Advice on outsourcing...

[froggy]

IMO taking on staff is the way to go. You can only do so much yourself. I took staff on very early on so that I could concentrate on growing sales rather than manufacturing product. I got to 12 people, now I am reducing staff a little as I move into production equipment that produces virtually a finished product. I have more office people now that I do production staff.

You have to kiss a few frogs before you get the right ones, but its been worth it for me.

[RuthWinchester]

GoonerGary, I would definitely be the "pain-in-the-backside" client (I'm definitely a pain in the backside client for myself, at the moment)!

[RuthWinchester]

Thanks Froggy. I fear you're right. Although my studio is small so having someone in there with me would be fairly "intimate". That's why I was thinking about just outsourcing it.

I also hate the thought of training someone who turns out to be fabulous, and then having them bog off to do something else (which is going to happen sooner or later). And EVEN WORSE that they'd prove totally clueless and I'd have to fire them. But I don't think I can carry on doing it all myself for much longer.

[GoonerGary]

Apprentices can be good, but finding the right one can be tricky - more so than more experienced workers, though they are about half minimum wage, and there are sometimes grants available for companies taking apps on.

I was that apprentice 25 years ago, so that was my lucky break working for a big photographic studio and learning the ropes. The official wages were barely legal, but my employer topped me up to normal staff wages.

At some point you will loose your staff, but if they are only doing the basic stuff, it's no big loss as someone can come in next year.

Ruth, I suppose the first step is making sure that you have enough work for your new staff member all year round. Then finding premises, then organising their role within your company and what further training you can offer them. When they bored packing up orders, they'll need a role to aspire to.