You’re exhausted. The business needs more than one pair of hands, and the idea of paying someone feels just as stressful as continuing alone. That’s a difficult place to make a hiring decision. You need some numbers and a specific job for the person you bring in. Start by separating “I need relief” from “Here’s the work someone else can take over.” Both matter, but they answer different questions.
Name the work before the role
Track your tasks for a week. Mark what requires your expertise and what a trained person could do using a clear process. Maybe you need six hours of order preparation, not a full-time manager. Maybe bookkeeping help would prevent the weekend of admin you dread every month. Write the tasks, expected hours, quality standard, and supervision needed. A vague job creates expensive guessing for everyone.
Estimate the full cost
The hourly wage is only the starting point. Include applicable employer costs, insurance, payroll administration, equipment, software, and paid training time. Get a local payroll estimate rather than borrowing someone else’s percentage. For illustration, suppose ten hours a week at $20 an hour costs $200 in wages. If estimated additional weekly costs are $60, the total is $260 a week, or about $1,127 a month using 52 weeks divided by 12. Those added costs are hypothetical. Your actual obligations depend on your situation. The work arrangement must also be classified correctly; calling someone a contractor doesn’t decide their legal status.
Ask what paying for help makes possible
If your contribution margin on additional sales is 50% after their variable costs, a $260 weekly support cost requires about $520 in additional weekly sales to cover itself. That assumes the support cost isn’t already included in those variable costs. Sales above that point may contribute profit; sales below it leave a gap. Check that you have demand and capacity to deliver the extra work. If the hire frees six hours, write exactly how you’ll use them. Following up on qualified inquiries is more measurable than “grow the business.” Relief can be valuable even when it doesn’t immediately create sales. Budget for it honestly rather than assigning imaginary revenue to every saved hour.
Check cash and training capacity
Can you pay during a slower month? Do you have time to train the person? Is there a written process to follow? Consider a small, properly structured role when the work supports it. Set a review date and measure completed work, owner time actually freed, errors, cash cost, and any additional contribution earned.
Need help evaluating the decision? Bring the role, estimated cost, and your current workload to The Community Table. We’ll talk through what the business needs before you commit. It’s group mentorship for small-business owners, with two live calls each month.
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