Things were going so well that you decided to hire someone to help. That’s when things fell apart.

You’ll likely need help at some point. My suggestion is to wait. In fact, I’ve suggested a specific revenue target that you should hit before you hire anyone.

As you reach the point of hiring someone, you’ll have all cylinders firing. You’ll be growing. You’re winning, and it feels good.

Then you’ll hire someone, and the wheels will come off. It’ll be like you were racing forward on your speedy road bike and someone shoved a big stick through your spokes. Things fall apart.

It’s not the person you hired that causes the trouble.

It’s you.

It’s hard to bring someone on board. Your racing bike turns into a beach cruiser with a big, heavy person balanced on the handlebars. It’s sluggish, it’s hard to turn, and it’s difficult to keep going at the same speed.

Employees make things harder in the beginning, not easier.

The impact of slowing down is doubly hard because you weren’t expecting to get suddenly sluggish. You were expecting the new team member to help you grow the business exponentially. Suddenly, it feels like you’re going backward instead of racing forward.

How to Manage the Transition to Employer

Anticipating the challenge offsets the impact. You can prepare for managing an employee before you take the step. That’ll smooth the way for you.

You can be ready by documenting your systems and processes before you add help. You can be ready by building a solid base of clients so you’ll have a steady stream of revenue that you can use to pay yourself and your employee.

Most importantly, you can prepare by learning the behaviors required of a manager. You can learn what’s necessary to manage the new person so your team member can become a contributor.

If you don’t learn about management, and most of us don’t come by it naturally, then you’re destined for a high rate of employee turnover. That’s not good, and it’ll do more than slow your progress. High turnover can actually reverse your progress and, over time, cause your business to decline. Obviously, that’s something you need to avoid.

Systems won’t stop turnover. Marketing won’t stop turnover. A steady revenue won’t stop turnover. In fact, great marketing and a steady stream of new clients will only hurt you if you suffer from high employee turnover. You’ll simply disappoint more clients faster if you’re good at marketing and bad at management.

Only effective management stops turnover.

Where You Can Learn Management Skills

That’s why I suggest you spend some time, before hiring, learning how to manage your team. My favorite resource is Manager Tools Basics. I’ve been a supporter, customer, and advocate of the owners’ approach since the company’s early days. These guys are awesome at teaching the fundamentals of management. They’re giving away materials for free that enable you to grow your business to whatever level you desire.

Hiring, without learning about management, won’t work. If you’re already an employer, then you know exactly what I mean. If you haven’t yet added an employee, then avoid the problems I describe. Spend some time with the guys at Manager Tools. Learn the basics, and then learn some more. That way, when you hire your first team member, things won’t fall apart.