For most entrepreneurs, it’s not just business; it’s personal. When you have been the one to grow a company from the ground up, it’s only natural to have a hard time letting go of the reins. However, accepting that you can’t do it all yourself is a necessary step towards achieving growth. Once you have recognized that you need to expand your team to grow your business, the hard part isn’t over.
In addition to getting up to speed on the rules of engagement for your future employees, there is a host of other things to consider, not the least of which is how you’ll handle expenses now that your team is no longer an army of one. You have some time (but not much!) to think about financial matters beyond meeting payroll, like whether you will choose to go with a small business credit card or prepaid business cards.
Here are a few other factors to consider when choosing to add new employees to your team.
Plan a Few Moves Ahead
Small business owners wear a lot of different hats, usually out of necessity rather than by choice. The trial and error approach that comes from completing tasks that fall outside your area of expertise can be expensive and time-consuming.
For example, if you make your living in the creative space, doing your own accounting and bill collection may not be putting your time to its best use. When you find yourself spending hours completing a task that a specialist can complete in minutes, it’s time to call in reinforcements.
Adding a staff member to the company may quickly lead to adding another, and then another. Though it may be hard to think of your little business as a growing concern, it’s wise to think a few steps ahead. For example:
- If you are choosing a new office location, think realistically about how many people the space can accommodate, now and in the future. Will you even have offices, or will your organization comprise a group of remote workers?
- Will you offer health insurance and other benefits, now or in the future? What will that look like for your bottom line?
It’s a lot to consider, but taking the time to map out a vision for your dream team will help shape the future direction of your small business. One important question that should be near the top of your list is how you will manage employees’ expenses.
Business Expense Management
It’s inevitable; more people coming in means more money going out. Your personal credit card might have done the trick when you were just starting out, but when the team swells to multiple members, the process of expense management can quickly become overwhelming. Small business credit cards can help, but that requires a lengthy application process and credit checks for new employees as they join the team.
Instead, give some thought to flexible solutions like prepaid business cards as a scalable solution for small business expenses. Prepaid cards can allow you to give your team members access to the funds they need to do their jobs effectively, without unnecessarily tying up your precious financial resources or putting your personal credit rating on the line.
Some prepaid business cards will go beyond simply letting employees charge purchases as necessary — they can help you track and categorize your expenses in real time, and let you export transactions to your bookkeeping system to allow for seamless, end-to-end business expense management. Now think about how much time that will free up to let you focus on what you do best!
Don’t sweat the small stuff! The dash™ Prepaid Mastercard® offers expense management solutions that allow you to focus on what you do best – growing your business. Learn more about the benefits of dash for your business.