Hiring my first employee….Any advice?

[Mark Suszko]

Google their name and facebook first./

[Neil Hurwitz]

Congratulations on growing your operation to the point where
you need a full time employee.
What you pay them is up to you and I can’t comment on.
However there are a whole lot of things you need to do when you put
someone on payroll
1. You need a workers comp policy and or disability policy
2. Federal employer ID number
3. Unemployment ID number
You will have to file loads of quarterly reports to a whole host
of Local, State and Federal authorities.
My suggestion is that if you don’t have experience with
these is that you hire a “payroll service” that will
become the employer of record and do all this for you.
You will pay a fee for it but it will be a wash with the
amount of time you or your accountant spends on it.
If you are hiring your Freelancer as a Full time employe you open up
a pandoras box with various agencies that might want to reclassify
the Freelance labor as an employe and whack you for back taxes.
You think you’re doing good by creating a job in this economy
but our gov’t will declare war on you and bomb you
with all sorts of rules,regulations, fees and fines all of
which are a personal obligation.
Jingle Bells.

Neil Hurwitz

[Patrick Ortman]

Ouch, Neil. But… seriously, in my experience he’s got a good point or three. You’ll definitely need a payroll company or service. We use the one built into QuickBooks. It works, so far.

That said, CONGRATS! This is a big day for your company!

I second on doing a Google and Facebook search on applicants. I know it sounds bad, but you can weed out a lot of bad apples this way. Or find some superstars. You never know.

On pay, I’d suggest a fair but lower wage than you’d first be inclined to offer. Then, at the end of the year or quarterly, you can give bonuses. It makes people feel more a part of your company, I’ve found (oddly enough, even more so during the periods where the company doesn’t make a profit… but that’s another story).

———————
http://www.patrickortman.com
Web and Video Design

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Egads, what to pay. You probably won’t be paying what you paid your freelancers, but you have to make it reasonable. Hit up salary.com to see what to pay – I think they’re numbers are a little high for Tucson where I’m at, but about right for Phoenix.

Saw other advice on payroll like quickbooks and that’s fine for a 2-man group.

For the legal, I hooked up with Pre-Paid Legal. They come off kinda scammy, but I absolutely love the service – I have the personal legal service for $20 a month and they’ve already helped with a couple debt collectors and a few tickets plus the single biz owner rider. I’ve talked to business owners who keep lawyers on retainer for $thousands, but it’s like $75-100 a month for the business service and they give you tons of advice, contracts, contact slow payers, even help with articles of organization and tax advice (from a real tax lawyer) all for a very low rate and a discount off of any services which they don’t cover. The best part is you contact them anytime during the day and someone calls back in a few minutes (usually). My point is below:

Besides the usual “you should hire a lawyer” advice, you need to protect your intellectual property. That’s trade secrets (the things specific to your business that let you do business and make $) and copyright. If you’re hiring a newbie, they’ll be having a look at your biz and will gain valuable info and access to your clients. That’s where a non-competition agreement, a “don’t steal my clients” agreement, a non-disclosure agreement, throw in an at-will employment agreement (AZ is a right-to-fire state), and anything else your lawyer can come up with. I know it sounds like a lot, but if there is no contract and your guy or gal decides they don’t need you anymore and steal all your clients, your images, your stuff, or the way you do business, you have no legal recourse. A binding contract is a lawyer’s territory and your best friend – don’t do guesswork; hire a lawyer. I’m guessing you use contracts with freelancers so you want the same with W2 employees.

Finally, look for someone you like, has a good work ethic (finishes on time, shows on time, you can trust), who’s good with customers (on the phone, in email or in person), is a go-getter (proactive?), and who has a solid “design” aesthetic. You can teach software, but there’s a certain thing to someone who has a sense of what looks good and doesn’t. I’ve worked with pros who had no schooling who were better than the art-school kiddies (I can’t talk, I have a BA in graphic design), but I’ve seen the opposite, too. Keep your options open and be flexible and you might be surprised.

Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293

[Neil Hurwitz]

Oh come on with this Non-compete stuff.
Courts are very very reluctant to enforce them because
people have a right to work, especially at lower levels.
If leaving Job A to go to Job B or to start up your own company
and taking clients with you were to be estopped by the courts
half the people on the COW would be on the street with a tin cup.
This is a creative industry, people need to move around to stay fresh.

Neil Hurwitz

[Kris Merkel]

Having a bus. with employees is night and day compared to a one man/woman shop. All the above advice has been good especially the attorney and tier based pay rate. Make sure that you are paying your employee what they or the job are valued at.

Along with my Freelance business, I run a Tea House, which is at some times more like a full service restaurant with about 8+ employees. And the #1 biggest issues we ever have is with employees. They are not bad employees( most of them) but with scheduling issues, theft issues, customer service issues ect. managing them is like another full time job. Of course with one employee it shouldn’t take that much of your energy, just make sure that you get “professional” references and that you trust and genuinely like the person you are going to hire, because you will be spending a lot of time together, as well as this person will be interacting with your clients.

Also rework an “employee” into your business plan to make sure that fits in with your long term plans rather than just something that will satisfy your immediate needs. As you go through this process and plug your #’s into your pro-forma you will find a magic # of how many employees you will need to maintain the type of production company you want to have.

Congratulations on your growth and wishing you continued success. The best part about venturing out on this path is that you can grow your business while work is being done.

[Rich Rubasch]

….working on day-to-day editing, rough cuts, equipment management, etc.

This is more or less an entry level position for someone who has some experience, or has just graduated. They don’t need to be a fantastic editor, but they need to know their way around FCP, AE, etc.
——————————————————————————————

I’m in Madison WI and I paid an intern from a local college who fit the above description $20 per hour. 9-10 sounds a little low for the skills you might ask of them. My intern only worked about 15 hours per week or so but became so invaluable that she is now an employee!

Do the math…even at $10 per hour working 40 hours per week you are talking about a salary position earning $20,800 a year. Really? You would be happy offering that in 2010? For a position that certainly at the very least requires higher than average computer skills and some kind of experience in video production…

As for bonuses for exemplary work I think you will be setting the philosophy of the company from this first one going forward. What message will you be sending to the rest of the community? Nice guy but doesn’t pay much?

I set up my company as an S-corp from the get go with just myself as the only “employee.” You did not say how you have set up your company? With that we might help out with any other advice…

Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media Inc.
Video Production and Post
Owner/President/Editor/Designer/Animator
https://www.tiltmedia.com

[Bill Davis]

I’m gonna be tough here and suggest you think VERY hard before you do this.

In essence, hiring people is the first step in moving AWAY from the creative part of any endeavor and moving toward being a business like any other business. Your productive hours start to shift from unique problem solving (creative, client, and program issues) to the most boring and common problem solving issues that human beings have ever invented. (Matching FICA reports, Time sheets, Bonus calculations, What’s the appropriate freekin HOLIDAY gift for your new employee!)

THIS is what really happens when you start to hire people. Yes, it may be necessary if you wish to grow your business. Or it may not. You might find a way to emphasize personal creative excellence over production output. And keep small but keep making more by being BETTER than the competition. Keep the work in YOUR hands, rather than subbing parts out to the junior worker and spending so much time trying to bring his or her up to your level of excellence.

It’s the fine artist verses the commercial artist conundrum. Build a reputation – or build a business on volume. Two different paths.

Just understand that if you decide to take the “whoppie, I’m now a MANAGER with employees!” route, – and you succeed – you will look up one day and you will likely have virtually NOTHING to do with the things you might have loved about being in such a creative field in the first place.

Again, I’m not trying to dissuade you. Perhaps you really WANT to be more a general business person than a creative person. Just understand the difference. The bigger your business – the LESS you get to do what you love – and the more you have to SERVE the business. And that means MANAGING rather than DOING. Approving, rather than creating. Filing the paperwork, rather than imagining possible solutions to unique problems that only YOU’ve taken the time to understand.

There are a few THOUSAND books in the library on running a business. And perhaps a few hundred on building and sustaining a true creative life.

I’m just saying be a bit careful before you make a choice as to the branch on which you wish to base your life and career.

Good luck whichever you choose.

[Steve Wargo]

Oh boy, Adam.

I have a hundred comments on this one and I think I’ll just give you a call next week. Maybe we should do lunch. You’re buying, of course.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

Ask me how to Market Yourself using Send Out Cards

[Adam Fischer]

Thanks Bill, that’s very interesting advice. One of the reasons I’ve been thinking it’s time to hire is actually because I’m NOT enjoying what I do as much anymore. I spend so much time just trying to meet deadlines that I don’t have time to really enjoy my craft like I used to. So I was thinking it’s time for more help on a daily basis, not just freelancers that come and go. I’ll consider your thoughts carefully though. Thanks!