Where do you start?  Typically when people look to make their first hire they start by telling their network that they are looking to hire.  This is an important step, but not the place to start! 

Take an honest evaluation of your company.  This is especially important if you are hiring your first employee.  What do you really need?  I know, you want another you.  We all do, but that is pretty much the one thing that I guarantee you aren’t going to find.  Luckily, it probably isn’t really what you need either.  Go into the evaluation stage with an open mind.  Maybe you don’t need to hire anyone.  Maybe the solution is to hire a few experts as consultants.  Maybe you need an intern, or a part time employee.  The time to figure that out is before you start looking for help.  This is not something that can be done by trial and error.  Ok, it can, but it is not pretty.  Not only are you bringing a huge amount of unnecessary stress into your life, but you are changing someone else’s.  And you are potentially hurting the reputation that you have worked so hard to build. 

Not enough money?  Not enough work?  Not enough stability?  Not enough resources for them to be productive?  These are things that you need to think about before you bring someone else on board.  So that is the first step.  Get your house in order.  You won’t keep anyone, good or bad, if the company isn’t ready for them.