I get countless inquiries in my inbox every week asking if I’m hiring. When they come in, I get a little defensive—like, I don’t know you. You’re a stranger coming into my world and you’re asking to babysit my baby—AKA my business—and I ain’t handing over my baby to a stranger!
The minute I say I’m not hiring, there are two different ways people react:
- The vast majority walk away and say, “It wasn’t meant to be.”
- Then there’s a much smaller group of people who say, “Challenge accepted.”
Those are the people who have shown up consistently in my inbox and on social media, and they are who I ultimately hire. Constant conversations is how I have built my team up until this point—no fancy, robust hiring system. I think this is the way a small business owner can be most effective when expanding their team.
Let me explain by introducing you to my Business Manager, Niki. We met in July 2017, and for months I noticed she was on all of my Facebook live videos, she was polite in identifying gaps in my business, and was never pushy or overbearing.
“I would just email, DM, and send Jasmine private messages every time I saw an opportunity for growth or wanted to give her some insight.” —Niki
When she joined Social Curator, Niki thought I was lacking a community Facebook group. She suggested this many times until I finally listened to her. As my team and I were considering who would monitor the group, Niki was the obvious choice. She even said “yes” before knowing all the details of the job!
In a conversation with Niki, she shares her top tips on how *you* can demonstrate your value to someone who aligns with your mission, too.
1. Build Trust. I hired Niki for one small component of my business and over the next few months, she earned my trust. Since I hired her in February 2018, we have expanded her role from Community Manager to Business Manager, which wouldn’t have been possible without her consistently building our relationship.
2. Give Insight. Niki spent months identifying gaps in my business without expecting anything in return. She gave me solutions to my problems because she cared about my people as much as *I* cared about my people!
3. Don’t Ask. Niki’s third piece of advice is to find your place of power and deliver that to your potential employer. Rather than asking, “What can I do for you?”, identify gaps and offer solutions for them, no strings attached.
Like I said, I do not have a perfect hiring system, but I am working on developing one based on the lessons I’ve learned from Niki and other members of our team. Whether you are looking for people to hire or you are wanting to work in someone else’s business, consistently put your name, hustle, and passion on the line and people will see you, boo!
