You may be an astute and savvy businessman, but when it comes to starting and growing a new business, it is not something you can do completely on your own.  At some point in the early stages of your company’s development you are going to have to start surrounding yourself with the right kind of people to help your goals come to fruition.  Most business owners and founders have been employees themselves at some point or another, but this does not necessarily mean they know what to look for when they’re on the other side of the interview table.  Here are a few qualities most crucial in early stages of employee hiring:

  1. Trustworthy – Sometimes in the early stages it is best to go into battle with someone you already know you can trust.  Friends and old business associates who are good for their word should be the first people you turn to.  The umbrella of trustworthiness also includes confidentiality and reliability.  You need someone you know you can count on to put in extra work and not leak the new ideas and innovations that will ultimately make your business successful.
  2. Manageable – A new business is no place for multiple egos.  In moving forward, you will want to make sure that the entire company is on the same page, including yourself, so that you can present a united front when promoting your company.  There will also be a lot of paper work, cold calling and other undesirable tasks at the onset, which is made increasingly difficult with employees who do not take direction or do what they’re told.
  3. Diverse in Thinking – Just because a new business isn’t a place for multiple egos doesn’t mean it can’t be a melting pot of ideas.  One mistake a lot of employers make is hiring only likeminded people.  This doesn’t necessarily promote a united front, instead often leaning towards a one-dimensional platform. Hiring people who think differently than yourself will help to solve problems that arise in ways you may never have considered and enable your business to be more well-rounded as a whole.