Hiring Help: Five Women Entrepreneurs, Five Different Hiring Criteria

Posted on December 10, 2009 - Filed Under Accidental Jane, Go Jane Go, Jane Dough, Jane Thoughts, Merry Jane, Success Tips for Jane, Tenacity Jane

interviewWhen a business has grown to the point it’s necessary to hire part-time help, an entrepreneur must take into account all the crucial elements of hiring the right person. Because different types of business owners handle their businesses in different ways, it is essential that each type find a team member whose characteristics match the needs of both the business and the business owner. That way, the pairing creates harmony and the company can function like the well-oiled machine it’s meant to be.

A recent study from Jane Out of the Box, an authority on female entrepreneurs reveals there are five distinct types of women in business. Each one has a unique approach to running a business – and therefore each one has a unique combination of needs. This article outlines each of the five types and provides some tips for each one to consider when hiring part-time help.

Jane Dough is an entrepreneur who enjoys running her business and makes good money. She is comfortable and determined in buying and selling, which may be why she’s five times more likely than the average female business owner to hit the million dollar mark. Jane Dough is clear in her priorities and may be intentionally and actively growing an asset-based or legacy business. It is estimated that 18% of women fall in the category of Jane Dough.

Because Jane Dough is a big picture girl, she sometimes gets going so fast that she misses important details. So when she’s ready to hire some help, she needs someone who is detail oriented and can keep an eye on all the small necessities that keep a business running smoothly. Also, Jane Dough loves to delegate, so she needs someone who can take direction but who also is willing to make (and capable of making!) smaller, day-to-day decisions on her own. Jane Dough can be very businesslike – because to her, business is business. So a similar-minded associate would be a good fit (rather than someone who will want to spend too much time chatting). Similarly, Jane Dough’s ideal assistant will be sufficiently assertive that she can get the busy Jane Dough’s attention when it is truly needed.

Tenacity Jane is an entrepreneur with an undeniable passion for her business, but who tends to be struggling with cash flow. As a result, she’s working longer hours, and making less money than she’d like. Nevertheless, Tenacity Jane is bound and determined to make her business a success. At 31% of women in business, Tenacity Janes are the largest group of female entrepreneurs.

If Tenacity Jane is ready to hire help, she needs someone who can work efficiently – someone who will lighten her load, and get the work done in as little time as possible. She also will want to seek out experts – people who can round out her areas of expertise and add new knowledge to her business, such as a bookkeeper. Tenacity Jane’s passion gives her the tendency to take on projects that seem promising but end up taking more time and energy than she has to give them. She will therefore also benefit from having a more experienced associate who can be a sounding board and debate the pros/cons of new projects before they dive in together.

Go Jane Go is passionate about her work and provides excellent service, so she has plenty of clients – but she’s struggling to keep up with demand. She may be a classic overachiever, taking on volunteer opportunities as well, because she’s eager to make an impact on the world and may really struggle saying “no”. Because she wants to “say yes” to so many people, she may even be in denial about how many hours she actually works during the course of a week. As a result, she may be running herself ragged and feeling guilty about neglecting herself and possibly others who are important to her.

Go Jane Go may be a perfectionist and definitely has high standards in her work. This can make it difficult for her to delegate, or even to admit she needs help. The most important traits for Go Jane Go to hire include finding someone she feels comfortable trusting and someone willing to challenge her to let go of more of the work. Focusing on delegating a few lower risk areas first may help foster increasing trust and delegation. Go Jane Go’s ideal candidate will also have high standards in his/her work and superior customer service skills. Finally, the new hire should have relevant experience because Go Jane Go will have relatively little time to train someone, given that she is already in great demand.

Merry Jane This entrepreneur is usually building a part-time or “flexible time” business that gives her a creative outlet (whether she’s an ad agency consultant or she makes beautiful artwork) that she can manage within specific constraints around her schedule. She may have a day-job, or need to be fully present for family or other pursuits. She realizes she could make more money by working longer hours, but she’s happy with the tradeoff she has made because her business gives her tremendous freedom to work how and when she wants, around her other commitments.

Freedom is important to Merry Jane, so she needs a self-starter when she hires help – someone who can tackle projects without a ton of oversight. This person needs to be able to make responsible decisions, and to multi-task so he or she can take care of all the details Merry Jane doesn’t have time for. On the other hand, Merry Jane needs to make sure her new team member can and is willing to get in touch with her if questions come up. Merry Jane is busy, and she’s focused on other things, so she may benefit from having a specific time each day or week to check in with her new hire to make sure things are running smoothly and well.

Accidental Jane is a successful, confident business owner who never actually set out to start a business. Instead, she may have decided to start a business due to frustration with her job or a layoff and decided to use her business and personal contacts to strike out on her own. Or, she may have started making something that served her own unmet needs and found other customers with the same need, giving birth to a business. Although Accidental Jane may sometimes struggle with prioritizing what she needs to do next in her business, she enjoys what she does and is making good money. About 18% of all women business owners fit the Accidental Jane profile.

Since she often started her own business because she wanted to avoid the corporate world’s politics, Accidental Jane will probably do best hiring a professional who is capable of managing him/herself well. That’s because Accidental Jane loves the freedom to come and go as she pleases and doesn’t want to feel shackled by having to run an office and “oversee” people. Rather than an actual hire, sometimes this might look like an overflow partner who can take over entire projects, or major components of projects, on Accidental Jane’s behalf. In keeping with the ability to self-manage, Accidental Jane will want relevant skill sets and substantial experience, so she can keep training and management to a minimum and preserve the freedom she enjoys.

In business, reaching the point where hiring someone becomes necessary means something is going right. Making sure to consider all the angles when taking on a new employee is an excellent – and essential – way to pave the way toward continued success.

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