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Ask HN: Hiring employees
In mapping out my startup, I seem to be having a mental block when it comes to hiring employees. For some reason, I am blowing the cost/difficulty (I think) of this step way out of proportion. This has led me to wonder both how many entrepreneurs here run their business solo, and how many have hiring down pat? If you have employees, then what was the process like getting them on board, staying legal, and keeping them happy?
Are you generally good with the employees (I'm always being called an asshole), or did you have to hire someone to handle that?
- kls 15y agoI'm always being called an asshole If you are fair, then most people don't care if you are an asshole. Most people can tolerate a straightforward person so long and they are ethical and fair. If you embody other negative traits like deception or hypocrisy being an asshole will amplify them. History is full of examples of men that where not the most pleasant but are still respected for there adherence to ethics. In fact in some situations being an asshole is required to adhere to an ethical standard. For me personal I would take a deep internal look at why people have that perception, if it is due to negative attributes I would strive to correct them, if not I would not be overly concerned about them. As for a first hire, it is always the most difficult, it's kind of like a hump once you get over it the next hire becomes easy. The easiest way to do it is to just commit to it in your mind as if it already happened, this will help you get past the sacrifice mentally. Then, look for people that have delivered, delivery is the most important factor for a small company and a employee that can deliver means more products / features to market or more servicing capacity. In which case the hire will pay for themselves.