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I'm always excited when someone in our community goes from side hustle to small business and they start thinking about growing, scaling, hiring.

And of course, that's not always the goal, just to be clear. Some people start income generating projects just because they want some extra money, they're trying to get out of debt.

Or in some cases, they want to build their business as a solar pranurship and never actually hire someone. So, I think that's admirable too.

Nevertheless, it is definitely a big success when someone who wants to grow their business is able to move into hiring.

So, today that's what we've got here on the podcast. By the way, this is Side hustle School. My name's Chris Gilbo.

And today, I listen to her from Salt Lake City. She's ready to hire her first employee after growing her stationary brand slowly and steadily.

That would be stationary in terms of notes and cards, not a stationary as in a business that's not moving anywhere. I think it's actually moving in a very good direction.

So, what does she need to know? Where can she, in fact, find this first employee? That is the question. Her version along with some context. And then, of course, my answer coming up after this quick sponsor message.

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Hi, this is Clarice from East Jordan, just outside of Salt Lake City in Utah. My stationary brand has grown a lot over the past year, and I'm ready to bring on someone else. I've done some small contracting work through Elpork in the past and didn't have the great experience, but that may have had something to do with me since I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking for.

Now, I know what I want. Someone who's mostly full-time and has some key skills that I lack, but who's also willing to jump in anywhere. After all, right now, it's just a business of one person, so there's not a lot of specialization going on. So, how do I find this person? Most people I know aren't looking for work, or if they are, I don't necessarily want to hire them. I look forward to your advice.

Thank you.

Awesome. Congratulations, Clarice. Sounds wonderful. Glad that you have built your business to the point of being ready to grow and hire somebody.

It also really helps that Clarice has defined what she's looking for. Someone who's mostly full-time has some key skills that she lacks, but who's also willing to jump in anywhere.

I think when you're looking to hire your first contractor employee, it's so important to be specific on what you want. One key question that's going to help narrow it down even further, are you looking for someone local, or can they be fully remote?

If it's the latter, if it's fully remote, you have a lot more options. Just because so many people are doing remote work now, and also because of all the online platforms that support hiring contractors who are working remotely from anywhere in the United States, or anywhere in North America, or anywhere in the world.

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