The signs are fairly obvious. Most of your waking moments may be spent running the business, and time is taken from your family and friends. Maybe you’re unable to keep up with demand and are actually having to turn customers away.

More or less, your stress level is beginning to climb rapidly as the papers stack up and nothing seems to get done. It’s time to get some help.

Before looking at prospects, consider these things:

What are you looking for?
Make a list of the things that need to be done for your business to run smoothly. Indicate which of those tasks you must do, which of the tasks you’d prefer to do, and which of the tasks can be delegated elsewhere. The latter is what you need that first employee for.

Think about what kind of manager you are in order to determine the best type of person to fit your style. If you’re the type that delegates and then does your own thing, then you will need someone who can think independently. If you get stressed occasionally, then you may want someone that works well under pressure.

Next, decide exactly how you want the business to grow with the additional help. If you’re looking to take this transition slowly, then you need someone for the clerical and administrative tasks that you just can’t seem to get to, such as filing and mail. If you’re ready to plow full speed ahead, you’ll want to find someone that can handle larger areas such as sales and distribution.

Once you’ve figured out exactly what you’re looking for, write out a job description. This will come in handy when you are coming up with help wanted ads and during the interview process, but it will also serve as a personal reminder of the load that will be taken off your shoulders once the right person is found.

What are the legal prerequisites?
There are several things you will need to do in order to legally be ready to hire someone.

• Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax returns.
• Obtain Workers’ Compensation Insurance.
• Register with the Department of Labor for your state.
• Invest in payroll software in order to properly withhold taxes. See the IRS Employer’s Tax Guide for further withholding information.
• Provide a safe working environment based upon the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).
• Familiarize yourself with IRS Form 940-EZ, which you will need to file each year.

What are the business prerequisites?
In addition to legally preparing for an employee, it’s a good idea to implement additional business practices prior to seeking help.

• Determine what your time-off policy will be, such as vacation time, sick days, maternity leave, etc.
• Set up employee benefits, if feasible, such as health insurance or a 401(k) plan, including a sign-up procedure.
• Determine the disciplinary and review procedures for your business.
• Create an employee handbook, which indicates your business policies, including those items previously listed. Include a signature page for the employee’s indication that he/she read the handbook.
• If you have any information you need to protect from the competition, such as the recipes for your gourmet restaurant or lists of clientele, have an attorney draw up a Non-disclosure Agreement and/or Non-compete Agreement for every future employee to sign.

Hiring an employee can be intimidating, as it will knowingly take up precious time and resources. Make sure that your reservations don’t keep you from waiting too long. Missing the right window of opportunity may force you to hire in a hurry, resulting in the wrong person for your business.

Even if your situation only seems moderately stressful, evaluate your business and whether or not even a part-time employee might make things run more smoothly. At the very least, you will be able to determine when you may need someone in the future and start planning ahead to make the transition easier.

Sources:
• Inc.com: The First Employee
• Nolo.com: Hiring Your First Employee - Ten Things You Must Do
• Microsoft.com: Five tips for Hiring Your First Employee
• AllBusiness.com: Ten Tips on Hiring Your First Employee

Tags: Employer Identification Number, Department of Labor, payroll software, OSHA, employee benefits, 401(k), business policies, Hiring an employee

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CONTINUED SUCCESS
BUILDING AN eBAY EMPIRE

Congratulations! Your eBay business is now up and running and bringing in the dough! You may even be ready to expand your part-time operation into a full-time adventure. Let’s examine some ways to upgrade your business and continue on this successful path.

Flexibility
It is important to be flexible. Be willing to change the market you’re in to match the current trends. New opportunities will come knocking, and you have to be willing to take advantage of them. Flexibility also means variety, which, as they say, is the spice of life.

Quality Customer Service
Upgrade your customer service to the next level. For example, you may want to provide a handy 800 number for potential buyers to reach you immediately for answers to their questions. Send customers an e-mail with each new phase in the conclusion of your transaction, such as thanking them when you receive their payment, notifying them when their item has been shipped, and following up with them when they receive the item to ensure satisfaction.

Providing a tracking number with every shipment earns brownie points and gives the buyer peace of mind. You may also want to consider providing discount shipping to your buyers with the purchase of more than one product from you. This strategy is a must if you are selling products such as books or movies, since the shipping cost for multiple items increases minimally. This option is very popular and one of the first incentives that buyers look for. A seller who doesn’t provide a multiple item shipping discount can really turn a buyer off.

Tips, Tools & Advice
Joining an eBay community can help you to determine what buyers are interested in as well as get advice from fellow sellers, or just meet new people through discussion boards, blogs and chat rooms. The PowerUp Newsletter provides helpful tips, ideas and eBay news.

There are also some great tools available to help you improve your eBay business. Sellathon.com provides a 30-day free trial of ViewTracker, which provides information on potential buyers, including what search terms brought them to your listing. Seller’s Assistant Pro is eBay’s desktop sales management tool. And eBay’s free program Turbo Lister allows you to recreate your listings in bulk, without having to retype each, and without loosing that professional quality.

Who You Are
Don’t forget to fill out the About Me Page. This gives you an opportunity to share with your potential customers what led you to start your eBay business and what ideals your business holds to. Providing this information to your buyers helps them to feel as though they can trust you and will keep them coming back.

eBay Store
The best way to boost your sales and expand your eBay business is to open an eBay store. On average, sellers see a 25% increase in sales within three months of opening an eBay store. Your store will cost a monthly fee, but you do receive discounts on other eBay fees and access to many other features and services that are not available with regular listings. You can create both auction-style listings and items with fixed prices, adding flexibility to your setup. Your eBay store will allow buyers to find your products in one location, on a customizable webpage designed just for your business.

eBay Store Fees
Subscription fees for an eBay Store vary depending on the size of your operation, starting at $15.95 for the basic store package to $499.95 for the anchor store package. For more information, visit the eBay Store Subscription Fees page to view side-by-side comparisons of the 3 available storefront packages. Also available is the eBay Store Fees page which contains information about Insertion, Final Value, Listing Upgrade and Picture Services fees.

Implementing these additions to your already thriving eBay business will have you well on your way to an eBay empire. Many eBay business owners see sales in the millions each year. Though some days you may have to stretch and stand on your toes to get there, success in the eBay world is well within reach.

View Part 1 - Learning the Basics
View Part 2 - Selling an Item
View Part 3 - Casual Seller to Powerseller

Sources:
• AllBusiness.com: Nine Reasons to Open an eBay Store
• Entrepreneur.com: eBay Made Easy
• Entrepreneur.com: Getting Started on eBay

Helpful Links:
• Entrepreneur.com: eBay Center
• Owen & Emma’s eBay Store Library

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CASUAL SELLER TO POWER SELLER

Now that you have a little experience under your belt, and have built up your feedback rating, it is time to transition from a casual selling hobby to an actual eBay business.

First, determine what exactly it is you want to do. Will your business be a full-time or part-time commitment? Remember, you can always start out part-time and see how it goes; you may want to expand later. Will you work from home or a commercial location? Will it be a one-person or couple operation, or will you hire employees?

The Product
Part of the transition to an eBay business is moving from selling miscellaneous items to a select category of products. The most successful eBay businesses specialize in a specific product category also known as a niche. Deal with products that most interest you, whether it is antique pottery or discount golf equipment. Your product line needs to be something that you can easily become an expert in, if you’re not already. This will give you a significant advantage over other sellers.

Once you have determined your products, research how many other eBayers are selling the same things. Competition can be fierce in the beginning, so you want to provide a product that will help your business to stand out as much as possible.

Next, determine how you want to set up your listings. You can either sell products by the auction method, by a fixed price only, or do both. If you have multiple numbers of the same item, you may want to list some as auction and some at a fixed price. This will give you an opportunity to see which way that particular item sells better.

Your Time
Selling on eBay can be time consuming, so establish a routine. Determine a block of time in your day or week that you will devote to your eBay business, if it is only part-time. If the business is a full-time operation, then map out your day by determining when you will respond to e-mail questions, when you will list new items, when you will package shipments, etc.

Also, when will you make trips to the post office for mailing? Most postal carriers, including the U.S. post office, will pick-up your shipments, if postage has already been paid and you arrange for them to do so. You can pre-pay postage through eBay or by establishing an account on the carrier’s website. If that is not currently an option, determine what day or days of the week you will drop your packages off. It is also important to indicate this in your listing details, so that the buyer is aware of how long it will be before the item is shipped.

The Details
Speaking of listing details, be sure that your listings reflect the professionalism of your business. Proofread and use the spell check option, which eBay provides, on all of your listings. Limit the type of fonts you use to two and don’t use background colors that make the words hard to read. Highlight important words like “Free Shipping” in a different color than the rest of the text, such as red, to draw the buyer’s attention to them.

Supplies
This transition period is also a good time to invest in whatever equipment you don’t already have readily available. A digital camera and postal scale are a must. It is helpful to have a digital camera with a macro setting so that you can take close-up shots of smaller items or details.

If you are working from home, you may want to consider setting aside a work area just for your eBay business. Not only will this make things simpler because everything is right at your fingertips, but also be able to use the space and organizational products you buy as home office tax deductions.

Start slow, listing only a few products each day, so that you don’t have them all ending at once and become overwhelmed. As time progresses and your routine becomes more established, it will be easier to step it up a bit. You’re your own boss, so determine a pace that works best for you and stick with it.

View Part 4 - Building an eBay Empire
View Part 2 - Selling an Item
View Part 1 - Learning the Basics

Sources:
• Entrepreneur.com: eBay Made Easy
• Entrepreneur.com: Getting Started on eBay
• AllBusiness.com: Setting Up a Home-Based eBay Business

Helpful Links:
• eBay.com: Getting Started as a Seller
• Entrepreneur.com: eBay Center
• AllBusiness.com: The eBay Business Plan

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