Nothing like farming to remind you how hard it is to do everything on your own.

At some point, you just can’t.

Over the last two years, I’ve been practicing my tractor driving skills. Come summer, I’ll be spending most Saturdays mowing something like 60 acres (I lose track). Not to mention the fences to install (or take down? Again, I lose track). Needless to say, “busy” takes on a whole new meaning when you’re running a business and living on a farm.

As my business grows, I’ve realized I can’t do everything on my own. There are executive directors to support—and soybeans I need to tend to. I don’t always have enough hours in my week to scale this business on my own.

So, in February I hired three (yes…. three!) new team members to support me in everything from design to project management. And you might be thinking… Well, that’s nice. All coaches make millions of dollars—so OF COURSE she has the funds to hire a team.

Oh no-no-no. Let me stop you right there.

I am very much in the early stages of growing Small Shop Strategies, which means—like you—I often have to make an investment before I feel ready. If you’re nervous about investing in growing your team and don’t know where to start, this is the post for you.

Here are 3 things you need to know before you start hiring a team—plus how to decide between a consultant, freelancer, or a part-time employee.

1. Who’s in your existing support system?

I know this is a post about hiring, but if you haven’t had a ton of experience delegating—or your budget really, seriously has no wiggle room—start with the amazing humans you already know.

Can a volunteer or board member support you?

Tap the shoulder of a board member who’s a designer. Or ask your volunteers to take on some of your event planning and admin tasks.

Do you have staff who want to learn more?

If you have any staff members, see if there are any growth opportunities. Is there something your staff members wish they could learn or get more experience in? That’s a perfect opportunity to help your staff members along their career journey (while closing a gap you desperately need to close).

However, remember that nonprofits are notorious for burning out employees:

30% of nonprofit workers are burned out and 20% are at risk of burnout
nonprofit employees earn $4.67 less per hour compared to for-profit (when you account for salary and benefits). That’s nearly $10,000 less a year.

Be sure to offer a small raise or added benefit if you’re adding a ton of extra work to one staff member. Let’s take care of our people. Cool? Cool.

2. What do you need to take off your plate?

Still have gaps after you ask for extra support? Here comes the fun part. Figuring out what you need.

Open a document and make a to-do list. This is a stream-of-consciousness, totally unfiltered list. And it’s an important step to help you understand where you need to prioritize your hiring efforts.

Just dump everything—the projects you wish you had more time for…the templates you want to set up—all in one place. Here are some things I’m guessing you’ll want off your plate:

Creating an email welcome series
Uploading donation information into your CRM
Designing your email templates and newsletters
Creating social media graphics
Scheduling your social media posts

Anything goes. Put it on the list. Then, from there, it’s time to prioritize.

3. What are your biggest priorities?

I know you want to hire 7 people like, yesterday. You want your operations running like a well-oiled machine, but we’re not there yet.

Before you go to your Board to propose a new role…

Before you write 3 job descriptions and hope for the best…

You need to be honest with yourself. Is a social media manager really what you need right now? Or is your biggest time suck the bookkeeping side of your organization?

Think about the biggest frustrations and pain points in your schedule. What do you dread doing?

Now, categorize your list and start to narrow things down. Bulk your bullet points into a few different sections like:

Admin
Finance/bookkeeping
Design
Website
Marketing
Email communications
Fundraising strategy
Event planning

Then, * star * the ones you want done YESTERDAY. We’re talking, the tasks you’re so done with ignoring that you never want to see them again.

Now that you have your list of items and categories, I want you to take a step back for a minute. Do you have an annual plan? Do you have a strategy in place for:

fundraising
social media
marketing
And stewardship?

Because the thing is…if you start hiring without a strategy, you’re driving without a GPS. You might think you need an in-house designer or copywriter right now, but maybe you need to hire a consultant first because you don’t have a cohesive message or a marketing strategy in place.

Without a clear strategy, it will be incredibly difficult to give your team a clear direction. You won’t be able to set them up for success. At the very least, you need an annual plan to make sure everyone is on the same page. (PS - you can always snag the Annual Plan roadmap to start).

Either way, it’s time for help.

4. Should you hire a contractor, consultant, or a part-time employee?

Good question. I’m so glad you asked. Let’s break them down.

Nonprofit consultant/coach

Usually, a nonprofit consultant focuses on a specific set of problems. They bring their expertise to provide solutions and their work is project-based.

A nonprofit coach enables you to leverage your strengths and grow as a leader. They’re experts in clarifying your direction and they provide one-on-one support to empower you to meet your goals.

Here are the tall-tale signs you need a consultant or coach. You’re:

Feeling completely lost
Flying by the seat of your pants every day

Constantly feeling like you’re not doing enough

You likely need an outsider’s perspective to get your fundraising and annual plan on track.

As helpful as it is to hear ideas from your Board members—or Google for four hours— the fastest way to find clarity is with an outsider’s perspective.

You need a nonprofit consultant or coach. A professional who has been in your shoes. Someone who will not only direct the ship but also provide a ROADMAP for how to get there.

Once you have your roadmap, you’ll know with confidence whether or not you are moving in the right direction. You’ll have a plan and a way to measure your success along the way. Hire a nonprofit consultant or coach to get your roadmap in order and eliminate your day-to-day guesswork.

Nonprofit freelancer vs. part-time employee

Who do you need in your corner? Once it’s time to implement the plan, should you hire a part-time employee or a freelancer? Something I see a lot in nonprofits is blurring the line between a contractor and a part-time employee. There’s a fine line, but it’s an important distinction to make.

A worker must be classified as a part-time employee if you:

Set the worker’s hours
Decide where the person will work
Provide the equipment or tools (ex: printer, computer) to do the work
Dictate what work will be done, and when it will be done

In other words, if you’re looking for someone to support you from 9am to 12pm every day, you’re looking for a part-time employee (not a contractor). Generally, a part-time employee is paid hourly, while a contractor could be either hourly or project-based.

For example, if you have a set amount of social media posts and email campaigns you want to do each month, it might make sense to do a project-based retainer agreement with a freelancer.

The question is, do you want a generalist or a specialist?

We love generalists in nonprofits. Wear all the hats! Get experience in so many things! Whether you go freelance or part-time, there’s value in finding someone who’s well-versed in fundraising, social media, organizing, and a little bit of everything in between.

However, it’s not always as cost effective as you think.

A specialist is often the better route for certain projects—writing your website copy or creating emails for donor stewardship, for example. (That’s not to say generalists aren’t capable! I just want to lay out all the options for you).

Speaking of options… here are roles you might consider hiring:

Virtual assistant - someone to help with the admin side of things, graphic design in Canva, scheduling emails, etc.
Social media manager - someone to handle all aspects of social. You might oversee the strategy, but I’d recommend trusting your people to get it done.
Bookkeeper - if you don’t have someone keeping you on track with your accounting and finance, a bookkeeper is an excellent start.
Program or volunteer manager - for when you’re spending too much time coordinating with volunteers and need some extra support.

Whatever you decide, don’t get stuck in the never ending cycle of doing everything on your own or thinking “it’s easier if I just do it myself.”

What’s easy to do now will NOT be easy as you bring in more donors and grow your organization. Take it from me—learn to delegate BEFORE your to-do list starts slipping through the cracks.

You don’t have to figure everything out at once

You don’t have to know how to get from A to Z. Or even A to B, honestly. Start from the absolute first step. Allow yourself to recognize that 1) you need help and 2) it’s going to take some time to get your hiring in order.

Time to hire? 4 things to know before you grow your nonprofit team