Starting Your Own Business, part 12: Making the selection

You’ve made the decision to take on a freelancer to help relieve you of a crippling workload; it is now time to make a choice. Your mind starts to consider the idea of broadening the base of the business.

The ability to provide services relating to M&E, CDM co-ordinator, employer’s agent and dispute resolution require skills which you like to think you possess, but accept that your prowess in these areas leaves something to be desired.

You soon move away from this line of thinking, as the intention of adding to the company’s fire power, is to relieve you of some of your work, to leave more quality family time and R&R .

Your thoughts do a trawl of the options. An advert in the situation vacant section of Building; register at the job centre or an employment agency; an email to the RICS or perhaps a call to a freelancer who works for your old company, all have their merits.

What sort of person are you looking for? Must be capable of working without supervision; possess the necessary skills in the type of work you have been undertaking; hardworking and enthusiastic; able to work under pressure; a pleasing personality and of course the ability to get on with you.

What sort of person are you looking for? Must be capable of working without supervision; possess the necessary skills in the type of work you have been undertaking;

It could take a life-time of diligent searching to locate somebody who fits this particular bill. In a flash of inspiration, your mind turns to a former colleague, who was made redundant at the same time as you. She may not fulfil all your requirements (but then who would?) however you just have that feeling.

An invitation to lunch seemed to set the right tone. A quick phone call and 15 minutes after your brainwave, you had the arrangement inked into your diary.

The lunch got off to a cracking start, as she was obviously pleased to see you again, which was reciprocated. It is surprising how people lower their guard over a good lunch or dinner. Work for her had been coming in fits and starts and so your offer of two days work per week for the next three months was therefore manner from heaven.

Agreeing terms created no problems whatsoever. Fees which are to be based upon a percentage of what you receive, whether hourly rate or lump sum, guarantee you a profit. A twenty-one day payment period gives you a bit of breathing space and an ability to start right away provided a feeling of relief.

You were anxious to pass on some work right away and so finding the first job proved no difficulty. The immediate task was to brief her fully and then a joint visit to the client to advise him of the changes in the way in which the commission was to be handled.

The immediate task was to brief her fully and then a joint visit to the client to advise him of the changes in the way in which the commission was to be handled

This can be tricky, as the client in the first place passed the commission to you as he was convinced of you capability and liked you as a person. Was the client likely to feel the same about your new recruit? You needn’t have worried, as the client was obviously convinced, which enabled you to slip out of the commission with consummate ease.

The news went down well on the home front. The children, however, were completely unmoved with the change in your circumstances. The dog on the other hand, with an inner sense, knew that something good had happened, which could be to his benefit.

There was an underlying worry for you. Your new recruit would take two days or 15 hours per week off your work load. The income would not increase, but a new item of cost had arrived. It became obvious that to restore your monthly profit to its old level, you needed to secure more work to pass on to your new recruit, or if she couldn’t manage any more work, to find another new recruit.

You realised you were now on the tread mill of growing your business, which could be never ending.