the years as a bad thing to say to someone.

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Employees are any business’s greatest asset, so it’s important to hire the right people. But how do you attract, recruit and retain the best candidates for your team? It’s simple with a bit of planning. Here are 10 steps to finding the right employees for your small business.

Have a proven record as a good employer

In order to attract high-quality employees, you need to be seen as a high-quality employer. Make sure your reputation is indisputably positive. Do some research to get a sense of what people (both customers and employees) are saying about you. Make sure current and past employees are generating positive associations with your business.

Define the position

The key to any successful hire is a clear job description. If the job description is vague or does not convey everything you seek in an employee, then chances are you will not recruit the right people. If you are extremely specific about the position’s criteria, you are more likely to find someone with those exact skills.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

This should be a given for any business. Do not try to attract potential employees with empty promises about raises, promotions, and perks. It is not fair to your employees, and it can truly hurt the reputation of your business.
Be transparent about the job and any limitations
Communicating well with job candidates can really pay off. For example, if there is no possibility of advancement, say it upfront. Potential employees will appreciate the transparency and can make an educated decision regarding the position.

Ask your team for referrals

Who knows your business better than the people who are in the trenches day in and day out? Rely on your team for recommendations. Your employees know what it takes to be successful in your business, so chances are they can identify a great candidate. Trust their judgment in helping find the right new team member.

Ask your customers for referrals

Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for referrals. After all, they have the first-hand experience with your business and can likely be a great resource in identifying ideal candidates. Another perk? The gesture shows that you respect your customer’s input, making them feel more involved in your business.

Use local job postings

Use local job postings to find a local candidate. Location is often a key factor in any job search and may be the deciding factor in accepting the position. Best to start off with a pool of people who live nearby.
Bring your current employees into the interview process
Including employees in the interview process helps the candidate get a sense of your business’s culture, team and environment. This makes the process seem friendlier and shows that you value your employee’s opinions.

Ask the right questions and watch body language

How the potential employee responds and acts through the interview process can reveal a lot about them. Be strategic in your questions, and be observant when the candidate answers.

Check references and gauge interest

Don’t miss this important step. Before bringing someone on your team, make sure they are excited about the job and are whom they say they are. Even if you love the candidate, you owe it to yourself to reach out to previous employers and personal references.

Compete with Big Corporation for employees

We are talking about more than just competing for the same market and customer base, about competing for the same resources.

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Most entrepreneurs starting new businesses are very good professionals that decide to put their skills to a far more greater and challenging task than a regular 9-5 office job. Likely they are software engineers, nurses, pilots, plumbers, salespeople, or anything else, and they are good at what they do. Then they suddenly decide to start their own business. Putting aside all the stuff that opening a new business means, like financing, finding clients, building a product, the most complex and time-consuming process is changing the entrepreneur mentality. To put it into short words, the entrepreneur should pass from “business professional” to “problem solver”.

This needs some explaining:

Let’s say you are an excellent software developer, you leave your job, and start a company, producing…software.

JOB
Right. The first thing you will need a PC and Internet access. While you were working at your job, you took this for granted. Just needed to call someone to get you a PC and connect you to the Internet.

Entrepreneurship
Nobody to help you. You need to find some offers, find financing for the PC. Then there is no Internet provider near you. Hm…Start to call some companies. Too expensive…Looking for alternatives.

JOB
No more cash on the credit card for the trip. Right, right, just call the Financial Department for a refill.

Entrepreneurship
Is that trip really necessary? Does it bring any money in the end?

I mean hey, this is the most difficult change for any entrepreneur. He has to get used to having problems. Lots of problems. Countless problems. And no matter how many problems, a solution for each of them. That’s the first stage. Problem solver.

But if you are really up to it, there is one more step in the metamorphosis. Problem = opportunity. That’s by far the most advanced form of entrepreneurship. No Internet? Hm, maybe I should find who else needs it in my neighborhood and provide it for a fee. Got the picture? I’m still working on it.