Life has been pretty busy of late, particularly on the business side of things. I’ve been fully-booked since the beginning of March and this looks set to continue until at least the end of May. The fact that I am selling my time means that my business doesn’t scale, which has led a few people to ask if I’ve considered employing someone to take on the overflow. The answer is ‘yes, but…’
- At the moment I’m not sure how long this amount of work will last. When it’s just me I can be fairly laid-back because I can cut expenditure and work on side projects during quiet periods. If I employ someone else there’s continual pressure to bring in enough work to pay one flexible salary (mine) and one fixed salary (theirs).
- I’ve never managed anyone before, at least not in the employer/employee sense. I’ve been in charge of volunteers but that’s a different kettle of fish, and whilst I’ve held senior positions they’ve rarely come with much in the way of line management.
- I’m terrified of screwing up and causing someone else to lose their job, struggle with rent/mortgage payments etc.
- I’ve no idea how I would find an employee, and I definitely don’t want to hire someone I know already.
Outside of work I’ve identified two possibilities I want to pursue—a political position (a long shot) and a part-time PhD (also a long shot due to the fact that most places demand a first and I ‘only’ got a 2:1) or some other additional qualification (law still appeals).
Why not offer some form of work experience (short term) with a limited (expensies) salery so not to huge a cost to you, valuable expeierence for you both and an opportunity for someone to gain valuable experience/reference’s.