How I Hire The Right Developer Every Time

Introduction

“People are not your most important asset. The right people are.” - Jim Collins

Okay so you want a website, but maybe you don’t want to build it yourself…

What do you do?

How I Started?

August 2022.

I felt the vibration of my phone ringing while working at my desk. It was my dad.?

“You quit your job?” He said.

“Yeah… I did”

What next? I thought to myself.?

“You quit a job at a high paying company for what? A chance on a business?” He said with a judgment I knew too well.?

“I am sick and tired of renting my time for money. I would rather build a business that leverages other people’s talent to get more done and earn more as a result.” I responded defensively.?

“That’s not a reality.” He said quickly.

He continued.?

“You can’t just lead people at your age…”

“You don’t have enough experience…”

“You need to learn to do it yourself…”

I started fuming. “You don’t need to wait to get experience. All the experience you will ever need today is right in front of you. It is yours for the taking.?

And that is exactly what I planned to do.

A Month Later-

I was good at getting business for the vending machine business. I scaled to 3 locations in only 1 month.

My fast pace started to get the attention of other vendors in the area. I was making progress to people on the outside, but inside…

I was dying.?

I was sick and tired of spending most of my day putting out fires.

I was working IN the business.

Not ON the business.

It was then that I decided to learn how to hire my first technician to help me with tasks through the day.?

Now you’re caught up…

The morning after I just spent $20,000 investing into my “business” and lost all my money. Again.?

The beeping of my alarm clock startled me awake at 4 AM. My self doubt came back and my problems started flooding in. Well… I may as well get to work. I jumped out of bed and stood up to my standing desk. My daily planner was ready and pen by my side. I had to make more than $3000 in profits, not even just revenue, in less than 30 days. And I had to do it on my own… with no help. At all. So I started writing down what I needed from the sales team to get going:

…Hire a business development representative to cold call for me

…Outsource all of sales

…Find someone who can lead themselves

I kept drawing out ideas, creating a game plan for how I was going to make this money. None of these could get done. Not in 30 days at least. I was glued to the desk. I will figure this out. I stared at the screen, hoping the computer knew something I didn’t. It didn’t. God I am in deep.?

Another Month Later-

“What do you mean you don’t have any leads?”

“We just don't feel it is the right fit for us. I am sorry” they said.

“Come on…Just give it a chance. We just started two weeks ago.” I pleaded.

“Sorry… Its just not the right fit” They responded.

My sales team left. I had no sales. Why does everything bad happen to me.?

Fast Forward To December 2023-

I now have a team delivering a complex software project and all it takes is a few minutes of management each day.

What did I do different?

Where did I go wrong hiring the first time?

I didn’t set the right requirements that is why. You get more output from growing your team. You grow your team by doing two things:

1. Hiring contractors
2. Getting more employees

That’s it. I grow my team with these exact two things. Mostly contractors. You get more output from contractors by getting them:

1. Clear requirements of the project
2. High level solutions
3. Regular meetings to discuss updates and problems
4. Providing support to them as needed

For 1/10th of the price I pay my contractors today, I get 10x more output I ever did before. When I hire a contractor I look at certain values and beliefs:

1. Are they reliable?
2. Are they better than the competition?
3. Are they doing more than other contractors who submitted proposals?
4. Are they cheaper? (sometimes it matters)

And the best part is that when you define clear requirements for your projects, it makes it a million times more efficient for contractors and employees to get to work. You made the time to set clear expectations so you also avoid any conflict that could occur because of confusion.?

I share this because I can hardly believe it myself. All this was because of losing thousands of dollars on a failed startup. That’s where I gained the ability to get more done leveraging other people’s time.?

Knowing how to hire the right person saved me, and saved my next business. It is the only way I am scaling as I am right now and providing the level of detail that I do with each project. It was the reason I have the energy to keep going too!

I hired a lot of people, in a lot of different ways. I hired people for small jobs. I hired people for large jobs. I hired people for short term projects. I hired people for long term projects. I have hired engineers. I have hired sales people. And the list goes on. Hiring and growing your team has been my get out of jail free card when making a commitment I cannot do on my own. And at this point, hiring has become the most important tool in my entrepreneurial tool belt.?

I’d like to share this skill with you because it helps me learn it more and helps you grow your book of business. I hope your story is sweet. And here is some good news: by reading this article, you are already in the top 10 percent of entrepreneurs. Most people never care to grow a team. They just want to do it themselves. Just pay attention.?

Thank you from the bottom of my hear for reading this article. Thank you for allowing me to do what I find enjoyable. Thank you for lending me your most scarce asset– your attention. I promise to do everything I can to deliver the most value to you each time. This book is it.

The world needs more entrepreneurs working together. It needs more forces to unite in the disruptive digital age. And that’s what I’m sharing with you– disruptive magic.