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August 24, 2020

5 Things You Need to Know Before Hiring an Independent Contractor

5 Things You Need to know Before Hiring an Independent Contractor

Hiring an independent contractor is a big step. It often means that your business is growing and that you are ready to take the next step to bigger and better things. Now that you’ve found the right person and agreed on a scope of work, it’s time to roll up your virtual sleeves and get to work, right?

Not so fast.

While the paperwork required to hire a contractor is much less than a regular employee, there are still important documents that must be completed and collected. Here’s an overview of the who, what, why, where, and how of forms needed when you hire an independent contractor. 

 

Who Qualifies as an Independent Contractor

Let’s start with the who. Any person or business you hire to do work on your behalf, but not as an employee is an independent contractor. 

Usually, independent contractors are in a different business than your own. For example, freelancers like artists, editors and writers are often independent contractors. Independent contractors can also include outside companies doing work for you on an ongoing basis. Think cleaning service, an attorney, or a tax prep person. Basically, independent contractors include anyone you are paying for services and who is not an employee.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has set guidelines for determining if someone is an employee or an independent contractor. As a rule of thumb:

  • You pay independent contractors for the result of their work. 
  • You pay employees for the ability to control how the work is done.

 

Why Independent Contractor Status Matters

When you hire an independent contractor, you aren’t required to withhold federal or state taxes or Social Security and Medicare taxes (collectively known as payroll taxes) from their pay. That’s because rather than paying them a salary or a wage, your business is paying another business for services.

Independent contractors are self-employed/owners of their own business and are responsible for reporting their income and paying the associated taxes. (You can learn more from irs.gov.)

When you hire people as employees, you are responsible for withholding the appropriate payroll taxes. This applies for part-time, full-time, and seasonal employees.

 

When to Call the Pros

Issues around employment status and taxes can be thorny.  The IRS offers some guidelines for making this determination. But, it’s wise to consult an attorney or accountant with specific questions or for advice when hiring people or businesses to do work on your behalf. While this article is a good overview of your obligations when hiring independent contractors, we aren’t attorneys and we don’t practice law here at HireMyMom.com. 

 

Start a File for Each Contractor

Before we talk about which forms to collect from your contractor and when, let’s take a step back and consider why it’s important to collect them. While you aren’t required to share information about your independent contractors with the IRS, there are still good reasons for keeping a file on each contractor. 

  • Maintaining project overviews and any feedback you share with the contractor, helps you keep good records about your projects– including how and when they were completed, who did the work, and what you paid to have the work done.
  • If you are ever audited, you can easily pull information about each contractor to share, as needed. 
  • Keeping a contractor file makes it easier for you to connect with contractors in the future. 

 

Collecting the Right Forms

Collecting the correct forms from independent contractors is often an overlooked step that offers important benefits for your business and the contractor you are hiring. Securing the correct forms at the beginning of your relationship can set you up for greater success later. It’s easier to have the information on file before the project begins when you and your contractor are in more constant communication. 

Collecting the forms early gives you peace of mind that you’ve checked all the boxes with your independent contractor.  According to The Balance Small Business, there are several forms to collect and keep on file, including: 

  • A completed W-9 tax form. This form and directions to complete it are both available online at irs.gov and should be on file before you pay the contractor. Once you collect the W-9 form, hold on to it for your files in case you need to share it with an auditor. (You don’t need to send it to the IRS.)
    • While you don’t need to withhold payroll taxes from an independent contractor, you are responsible for issuing them at 1099 Form for Non-Employee Compensation at the end of each calendar year. 
    • Independent contractors use the 1099 Form to report their business income to the IRS.  
  • A contract. When you start a new relationship with an independent contractor, establish the terms of your engagement with a written contract. The contact should:
    • Outline that the person you are hiring is an independent contractor and not an employee. It’s important that the person you are hiring understands that you will not be withholding payroll taxes because he/she is not an employee.
    • Stipulate who owns the finished work product. (This is especially important for creative services such as art work or design.)
    • Outline the scope of work to be performed.
    • Document billing rates, invoicing, payment processing and timing. Settling on this at the beginning of the project can make for a more productive relationship.
  • A resume and reference information. You know why you hired this person to do work on your behalf, but keeping a resume and reference information on file makes it easier for others to review, if needed. You may even have your contractors complete an application so you can easily access pertinent information about them in the future.

 

Additional Forms to Consider

In addition to the items outlined above, your business may dictate the need for additional forms, according to The Balance Small Business. For example:

  • A non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Sometimes called a confidentiality agreement, this gives you confidence that your independent contractor is not sharing your business plans or trade secrets with competitors or other businesses. 
  • A non-compete agreement puts restrictions on the contractor’s ability to take your customers or clients to a competitor. These documents tend to outline specific actions and timeframes where the restrictions apply.  
  • A non-solicitation agreement keeps an independent contractor from working for your competition while also doing work for you. This can be tricky because sometimes you want a contractor with expertise in your industry, which means he/she also works for other similar businesses.

Consult a lawyer if you are considering asking your contractor to sign any of these items. State laws vary considerably. Working with an attorney can help make sure that any steps you’re considering are legal and advisable based on your state, objectives, and situation.

 

We’d Love to Hear From You

Tell us how you found your independent contractor and the success you experienced.

 

 

Disclaimer. The information contained in this site is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this site without seeking legal or other professional advice.

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August 10, 2020

How to Hire the Best Candidates for Your Remote Team

There’s nothing better than landing a great new team member-especially a remote team member. It’s a sign that your business is growing and you are ready to support additional people to help you get to the next phase.

But, finding that person is often easier said than done. And the stakes are high. According to a recent article on business.com, a bad hire can cost your business up to 30 percent of that person’s first year’s pay. More, if you factor in the time and expense that went into finding, onboarding, and training that person. If the bad hire hurt team morale or caused you to lose a customer, the costs can quickly grow.

While those numbers can be scary, take heart–it is possible to find and hire the right person. But, like most things in life, it’s easier to do it when you have a well-thought out plan and understand the common pitfalls that can lead to making a poor choice. 

 

Search Your Own Heart Before You Search for Candidates

A key ingredient in successfully finding the right candidate is understanding exactly what you want this person to do. This is easier to do before you start searching for a candidate and is best accomplished by writing a job description. To get started, consider:

  • The goals for the role. A year after you’ve hired this person, how will you measure his/her success? For example, do you want to see sales increase by ten percent? Improve retention rates? Increase your social media presence? Maybe it’s important that this person fits in well with an existing team or brings new ideas to your business. Whatever the goal is, think of it in terms of an evaluative measure that can be used to assess success.
  • The skills and background needed to successfully do the job. Thinking about the objectives for the new role, consider the skills and background that will help a candidate succeed. 
    • If you have people already in this role, get their thoughts on the right background and compare them to your own ideas.
    • Look at similar roles both within and outside your business and see what skills and backgrounds others are asking for in the role. 
  • The things that matter to your team. Do you have a team of night owls who are looking for a morning person to help balance them out or take customer calls earlier in the day? Maybe you have a team of project managers who would love to have someone with sharper design skills join the group. Thinking about the dynamics of your team and organization can make it easier to know more about who you are looking for when you start your search.
  • What “remote team member” means to you. Do you want someone to work set hours or are you more of a core hours shop? If so, what are the core hours? Are you open to someone located in a different time zone? Do you prefer someone who can personally meet with you for an occasional lunch or team meeting? If you have preferences in this area, be sure to make note of them at this stage.
  • Know what you value in this position. Are you looking for integrity, efficiency, intelligence? Maybe you want  someone who is proactive, a team player, organized, attentive to detail, and  handles correction well. Whatever the traits are that matter to you, identify and document them as part of this process.

 

Write a Job Description

Now that the ideas are churning in your mind, sit down and write a formal job description. You may want to include:

  • A functional and descriptive job title.
  • An overview of the job’s responsibilities.
  • Goals for the role.
  • The skills and background required to succeed.
  • Any specific hardware or software skills.
  • Information about why the job matters to your company.
  • Pertinent details about how you expect the remote work relationship to work. 

 

Share Your Thoughts

Once you have a draft, share it with others who know about the job or will be working with this person. Discuss the job until you get to the heart of what you want. Be specific. 

Continue to revise the job description until it really fits your needs and you have agreement that it captures what you’re looking to achieve by adding this role.

 

Create a Plan to Find the Right Person

When you are looking for a remote team member, you have the important advantage of not being limited by geography. You can find and hire a team member who’s located anywhere with good internet access. 

Using a platform like HireMyMom.com is a great way to source qualified candidates who are specifically looking for remote work. You can save time and money by turning to a site dedicated to connecting driven mom professionals with small businesses. 

If the prospect of a nationwide search daunts you, consider our concierge service to help reduce the amount of leg work you need to do. HireMyMom’s Concierge service was created for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners, like you, who need to hire help but don’t have the time or desire to go through the time-consuming process. With our full service Concierge service, our HR Specialists will do it all for you start to finish and present you with the top candidate(s). 

 

Prepare to Interview Candidates

With candidates identified, it’s time to develop initial interview questions before the first interview. What are some questions that would help you spot those who do and don’t have those skills or qualities?

In the Book, “Who” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, they outline a thorough process for hiring “A” players. The process may be overkill for some smaller remote roles but the basics of the process provide a solid foundation for selecting the right candidate. 

The interview questions Smart and Street recommend are easy and conversational. They recommend an initial phone interview asking the following questions:

  1. What are your career goals?
  2. What are you really good at professionally?
  3. What are you not good at or interested in doing professionally?
  4. Who were your last five bosses and how would they rate your performance on a 1-10 scale when we talk to them?

Each of those questions should be followed up with “tell me more”, “how” and/or “what” to dig deeper to gain more insight about the candidate and their performance, work ethic and skill level. 

Once you’ve discovered who passed your first interview, Smart and Street recommend the “Who Interview” which “is designed to give you more confidence in your selection because it uncovers the patterns of somebody’s career history and is a chronological walkthrough of a person’s career.” They recommend walking through their past five jobs and asking:

  1. What were you hired to do? How was your success measured in that role?
  2. What accomplishments are you most proud of? Be listening for correlations relating to the expectations of your job. 
  3. What were some low points during that job? Or what part of the job did you not like? In what way were peers stronger than you?
  4. Who were the people you worked with? Ask specifically for the boss’ name. Ask what that person will say were their biggest strengths and areas for improvement. That lets them know you will be calling and they are more likely to give you an accurate response. 
  5. Why did you leave that job? Dig deeper into their response with more questions to more fully understand. 

 

The Reference Checks

The last step of the selection process is to check the candidates references. This will be an opportunity to see what others think of them. You may want to ask them some of the same questions from above to see how similar their responses are. 

Taking the time to get a more full and complete picture of someone’s work history, personality, strengths and weaknesses will help you determine who is the best match for your role. Knowing what you want and what your goals are will help guide you in the interview process. The rest will be determined by the answers you receive!

 

Avoid Common Pitfalls

With all the work you’ve done so far, you are likely sailing toward the right pick for your opening. Still, beware of these common pitfalls:

  • Short changing the thought process to determine exactly what you are looking for or needing from this role. 
  • Limiting the job description so that it includes only skills needed or tasks to be accomplished. It does not include the goals and outcomes for the role.
  • Conducting  interviews that are too are short and do not give you an accurate representation of the candidate. 

 

Enjoy the Process!

Hiring the right candidate with the right skills for the right job can dramatically impact your company’s productivity, outcomes and goals. Your biggest asset is usually those you place on your team. They can help you succeed or they can hold you back. Embrace the opportunity and the process to find the right fit.

 

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July 13, 2020

How to Effectively & Successfully Manage a Remote Team

Digital transformation has really changed the workplace environment. In fact, if you are deemed a “non-essential” business, chances are, you’ve now had to adapt to a work from home environment in order to stay operational.

The trouble with remote office management is that employees who might have been readily available in-house can become difficult to manage remotely.

In this article, we will cover the basics of effective remote team management plus provide our top 3 software choices to help you maximize your team’s performance, productivity, and cost-efficiency.


Are you a great remote boss?

As a remote team manager, it’s important to hold yourself accountable for the outcome of your team. Here are some questions you can ask yourself each day to help you stay on track:

Are you providing the proper reports, tools, and training to your team?
Are you making yourself available to your remote workers in case they need assistance and clarity?
Are you taking the time to review the processes?
Did you share clear expectations with your team and assign tasks accordingly?

5 Tips To Help You Manage Remote Teams Effectively

1. Check-In With Your Team At The Start of Each Day
Team check-ins are extremely important to ensure productivity. Whenever possible, it’s best to conduct team meetings at the start of the day to go over any pressing matters, any priority changes, and cover new deadlines.

2. Set Clear Objectives
Remote office environments have many benefits but at the same time, there are certain setbacks that can arise from miscommunication. A huge part of the miscommunication can stem from not setting clear objectives. Because you can’t have in-person contact, it is important to ensure your objectives are clear, concise, and achievable within the members of your remote team. You can start by making a list of tasks that need to be complete and the timelines in which to complete them and then break down these tasks into smaller steps. Once the steps have been determined you can assign them to one worker or a team.

3. Monitor and Track Progress
Once you have your objectives in place, you will need to track your progress and monitor your team (without micromanaging them) in order to ensure deadlines are met and the quality of work isn’t compromised. The use of a Project Management Software can be highly effective when assigning tasks to your remote team and we will cover our top 3 picks later on in this article.

4. Communicate Effectively
They say strong communication methods are the driving force behind highly effective teams but in a remote environment, this can sometimes be hard to achieve especially if you are dealing with a large number of people. 

Fortunately, there are a variety of communication platforms that allow you to see and hear each other, share screens, and provide comments and feedback on projects as they progress. Some of the most common platforms include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts.

5. Provide the Right Tools
Because you’re working with a remote team, it will be extremely important to make sure they have all of the right tools in order to perform their roles optimally. Some of the basic equipment includes; a quality laptop, cell phone, printer/scanner/fax, and software such as Microsoft Office.

 

Our Top Picks For Project Management Software

When it comes to Project Management, having the right software can really impact your ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and meet tight deadlines. Here are our Top 3 Choices and why:


Monday.com 
– Monday.com offers customization and full control.
– It offers several channels of communication, allows for collaboration and selective visibility.
– It allows you to allocate tasks, keep track of time, and visually lay things out within its dashboard feature.
– Monday.com can integrate with a variety of software from your email platform to your e-commerce store and accounting software.

AirTable 
– Database dynamics that easily integrate with platforms like Excel
– Drag and Drop tools for simple and easy form build and use
– Customizable views and dashboards

Basecamp 
– It allows for both business and personal projects to be managed
– It offers both desktop and mobile access 
– It offers one of the most comprehensive to-do list features
– It provides easy file transfers

 

Staff Reward Programs

Staff rewards can keep your team motivated and celebrated which can boost productivity and in the long run, your revenue.

Here are just a few of the ways you can reward your remote workers:

Verbal Recognition
Often just a simple acknowledgment towards your employees, when they go above and beyond, is all it takes to make your worker feel appreciated. You can give them shoutouts in an email, group chat, monthly newsletter, or have a customer of the month recognition through social media.

Digital Rewards
Digital Rewards are an easy way to appreciate your staff. You can set up a point system and assign points for certain milestones and goals that your team reaches both together and individually. They can then turn in their points for a digital gift card of their choice. 

Treat them to Lunch
Even though you can’t physically take them out to lunch, you can still treat them to it through the use of a service company such as Skip the Dishes and Uber-Eats which offer a variety of lunch options and provide delivery to almost any location.

Provide Extra Vacay Days
Any remote worker would appreciate having an extra day off to be with his or her family, friends, or just take a day for themselves to relax and unwind. 

By adding an extra vacation day into your reward system you’ll find workers putting in more time and energy so they can achieve that extra day off.

 

Are you looking to expand your company? At HireMyMom we have a selection of rock star candidates who can really help grow your business. Visit our Employer section here for more details.

 

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June 9, 2020

5 Tips for Hiring a Remote Team Member

Entrepreneurs often find themselves wearing too many hats. And at some point, it becomes obvious that hiring a contractor or team member make sense for growth, sustainability and sanity.  

Remote work has revolutionized the way small to medium businesses conduct themselves. It’s become an attractive and affordable option for many reasons and  COVID-19 just helped raise awareness of how feasible and advantageous it is. Once you’ve decided to hire your first or next remote team member, you’ll need some guidance on the process.

 

Here are 5 tips to get you started with your new hire:

 

Crafting Your Job Description

The first step is to get the job title right. You want to make sure you attract relevant candidates to your posting — and your job title is your headline. Think about what roles and responsibilities you’d like your new hire to take on and match the job description to them.

Your job description should define the overall goals of the role. 

What is the main goal of this role? This should not be just the most important tasks of the job, but also the outcomes you desire for this role.  For instance, is your goal an increase in sales? Is it building followers on social media and attracting new clients? Or are you looking for the highest levels of customer service? Knowing your goals will help drive your job description and the qualities and skills you are seeking in a candidate.

If you are seeking an assistant to take over some of your day-to-day duties, it’s sometimes helpful to keep track of your typical day. Pay attention to the tasks you like doing and the ones you don’t and write them down. Do the same for tasks you struggle with. It’s a lot easier to put those into your job description so you can attract the right candidate who is qualified and experienced with the areas of your business you need the most help with.

 

Where to Find Your New Hire

There are many places you can post your job to:

  • Social media like Facebook and LinkedIn
  • General job sites like Indeed or Monster
  • Niche or boutique job sites like WeHireHeroes.com (Vets) and HireMyMom.com 


With the social media and general job sites, you are likely  to get upwards of a thousand or more applicants in a 24 hour period. That’s one reason many have switched to the more niche sites where they can attract high quality candidates without spending days sifting through resumes. Boutique sites filter out the best of the best leaving you with quality candidates who are serious about working for you to choose from. We cover other advantages in this blog.

(Note: At HireMyMom our professionals are independent and not employed by HireMyMom. We do not charge any commissions to the job seeker or employer.)

Screening Your Candidates

Once you’ve received applicants for your job posting, it’s time to start reviewing who you want to interview.  Here are some keys to moving through this step:

Cover Letter – ask for specifics in the cover letter title to filter out those who are not paying attention to detail.
(Traits: attention to detail, invested time, not cut and pasted).

Portfolios – you can ask for samples of their work to evaluate the quality and efficiency (depending on the job).
(Traits: Depending on the portfolio you can ask for web design examples, market research samples, or ask them to submit a short video answering a couple of questions).

Resume – make sure the resume you’re presented with is professional and speaks to the traits and skills you are seeking.
(Traits: Attention to detail, articulation, grammar and spelling, time invested).

Skill Tests – there are some really great online skill tests available that you can ask your candidates to complete to help you determine their personality traits and competencies. One to consider is 123Test.com. 

Conducting Interviews


When it comes to the interview process, a couple of the most common platforms for video interviews are Zoom and Skype.

It’s important to ask the right questions during the interview process. We’ve put together a really great interview cheat sheet featuring our Top 10 Interview Questions To Ask that you can download here.

The last step in the interview process is to screen for references. You can ask your candidates for 3 references but there are other ways you can screen them too. 

If they have a LinkedIn profile you can preview it to see if they have any referrals or endorsements. You can also preview any shared social media profiles so get a better understanding of their work (if applicable) and personality traits.

 

Creating Your Job Offer

Once you’re ready to take that big step you can prepare your job offer.

Job offers will vary depending on whether you are bringing your candidate onto your payroll or hiring them as an Independent Contractor.

The common job offers will include the following:

The job classification – part-time, full time, contract-based, etc.

  • Hourly or salary rate.
  • How and when candidate will be paid.
  • Expected work hours if certain hours are required.
  • For employees: benefits, vacation allowance, and any other job perks disclosed in the job description.
  • Conditions of employment – include contract term (if applicable) and probationary period.
  • Start date and training / onboarding period.

If you’re in need of some guidance for independent contractors, check out our article 7 Essentials to an Independent Contractor Agreement.)

At HireMyMom, we feel blessed to have helped thousands of employers find talented remote team members for their businesses for over 13 years now.

We hope you have found this article useful. If you’d like more information about HireMyMom and the services we provide to employers you can visit our employer page here.

 

 

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June 1, 2020

Top Jobs and Tools for Today’s Virtual Assistant

The year is 2020 and times have sure changed compared to where we were last year. A huge part of the COVID-19 prevention has resulted in the closure of many small to medium sized businesses. For the companies that can continue to operate, they have been able to convert to remotely running their businesses to meet the changing protocols within their cities and states.

The demand for a quality virtual assistant is becoming more of a necessity now, which means great news for VA’s around the world.

In fact, as the world revolutionizes to functioning almost 100% remotely, businesses are recognizing the true value and positive impact a virtual assistant can make on their company’s growth, success and retention rate.

Today, we’re going to cover the top highly sought after virtual assistant jobs as well as the most utilized software pertaining to these roles so that you can take advantage of the many workplace opportunities that are arising.

 

Administrative Assistant

The need for administrative assistance has become increasingly popular especially now when a lot of businesses have been pivoting to accommodate the changes from COVID-19.

Common tasks for administrative assistance include; email and calendar management, scheduling meetings, booking appointments, answering and returning phone calls, initial research and more. If you are interesting in attaining training as a VA, look at some of the training options available here.  

Commons Tools and Apps

Email & Communication

You’ll want to become well versed in the most common communication platforms such as

Email Marketing

You could also be expected to send out emails through software like;

Booking Calendars

It’s also important to learn the most popular Calendar applications such as;

 

Content and Website Maintenance

A virtual assistant can become a huge support for an online business’s website.

Whether you are helping with writing or editing of blog posts or maintaining the overall content of the company site, more and more businesses are leaning on their virtual assistant to help with this time consuming and sometimes highly repetitive task.

Suggested Software Experience:

Website Platforms:

Content Management Software

 

Customer Relations Management


With so many businesses now operating online and e-commerce on a steady incline, the key to customer retention is to stay on top of the customer service department..

Building a really great customer service protocol helps ensure that customers are happy, coming back, and referring others.

If your job as a virtual assistant includes handling aspects of the customer relations department, you’ll probably be responsible for handling customer inquiries and any concerns/issues. Providing solutions quickly and effectively helps deflect any unhappy customers and converts them to happy ones. This leads to positive word of mouth advertising and customer loyalty.

Below is a list of the most common CRM platforms:

 

Project Management

The debate is on for companies right now … do they need a virtual assistant or a virtual project manager? The answer in most cases is both!

Virtual assistants have started to take on many hats in their roles. We’ve already highlighted the three most common roles in points 1-3. 

There’s a difference between a VA’s role to take tasks away from companies and alleviate workloads compared to managing other departments and teams to ensure projects get done. 


Companies are recognizing a synergy between the two so we are seeing an increase in the level of responsibility a virtual assistant can take on. 

If you do find yourself taking on the role of project management, you’ll probably be responsible for tasks like; streamlining projects and timelines into project management software, creating a balance between short and long term goals within the company and ensuring they are met, research and analytics, all while helping each department stay on time, task, and budget.

Most common Project Management Software include:

 

Bookkeeping 

As a virtual assistant, bookkeeping tasks could fall on your plate from time to time or all of the time.

It’s an important skill set to have because let’s face it, everyone needs to be vigilante with their books (including you!!!).

If you’re a VA who will be taking on some accounting tasks, you’ll probably find yourself doing; accounts payable, accounts receivable, data entry, and inventory to name a few. If you are interesting in getting some training as a bookkeeper, look at the training options available here.  

Commonly used accounting software:

Social Media Assistance

In order for any business to succeed, there will be some level of social media marketing involved.

Whether the company you work for uses Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or LinkedIn, as a VA you could be fitted with the task of handling some of the social media management.

There is an overlap especially where your role requires managing areas of customer service. Some tasks you might find yourself doing include; posting content, fielding comments on social media posts, tracking engagement, answering questions in social media messenger apps, and more.

Commonly used Social Media Management Software:


Chances are you’ve worked in some of the software programs we have mentioned. The more experience you have in these platforms, the better. If you are lacking training, be sure to check out the Training & Resources section of HireMyMom for some FREE and some paid training options. 

Some benefits that you can draw attention to during your interview include; less transitioning and training, faster onboarding, and an overall cost efficiency for your future employer. They also make a great asset to your resume.

At HireMyMom, we have experienced a fluctuation in employers seeking out virtual assistants. The opportunities range from part time to full time which is perfect depending on your availability. Are you a VA currently seeking employment? Start here.

(We also have plenty of resources to help you spruce up your resume, cover letter and more. Check out our tips here.)

 

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May 4, 2020

Is Remote Work the Way of the Future?

The year 2020 has turned out to be far different than anyone could have ever expected. Outside of essential services, the survival of many businesses now rely on their ability to run remotely. Remote work is now one of the best and only ways a business can survive through these trying times. 

But even before COVID-19, remote working was starting to flourish and become a worldwide phenomenon.

Let’s dive into how remote work has transformed from optional to essential. 

Growing Populations = Increased Commuting Time and Costs

With the populations of our major cities increasing at a rapid rate and the methods of transportation to and from work becoming increasingly strained, many businesses started looking at ways to diminish travel time, expenses and stress that derives from commuting to and from work each day. This is one of the reasons remote work options started to come into play.

The Benefits of having a Remote Workplace for Businesses

Many employers have been choosing to have remote workplace environments for many reasons including:

  • lower operating costs,
  • the advancement of tools and technology,
  • improved productivity and quality of work and;
  • access to a broader spectrum of qualified workers.

 

Leadership and Communication in the Remote Workplace

As stated above, there are many benefits for companies who choose to create remote work environments for their employees. The key to having success in these remote working situations relies heavily on two things; Communication and Leadership.

Remote work success starts at the top of a company’s organizational chart – the Leadership. It’s up to the leaders to set the bar for policies, and procedures in remote work. 

There should be a clear and well laid out structure of supervision to motivate work from home employees and aspire them to hit their productivity goals and provide them with flexibility at the same time so they can create the perfect work-life balance. 

Strong communication is key to the success of any company but due to the lack of physical accessibility in a remote work environment, having clear communication protocol is essential. 

Two considerations when laying out your policies and procedures for communication include; access to important information and the right tools and software to communicate with.

Remote Work as an Emerging and Essential Trend

Ten years ago, remote work was almost unheard of. This is because over the past decade there has been some key technological advances made and an influx of software options available for remote workers that has made running a remote work environment much easier and affordable to implement. 

In some cases, it would cost a company more to NOT work remotely and have to source out office space, equipment and other in house essentials.

One of the biggest challenges for employers on the fence between remote work and in office work environments is not having the ability to monitor and implement strategies for sustaining productivity amongst their employees.

Some case studies however, have emerged reporting favorable findings that remote workers are more productive than in-office workers. Take CoSo Cloud for example; their survey reported a 77% increase in productivity within their remote workers.

 

COVID-19 and Remote Work

Many years ago, remote work was not an option because of the lack of the right equipment and technology to do so. 

Fortunately, we are in a position to transition to remote work almost immediately which helps sustain a business when faced with a crisis like COVID-19.

Not only has this type of work become essential for our economy, but it’s also important to the health and safety of helping businesses survive.

Remote work can help businesses operate while governments have been closing non-essential service storefronts and emphasizing the practice of social distancing and self isolation. 

 

What the Future Holds for Remote Work …

There is an endless amount of software offerings that support almost every aspect of business from logistics to accounting to marketing to sales and customer service. 

Of course some exceptions to remote work abilities include businesses that rely on human to human physical contact such as health and wellness companies and manufacturing facilities.

For those companies in a position where remote work is a possibility, NOW is the time to do so. 

The key takeaway to this article is that time is of an essence and there is no time for debate. The future IS in remote work environments in order to sustain non-essential businesses that would be forced to shut down if not providing remote work environments. 


The Benefits to Doing so far Exceed the Setbacks. 

If your business is ready to take the next step to hiring remote workers, HireMyMom has become a go-to source for finding skilled, trained, and highly qualified employees to help businesses grow and sustain. Here are 7 Reasons Why Moms Make The Best Remote Workers For Small Businesses.

Review what companies are saying here or if you’re ready to start your search, you can get started here. 

 

 

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February 5, 2020

7 Essentials To An Independent Contractor Agreement

As a business owner, you often take on the roles of many people. You can find yourself working long hours and doing all of the work by yourself to keep your company afloat. When it gets so much that you can no longer keep up, it’s time to hire!

You’ll want to determine if the job you are hiring for is a contractor role or an employee role. You can learn the definitions on those here and get some additional advice here. 

If you are hiring freelancers or contractors an independent contractor’s agreement will help you outline the details of the work to be performed, terms of the agreement, compensation, and any additional important details. 

In today’s article, we will discuss the importance of a contractors’ agreement and some key components you may want to include when creating one*.

Statement of Relationship

This is the opening of the contract that discloses the parties the agreement is between. The Company name is indicated and from that point on, referred to as “The Company”. The Contractor’s name and his/her company (if applicable) is also indicated and referred to as “The Contractor” from that point on.

This piece of the agreement is extremely important to get right especially when it comes to the contractor being able to prove his or her work status. It protects against employee misclassification.

The contractor-client (Company) relationship is a business relationship, not an employer-employee one.

Scope of Work

This part of the contract highlights the work the Contractor will be doing for your Company. If there was an SOW (Statement of Work) drawn up (which is recommended), it would be included here.

Note: A Statement of Work (SOW) is a document within the contract that describes the scope of work and/or project being performed as well as performance expectations.

Payment and Billing Terms

This is an important part of the contract. Rates agreed upon should clearly be disclosed here along with the terms of billing and form of payment.

The rate of pay should have been discussed and agreed to ahead of time along with any commission rates (if applicable). For payment, it should be discussed with the Contractor how you would like to be invoiced and the payment dates.

Party Responsibilities

This part of the agreement applies especially if there are multiple departments involved within your Company that your Contractor will be performing work for or collaborating with. This is a good opportunity to present the review and approval process, set the standards of communication and to also have your Contractor provide proof of insurance.

Deadlines and Timelines

The Contract term (length) should go in this section of the agreement. If you don’t have one, it’s good to at least set a contract review/renewal date.

If this contract is for a project, the timeline or approximate timeline should be specified. If the project is large enough, milestones can be outlined as well. Clear goals and targets should be outlined. The more details you can include the better. This will ensure clear expectations and communication between yourself and your Contractor.

Termination

Not all agreements work out. Sometimes they have to come to a close. All contracts need to have a termination clause.

The termination clause offers the right for both parties to cancel. Reasons to end the contract should be clearly stated. Some considerations include nonpayment, breach of contract, and business disruption.

When considering the termination timeline most contracts can end with 30 days written notice from either side.

Non-Disclosure/No Compete Clause

Unless your contractor is designated to only working with you at the time of the agreement, having them sign a Non-Disclosure or No Compete clause might be difficult.

If they have more than one client, chances are, at some point, they might be working with your competitors.

You can, however, cater to the non-disclosure specifically in reference to the information you share with them about your company. 

Other Considerations

It’s always advisable to have a legal advisor review your contract before it officially falls into the hands of a Contractor. Once reviewed, it may be able to act as a template for future contract work as well.

 

For more information, see:

 

*HireMyMom.com (HBWM.com Inc.) does not provide tax or legal advice. The material contained herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Readers should consult with their own tax advisor or attorney with regard to their personal and business tax situation.

We have some amazing Contractors right here on HireMyMom. You can see what other business owners are saying about our services here.

Ready to start find a great candidate now? Click here to get started.

 

 

 

 

 

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January 6, 2020

5 Ways Online Groups Can Help You Succeed Working From Home

Working from home offers many benefits but, at times there can be some small drawbacks as well.

Unlike an office environment, remote work at home often involves minimal daily interaction with others. There’s also a lack of support, and it’s up to you to create a good workflow, be disciplined enough to follow through with it and to be able to tap into the right resources when you’re presented with a challenge.

This is where having a solid “tribe” or community comes into play.

Your community can be your most precious commodity. Having a place to turn to (especially one with like-minded people) can be the difference between liking work at home and loving it!

So, where can you find a work from home “tribe” to call your own?

For some, it could be in the form of a local networking group. Networking groups often meet in person on a weekly basis and may require a membership fee in order to join. They actively support each other’s businesses by getting to know the products and services each member offers and by providing referrals to each other’s companies. 

Because remote workers can perform their job anywhere and are considered more self-employed, restricting yourself to just local business interaction might not be the best choice.

This is where Facebook and other online communities can come in handy. Online support groups are often free to join and can be accessed virtually 24/7.

 

Here are 5 benefits to joining a Community Group that supports remote work from home individuals:

 

1. Job Leads

Depending on the group you decide to join, others may post their job leads or requests within the community. This allows you to have access to leads that may not be posted elsewhere on the internet. 

You can also share job leads and others can share the ones they have found with you. This creates a place to find quality job postings without turning to mega job sites that expect more for less (we share more about that in our article “Why Moms Looking To Work at Home Should Avoid Free Job Sites“).

 

2. Tips & Pointers

Your community group can be a great place to learn and grow. Are you looking for the best ways to keep your home office organized? How about being able to manage your routine tasks more efficiently?

When you have access to a group of other workers who, just like you, face and overcome the same obstacles, they are more than eager to share their experiences, life lessons, and wisdom.

What better way to learn how to grow and sustain your remote business than through the minds of others who can offer their insight and expertise.

 

3. Valuable Resources

When it comes to living and working in a digital world, there are many benefits however, the drawback can be all of that “digital noise” we get flooded with on a day to day basis. When you’re subjected to hundreds of posts, photos and ads daily, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and confused. 

You can also lose precious time having to sort and navigate through the “junk” to get to the information you want and not get distracted.

If you choose to be a part of a community support group, you’ll find many helpful articles, information on upcoming events that might benefit you and more.

 

4. Inspiration

Let’s face it, we all need some inspiration from time to time. When we are inspired, we feel motivated, creative, and action-oriented.

When we are motivated we tend to do a better job and have a more positive mindset when it comes to getting the job done.

Your community support group is like your own personal cheerleading squad that can help you push through the day with a better outcome compared to doing it all alone.

 

5. Friendships

Remote work can feel very isolating so it’s important to build friendships and stay connected. 

Some of the best friendships start with common ground. Interacting with other remote workers (and Moms) just like you can make you feel like you’re not alone in this journey of self-employment.

Because an online group is primarily virtual, you can access your friendships more frequently as it fits into your schedule. You can break up your workday over a coffee and Skype chat with a fellow stay at home Mom worker as an example.

There you have it, 5 benefits you can experience firsthand from joining an online community group. 

Our Hire My Mom Facebook Support Group is full of amazing women (like you) who are passionate about their careers, their families and their HireMyMom tribe. Interested in joining? You can find a link to our group here. We would love to see you join us!

 

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December 16, 2019

10 Qualities To Look For When Hiring a Remote Contractor or Team Member

The world has gone digital and as an Entrepreneur, you now have the ability to put your products and services in front of the right people across many digital channels.

This means, that your business could grow substantially overnight. If you’re not prepared for that growth, you’ll find yourself completely overwhelmed with the many day to day tasks required to operate and maintain your company.

Que the rise of remote contractors.

What is a remote contractor?

Just as the name describes, this person works from their own office space (often out of their home) and uses their own equipment and software.

 

Why consider hiring a remote contractor?

  • They can start immediately
  • Require very little training
  • Have little to no onboarding costs
  • Are more productive and
  • Can save you time

When deciding on “how” you want to expand your business, you should focus on filling the voids of your company. 

What does that mean?

Well, if you carefully assess all the tasks you’re doing right now and break them down by priority, the ability to do them yourself, and whether you like doing them – you’ll soon have a vision for your new hire.

Whether you’re hiring a bookkeeper, marketer, content writer, or assistant, here are some common traits you should consider when hiring a remote worker.

 

10 Qualities To Look For When Hiring Remote Team Members

 

1.  Strong Communication Skills

Communication is key to any successful working relationship. It’s especially important for a remote employee-employer relationship because most of your conversations will be taking place through text, phone, email, and/or video chat. You should also keep in mind, the time zone your remote worker lives in, their first language, and their response time when you communicate with them.

Because a remote employee can’t just walk into your office to ask for help whenever a situation arises and vice versa, you have to be able to effectively communicate. Without this core competency, it’s impossible to succeed with a remote employee. 

 

2. Independent and Self Motivated

The last thing you want to be doing is micromanaging your remote worker. He or she should be independent, self-motivated, and be able to complete most tasks assigned with very little direction (unless the task requires it).

Successful remote workers must be able to motivate themselves to stay focused with little distraction seeing each task from start to completion.

Because you can’t be there in person to ensure your remote worker is staying on task, independence and self-motivation are must-have qualities when finding the best fit for your organization.

 

3. Flexibility and Availability

A huge benefit for a remote employee is the flexibility of the job. For remote employees who are parents, this means they can drop off and pick up the kids from school, attend soccer games, school plays and more.

Just as flexibility is a benefit to the remote worker, the remote worker should be flexible with you, the employer.

Your remote worker should be flexible with your schedule and also available when you need them. If they are not a designated remote worker, they should be able to attend necessary meetings and communicate with you in a reasonable time frame with proper notice.

If you run a business that has a lot of tight deadlines, consider a designated, full-time remote worker over a freelance part-time one.

 

4. Ability to Organize and Prioritize

Strong organizational skills are extremely important for a successful working relationship with a remote employee.

They should be able to take a list of tasks given, organize, and prioritize them with minimal direction and be able to carry out this task on a continuous basis.

If your business uses a Project Management software, your remote employee should be able to navigate through it with ease. If they have experience using the software, it’s even better as there’s less of a learning curve if at all.

 

5. Tech Savvy

Because the world has gone digital, your remote employee should be tech-savvy, especially since their work is done on a virtual level.

Your remote worker should be fluent in common software applications such as Microsoft Office and Google Docs.

Because your remote employee will be performing many of the day-to-day tasks on a shared software they should have a good understanding of how to use it. If training is needed, they should be able to learn the software from you personally, YouTube or other online training.

 

6. Excellent Time Management Skills

Effective time management is fundamental to the success of any business. When you hire someone with excellent time management skills, they will be able to complete more tasks for you in less time which translates to saving you money.

Remote workers with great time management skills will create and maintain daily to-do tasks, they have designated workspaces so they can perform their work with minimal distraction and will find ways to optimize their time on the tasks they are given – including learning new software applications.

 

7. Honest and Reliable

Remote work requires a level of trust between yourself and your remote employee. You will likely be giving them access to your software, email inbox, website, and more.

It’s important to properly interview and screen your candidate before you hire him/her and depending on the nature of your business, a background check might be needed as well.

An honest and reliable remote worker will tell you when they don’t understand something, they will be honest if they make a mistake so it can be corrected quickly with minimal negative impact to the company.

They operate themselves with the highest level of integrity which is reflected in the work they do for you.

 

8. Remote Experience

It’s important to select a remote worker with experience. They should have a designated workspace, their own reliable technology to work on, the key software programs such as Microsoft Office as well as anti-virus protection to keep their computer (and your sensitive information) safe.

Remote workers with experience are also ideal because there is less transition and training required when it comes to onboarding them.

 

9. Administrative Experience

One of the most in-demand types of remote workers for small businesses are Virtual Assistants (also known as VA’s).

You can incorporate virtual assistant duties into almost any role. Often there is an overlap in VA tasks whether you’re hiring someone to help manage your social media, conduct bookkeeping or maintain your website.

Some common VA tasks include: 

  • answering emails,
  • entering invoices,
  • managing calendars / setting appointments,
  • research,
  • updating blogs,
  • customer service,
  • travel arrangements,
  • answering phone calls.

 

10. Positive Attitude

Sometimes it’s not the talent but the attitude of a worker that helps you determine whether or not they would be a good fit.

A remote employee who has a positive outlook will provide you with higher work quality than one who is negative.

They will take any constructive feedback you provide in a positive light and not become defensive or offended. This, in turn, leads to a continuous improvement of work quality and flow.

 

As the small business community continues to grow, the demand for remote workers does too! At HireMyMom, we have a large selection of remote workers to choose from. The benefits of our workers are that they are often in similar time zones, speak fluent English, and are typically work-ready within 24-48 hours of you hiring them.

We hope you’ve found this article helpful. We have another great article that you might like called “ 7 Reasons Why Moms Make The Best Remote Workers For Small Businesses”. 

If you’re ready to get started with a remote employee, you can post your job here. If you need to hire but are overwhelmed at the task, consider using our VIP Small Business Concierge program and allow one of our HR Specialists do all the work for you! 

 

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November 25, 2019

5 Questions Every Small Business Entrepreneur Should Ask Before Hiring A Virtual Assistant

As an entrepreneur, you may have reached that point in your small business where you are thinking you need some help. There just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to check and respond to emails, field phone calls, create social media posts, create email blasts, manage your calendar, research topics, manage day to day operations, and on and on.

There are many advantages to having someone who can assist with tasks that feel overwhelming so you can focus on the more important, revenue generating activities of your business. And working with a virtual professional can help you focus on GROWING your business and help you leverage your time better.

Before you jump in feet first and start the scouting process to find a Virtual Assistant (VA), there are some things to carefully consider.

Here are 5 questions you should ask and answer before hiring a Virtual Assistant or a Virtual Professional.

1. Do You Know What You Need?

Take some time to decide what tasks would be most beneficial to have someone else do. Make a list of the job duties you don’t like or don’t have time for as well as any tools or programs needed to complete the tasks.  As you create your job post, this list will help you refine the duties to help you find the right person for the job.

Are the tasks suitable for one type of assistant or should you hire more than one person? It may be that you need a part-time administrative assistant as well as a part-time social media manager, bookkeeper, blogger or customer service specialist depending on the tasks and duties you need to have done. Many businesses start out small and hire someone for 5-10 hours per week until their business grows and they need more help in various areas.

 

2. Are You Looking for a Certain Personality?

You will be working closely with a virtual assistant, so it’s important to find someone who gets you. Are you a Type A driven personality who works better with similar personality types? Are you more laid back and work better with someone who is too? Do you procrastinate too often and could use a no-nonsense person to help keep you on track? Do you run a faith-based business and want someone who shares your Christian values?

Knowing your personality type and what type of person you are looking for in a virtual assistant who will complement that is essential.  If this is important to you, you may consider having the applicants submit their scores to a personality assessment test.

 

3. How Will You Work With Your Virtual Assistant?

You will have the most success working with a VA when roles and communication are laid out clearly. There are a lot of project management resources out there like Slack, Asana and Trello to help with task tracking, communication, and project management. Or you may choose to keep it simple with daily or weekly check-ins by email or Zoom calls, sharing via Google Suite or DropBox folders. Decide up front how you will work best to ensure efficiency for you both in work and communication. But remember that communication is key and that no one will be able to read your mind or do a good job if they are not taught, show and directed early on especially.

 

4. What Skills Do You Need in a Virtual Assistant?

Having a list of tasks to delegate is a solid foundation when you are ready to hire a virtual assistant. Keep in mind, though, that hopefully this will be an individual who can grow with you and your business to form a great long-term working relationship. Think about what kind of skills you want a virtual assistant to have and what would bring you the most value as your business grows over the next two or three years.  If you are unsure, try searching the internet for Virtual Assistant (or whatever role you need) job duties to get an idea of what others are hiring these assistants to do and what skills may be needed.

 

5. Will They be Dealing with any Private or Sensitive Information?

If you need someone to help with parts of your business that include sensitive or private information to you or to your clients, you should consider not only checking references but also doing a background check or requesting a Trust Badge from a service such as SafetyPin Technologies. In today’s remote economy, it is important to do the extra work up front to reduce the chances of someone having access to sensitive information or business assets that turns out to be less than trustworthy. It is wise to get to know the person before allowing them full access to your business. Start small and allow them to prove themselves. The extra work up front may save valuable time and headaches in the future.

  

And when you are ready to hire, HireMyMom can help you find a great Virtual Assistant or Professional.  We believe Moms make great virtual employees or contractors.

FACT: Over 5.4 million mothers put their careers on hold to stay home with children*. That adds up to a lot of talented women with experience, education, skills and the motivation to find flexible work that can be done from their home office. (*Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

What are the benefits of hiring remote employees or contractors from HireMyMom?

  • Save time.
  • Save money.
  • Save on office space and office equipment.
  • Save Your SANITY!
  • We do NOT take any commissions from You or our Job Seekers!
  • You will have more time to focus on your clients and improve your business.
  • Your project or job is posted to our entire pool of talented work from home candidates saving you valuable time.
  • You save money by not paying high salaries and benefits for traditional employees.
  • You interview, evaluate and decide which candidate is best suited for your business (or you may choose our Small Business Concierge program and allow us to do it all for you).
  • We provide the candidates. You provide the work. We get out of the way.
  • We’ve been around since 2007, and as moms and entrepreneurs ourselves, we are committed to helping small businesses, entrepreneurs and moms find mutual success!

FIND A TALENTED VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

 

What Types of Professionals Can You Hire?

Here are some of the more common job types posted with us:

  • virtual assistants / administrative assistants,
  • blogger / writers / editors,
  • social media marketers,
  • marketing / public relations / advertising,
  • legal & real estate assistants,
  • researchers,
  • graphic designers,
  • accounting / bookkeeping,
  • web designers,
  • customer service reps,
  • sales,
  • e-commerce specialists,
  • human resources, and more!

FIND YOUR NEXT VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL NOW!

If you need help with hiring, try our Small Business VIP Concierge service and we can do all the hard work for you!

 

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