https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:07:50 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1186696 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 19:01:36 +0000 Gracie 1186696@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well, I've had full time assistants, and part-time students – one employee at a time – for over ten years. After my last assistant moved out of state a few years ago, I decided to go back to solo. It has been <b>wonderful</b>. It is a big weight off my shoulders. My workload also fluctuates and I could not ask my full-time mom-of-two not to come to work on slow days, so, scrambling to "create" tasks for her. It is a lot of responsibility, generating business to support another person or family.&nbsp; I now turn down jobs I can't handle (or do not really want) easily, my bottom line is not growing super fast, but the quality of life and peace of mind are totally worth it to me. Some employees bring their personal problems to work also (I had one who just needed to share everything as if we were friends – had to put a stop to that!).</p> <p>Also to consider: you'll more than likely need an accountant or bookkeeper (unless you can do this yourself); be ready to pay vacation and sick time, and possibly health insurance, all do the paperwork those things involve.&nbsp; Not to discourage you, growing a business is very desirable, probably THE thing to do if you want to increase your income, and you can probably manage all those issues that proved less-than-ideal for me personally. Ha, you'll probably do it and find out it totally enriches you! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1186409 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 15:28:41 +0000 Linda 1186409@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I was going to suggest, partnering up with a local college or university.&nbsp; While it is true some students move on, if you have developed a relationship with the school itself, you might be able to preserve some continuity beyond the individual students.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1186406 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 15:27:27 +0000 texstyle 1186406@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've found that students can be especially energetic (in a good way) and more flexible maybe than someone who needs a specific part time job/defined hours.&nbsp; Hiring instead of contracting of course means payroll taxes and various&nbsp;legal requirements depending on your location. And if someone is going to work inside your home, you want to get an addition to&nbsp; your homeowner's insurance policy just to be safe (probably not too expensive).</p> <p>Congrats on your success!</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1186140 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 06:14:21 +0000 Jeanie 1186140@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You might start out hiring someone on an an independent contractor. &nbsp;That way they are responsible for paying their own taxes and benefits. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1185764 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 00:28:23 +0000 LACeleste 1185764@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hi Viva,</p> <p>Sorry!</p> <p>I misused the word&nbsp;outsource. &nbsp;I am so bad at delegating (to my detriment) that I don't even have the right&nbsp;vocabulary.</p> <p>I do mostly quant but am familiar enough with qual&nbsp;to think your approach to finding help makes sense. &nbsp;The only challenge is that students and interns move on.</p> <p>When I was just starting out, Andy Greenfield had just started his solo qual shop. &nbsp;A success story&nbsp;of growing a MR qual business for sure.</p> <p>You're next!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>It is a big step but you are up for the task. &nbsp;</p> <p>Good luck! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1185761 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 00:22:56 +0000 viva 1185761@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks ladies. I am definitely thinking part-time, and I don't want to outsource projects. And yes -- a discussion with my accountant is in the works, that makes a ton of sense, carter. <br />What I really want (need, I think) is an assistant with a certain number of flexible hours a week. I have a note-taker on a project-by-project basis, but that's not enough, and an assistant could do that and more. I'm wondering if I should try an intern (student? recent grad?) to see how that works. When I worked in the industry I hired and trained many junior staff so I feel qualified to handle that ... still, it feels like a big step.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1185755 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 00:16:03 +0000 LACeleste 1185755@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hi Viva!</p> <p>Congratulations on celebrating 6 years---especially in a down economy! &nbsp;I am sure your clients love you. &nbsp;I bet you would be great to work for.</p> <p>Solo MR practitioner here too so I can't advise you on growing your business.</p> <p>So many former&nbsp;MR execs (often, but not always, Moms of young kids)&nbsp;are looking for flexibility and challenging work. &nbsp;Maybe you could try outsourcing a few small projects to see if it works for you?</p> <p>If you need another FT person, this will not help. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1185752 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 00:12:48 +0000 carter 1185752@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes and no. Talk with your accountant first. I elected to use virtual assistants and part time hourly help instead of hiring an employee for several reasons. PM me if you like, and I'll get more into why this approach was better for me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/has-anyone-grown-a-personal-business#post-1185734 Wed, 05 Mar 2014 23:58:11 +0000 viva 1185734@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm a solo practitioner and just celebrated 6 years in business. I'm close to a breaking point in terms of managing workload and once again trying to figure out if I need to hire someone -- but taking this step fills me with all sorts of dread. I'm particularly anxious about being responsible for someone else financially, especially in a business with unpredictable patterns of work and busy-ness, although I have been in this industry for 25 years and know exactly what pieces of my job I could hand off: I could write the job description in a couple of hours. </p> <p>Has anyone else grown from being solo to hiring? </p>