How to Hire the Best People..... #139

Business Consulting Services

As a business consultant, I’ve seen it repeatedly: a brilliant business strategy, a visionary founder, and a product or service with massive potential—only to watch it stall because of one crucial bottleneck…

The wrong people.

If you're a solopreneur or entrepreneur trying to scale your business, the people you hire will determine how far and fast you grow. In fact, the business growth of many of my clients only took off after they mastered hiring.

In this article, I’ll break down why hiring is so vital, the mistakes most small business owners make, and a complete framework to help you attract and retain top talent—even if you’re a new founder with no big brand, no HR department, and no experience.

Why Hiring the Best People Is Your Biggest Growth Lever

Let’s start with the stats:

• Top-performing employees are 4–8x more productive than average performers.

  
  

• 2 out of 3 strategies fail not because of bad ideas, but because of poor execution—usually talent-related.

  
  

Talent beats strategy.

The best strategy in the world is worthless if the team can’t execute it well.

Case Study: When Hard Work Isn't Enough

A founder I worked with scaled her consulting business rapidly through grit and hustle. But her stress levels were sky-high. Why? Her team couldn’t keep up. Despite training and good intentions, they were underqualified. She was doing all the work.

When she finally shifted her mindset—from “I need to work harder” to “I need better people who can work hard for me”—everything changed. She replaced three mediocre hires with one top performer and doubled her revenue in six months.

That’s the power of talent.

The Hidden Costs of Hiring Poorly

Without a talent attraction strategy, here’s what happens:

• Team bloat: You hire more people to compensate for underperformance.

  
  

• Cultural dilution: Weak hires erode your values and standards.

  
  

• Execution failure: Strategies don’t get implemented, or worse, break your systems.

  
  

• Founder burnout: You end up managing, micromanaging, and cleaning up mistakes.

• 
  

If you're a solopreneur or small business owner, this cycle is deadly. Your margin for error is small.

So, what’s the solution?

Rethink Talent: Top Performers Are Your Customers

Most entrepreneurs ask: “What do we want in an employee?”

Flip it.

Ask: “What does top talent want in an employer?”

Hiring isn’t just about evaluating people. It’s about attracting the right people.

Just like you need product-market fit, you need company-talent fit.

Here’s what A-players are looking for:

1. Compensation (not just salary, but clarity, fairness, and growth potential).

   
   

2. Benefits (flexibility, time off, professional development, insurance, etc.).

   
   

3. Career Progression (a clear path forward, not a dead-end job).

   
   

4. Environment (trust, autonomy, clarity).

   
   

5. Culture (mission, values, purpose).

   
   

If you can articulate these clearly, you’ll stand out—even as a small business.

Most Founders Don’t Know How to Hire (At First)

And that’s okay.

In the beginning, many small business owners are just grateful someone applied.

They hire fast, promote too quickly, and wind up with a bloated, underperforming team. The founder becomes the bottleneck—again.

“Maybe it’s my fault,” they say.“Maybe I just don’t know how to lead.”

You’re not alone. Hiring is a skill you improve over time.

How to Attract Top Talent (Even If You're Small or Unknown)

Hiring isn't a game of luck. It’s a system.

1 – Targeting Talent

• First, clarify: Do you need more candidates or better candidates?

• Audit where you're sourcing applicants (Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, direct outreach).

• Example: One client added a “Want to be a coach?” landing page with paid ads—created a stream of quality applicants almost overnight.

2 – Top Qualities

• Define your ideal hire persona.

• What makes a great employee for your unique company culture?

• Ask your current team what they love most about working with you.

3 – Talent Priorities

• Double down on what great people want: mission, autonomy, meaningful work.

• Small business advice tip: You don’t need Google-level salaries. You need heart, clarity, and growth opportunities.

  
  

4 – Touch Points

• Top talent will Google you.

• Is your online presence aligned with what you promise in your job ad?

• Optimize your website, social media, reviews, and even interview process to reinforce your company’s values and voice.

  
  

5 – Tracking

• What gets measured gets managed.

• Are you tracking:

  • Application volume?

  • Time to follow-up?

  • Interview-to-offer ratio?

  • Onboarding success?

  • 90-day retention rate?

    
    

Scaling Through People: A Funnel, Not a Gamble

Hiring is not a one-off event. It’s a process that mirrors your sales funnel:

Sales Funnel	Hiring Funnel
Lead Gen	Application Generation
Nurture	Follow-Up and Interview Scheduling
Sales	Interview & Offer
Fulfillment	Training & Onboarding
Retention	Promotion & Growth Pathways

Treat it with the same seriousness you give to client acquisition.

Replace Yourself by Design, Not Desperation

Many solopreneurs believe they’ll eventually find “a second me.”

That rarely happens.

A smarter strategy? Break down your role into parts and hire for each:

• Writer

• Strategist

• Project manager

• Customer support

• Sales closer

• 
  

You don’t need a unicorn. You need a small team of focused, aligned players.

Real Founder Insights: What Top Performers Actually Want

Here are six truths I share with clients during our business strategy sessions:

1. Top talent is usually employed. You must poach, not post.

   
   

2. Don’t just fill roles—fill problems. Hire people who’ve solved what you’re struggling with.

   
   

3. Track record > Interview style. Ask for proof, not just confidence.

   
   

4. Culture alignment is everything. If your values clash, it won’t last.

   
   

5. Pay attention to energy and communication speed. They reveal more than resumes.

   
   

6. Use interviews as R&D. You’ll often walk away with insights—even if you don’t hire the person.

   
   

You don’t grow a business. You grow people—and they grow the business.

Hiring is your most strategic leverage point. It’s not just an HR task. It’s a leadership discipline.

So whether you're an entrepreneur in the early days, a solopreneur ready to delegate, or a seasoned founder scaling up—master this skill. Your peace of mind, your team culture, and your business growth depend on it.

Want Help Creating a Hiring System?

As a business consultant who specializes in helping solopreneurs, founders, and small business owners scale, I work with clients to design talent attraction systems tailored to their brand, culture, and business goals.

Let’s build a team that helps you grow— get in touch today.