18 Oct How to Get The Tech and Help You Need as a Solopreneur Without Any Hassle
A Five23 Guest Post by Courtney Rosenfeld
Courtney is behind Gig Spark, a blog to help people enter the gig economy. Many call gigs the first step to entrepreneurship. You can read here blog and tips here: (http://www.gigspark.biz).
When you’re a sole proprietor and staff member of a new startup, the pressure can build up fast. Finding ways to relieve that pressure and manage your workload is the key to finding long-term success, but how can you do this without hiring full-time staffers? Well, you can start by using these tips to find freelance helpers and tech tools that can boost your business.
You Need to Be Aware of Background Check and Hiring Rules
So first things first, before you begin hiring anyone to help your company grow, you need to know how to do so without becoming entangled in potentially costly legal issues. Let’s begin with background checks, which are a common hiring tool used by entrepreneurs and businesses to ensure employees are trustworthy. During this screening process, you are required by the U.S. FCRA (The Fair Credit Reporting Act) to inform candidates that a background check will be conducted and that the results of that check can impact your decision to confirm their employment. That last part can be critical in some states, where you can only perform background checks after a job offer is made and therefore cannot use the results in your preliminary hiring processes.
You should also know that you can research seven years’ worth of history but you may not legally be able to flag candidates whose record includes arrests that did not result in a conviction. Knowing these complex rules can prevent costly lawsuits, but if you plan on hiring any employees, researching other employment laws (U.S.) can also help.
You Need to Know Where to Look for Quality Freelance Help
Every business needs a website to succeed and HTML code provides the foundation for those websites. Hiring a freelance HTML5 developer who knows the latest HTML iteration and has experience customizing business websites could be a good investment. HTML code allows developers to insert helpful features, like contact forms, data tables and social media links into your site without you ever having to deal with complicated code. With these features in place and coding added correctly, your new website will be more user-friendly and professional, which can help boost your profits and your ROI for any project costs involved.
Not interested in having a custom-built website for your new business? You can use freelance job boards to attract talent for other projects, including marketing consultants, content writers and even virtual assistants. Virtual assistants can be particularly valuable to entrepreneurs who are working alone, since these remote workers can assist with time-consuming tasks, such as managing your calendar, keeping tasks organized, and allowing you to focus on more important aspects of your business.
You Need to Research Tech Tools That Can Grow Your Business
Working with freelance and remote contract workers is a great way to get the help you need without a lot of added administrative costs. If you are working with an extremely tight business budget though, you may not even have room to hire those freelance or contract employees. In this case, you may need to look for tech that can help solve some of the most pressing issues keeping you from reaching your full potential. For instance, productivity apps such as Trello and Asana can be a convenient and cost-effective method for keeping your projects and tasks organized, without hiring a virtual assistant. Most apps offer basic productivity free of costs, but you may be able to access more advanced paid features as your budget grows. To make the most of your time, using accounting software for your new venture can also help free up your energy for other projects. Finally, don’t forget to add value to your social media presence by using social media marketing tools to connect with customers and drive your success.
You don’t need a full-time staff to succeed as an entrepreneur. You just need the right help and tools to manage that success, so use the tips above to connect with freelancers, find helpful tech, and avoid legal issues so your new startup can really begin to thrive!