How to Know When You're Ready to Hire The signs that your business is in need of additional staff and how to make it happen.

Q: How do you know when you can--or need to--take on additional staff?

A: For many entrepreneurs--especially those who bootstrapped their business to sustainability--the decision to hire help is a hard one. There's the prospect of ceding some control of your baby to an employee; there are the costs involved (not to mention the paperwork); and there's always the fear that, should you hire the wrong person, you will do more harm to your business than good. If these concerns sound familiar, you need to change your mindset right now and start thinking of employees as revenue generators, not as costs.

Here's what I mean: Let's say you're the best salesperson in your company, but you find yourself bogged down by day-to-day operational tasks. In this case you may need an office manager or bookkeeper to free up your time so you can bring in more sales--a hire that will boost your company's revenue potential.