What is your top advice for small business owners looking to hire remote talent?

Be patient, be respectful and ask a lot of questions. Remember that each step of the interview is part of the hiring process. How swiftly do they respond to your emails? How’s their spelling and grammar in those emails? Potential hires should be on their best behavior to get you to hire them and, if they disappoint you during the hiring process, it will only go downhill if you hire them.

What is your top tip for working with a virtual team?

Be respectful and remember to say “please,” “thank you,” and “I’m sorry,” when the latter is necessary. You set the tone. Also, you need to strike that delicate balance between keeping in touch but not micro-managing. In the beginning, there’s always a learning curve. Once your new hire shows they have a good grasp of what you want them to accomplish, trust them.

Why did you decide to use HireMyMom.com for your hiring needs?

Another business owner raved about HIreMyMom so I knew I had to try it out – and I did so, successfully.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your business career?

Be patient with others – and yourself. Mistakes will happen. Correct things and keep moving forward.

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

Chronic depression runs in my family and I consider learning to manage mine as a huge success. One doesn’t conquer chronic depression. I had to dig down deep and figure out how to handle my own responses to events, and how to make sense of them. My life is full of contentment now, and the fulfillment I feel now is hard-won and transformative.