Common mistakes to avoid when starting a business

A large part of your new business' success will be determined by the quality of the people you recruit. Hiring people always means investing in your business and it requires careful consideration. Taking this investment seriously can make it more valuable and improve your chances of success.

Ensuring that you hire high-caliber people with the right mix of skills and competencies is not easy, but it will pay dividends. 

How you employ new people will depend on your business needs. For example, it will depend on whether the work is constant, how long it will last, and the number of hours available.

You need to explore all the options available to you. These include:

• recruiting permanent staff on a full or part-time basis
• fixed-term contract employee
• temporary staff
• freelancers
• consultants
• contractors

While employing relatives and friends might seem easy, they may lack the right mix of skills needed. Additionally, personal relationships can complicate ending employment.

For more information, see recruiting staff.

The Labour Relations Agency provides advice on recruitment, selection and induction.

Common hiring pitfalls to avoid

Here are some frequent mistakes to watch out for when hiring:

• rushing the hiring process can lead to poor decisions and high turnover
• hiring based only on cultural fit without assessing technical skills and experience risks team imbalance
• failing to write clear job descriptions with defined roles and responsibilities causes confusion and inefficiency
• overlooking internal talent and succession planning means missing motivated candidates already familiar with your business
• not conducting thorough background checks and reference verifications increases risk
• ignoring the importance of onboarding and employee engagement can reduce retention
• hiring without considering diversity and inclusion limits creativity and innovation
• failing to assess potential and growth mindset in candidates can restrict long-term success

Failing to delegate

Being your own boss may be a key motivator to setting up your own business. However, delegating the right task to the right person is important for both you and your business. Failing to delegate could mean you take on too much and increase your stress levels and reduce operational efficiency.

A good way to tackle delegation is to identify a few key tasks of your own that are very valuable to the business. Hand over the rest to your team - see skills and training for directors and owners.