Guides for Your First Hire
Short guides for owners who are about to hire for the first time. Pick a topic below.
Virtual assistants
What a virtual assistant does, what a service costs, and how to pick one.
- Virtual Assistant Services: What They Cover and Who They Fit
What virtual assistant services are, how they bill and who manages the work. See how a service differs from one hire, and what to check before you sign.
- How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?
How much does a virtual assistant cost? See US hourly pay from Indeed and PayScale, Upwork's own rates, and what one owner has paid a contractor overseas.
- Marketing Virtual Assistant Services: What They Can Take Off Your Plate
What marketing virtual assistant services cover. See which marketing tasks fit one assistant, and which ones need a specialist or a team, in one table.
- What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
What a virtual assistant does for an owner, grouped by kind of work. See the tasks you can hand off, and the ones to keep or send to a specialist.
- Freelancer vs Virtual Assistant: What's the Difference?
A freelancer does a set project. A virtual assistant handles ongoing tasks. See how the two differ on scope, billing and who manages the work, in one table.
- Best Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant (and When Not To)
Common reasons owners hire a virtual assistant, and when it's the wrong hire. See what to have in place first, and what to do when one person isn't enough.
Hiring an employee
Finding and choosing a person, a part-time hire, and a remote hire in the US.
- How to Hire Remote Employees
How to hire a remote employee in the US. See which state's rules apply, how Form I-9 works at a distance, and what to set up before the first day.
- How to Hire Part-Time Employees
The steps to hire a part-time employee. See what changes from a full-time hire, how benefits work, and what one costs a month in Texas and the US.
- How to Hire Employees for a Small Business: Finding Good People
An owner's guide to hiring a good employee. See how to define the job, where owners look, how to choose, and what Texas's guide says about the offer.
Overseas hires
Bringing on a person who works in another country, as a contractor.
- How to Hire a Virtual Assistant in the Philippines
How US owners hire a virtual assistant in the Philippines. See the time gap with four US time zones, the official languages, and what the IRS says on pay.
- How to Hire a Virtual Assistant in India
How US owners hire a virtual assistant in India. See what this site can and can't say on cost, the time gap with four US zones, and the law on English.
- How to Hire Overseas Workers as Contractors
How a US owner can hire overseas workers as contractors. See the three ways to do it, Form W-8BEN, and what the IRS says about pay for work done abroad.
Employee or contractor
How the IRS and Texas tell the two apart, the forms for each, and the part-time case.
- 1099 vs W-2: What Each Form Means for Your First Worker
What 1099 and W-2 mean for an owner. See which form goes with which worker, who withholds and pays which taxes, and the date each form is due.
- Independent Contractor vs Employee: What Changes When You Hire
Independent contractor vs employee, side by side. See what changes for you in control, pay, taxes and forms, and how the IRS and Texas decide which it is.
- How to Hire an Independent Contractor
The steps to bring on an independent contractor. Check the status first, get a Form W-9, put the work in writing, and file Form 1099-NEC when it's due.
- Part-Time Employee vs Independent Contractor: Which Fits Your First Hire?
A part-time employee next to an independent contractor. See who controls the work, who pays which taxes, the paperwork, and what each costs a month.
- The Independent Contractor vs Employee Test, Explained
The independent contractor vs employee test in plain words. See the IRS's three groups of facts, the 20 points Texas compares, and who decides.
First hires for an agency
The roles a small agency adds first, one post per role, and how the team fits together.
- How to Hire a Social Media Manager
How to hire a social media manager in six steps. Define the job, choose employee, contractor or outside team, see where owners look, and know what to ask.
- How to Hire a Video Editor
How to hire a video editor. See where owners look, how to test an editor on YouTube work, and what the job pays in Texas and the US, from BLS wage data.
- How to Hire an SEO Content Writer
How to hire an SEO content writer. See what Google says good content is, how to check samples, how to spot keyword stuffing, and what to ask about AI use.
- How to Hire a Content Writer
How to hire a content writer in five steps. See what the job pays in Texas and the US, how to hire for website pages, and employee or contractor.
- Should I Hire a Social Media Manager?
Is a social media manager the right first hire for you? See common reasons to hire one, the signs it's too early, and three other ways to cover the work.
- Marketing Agency Team Structure: How to Set Up a Small Team
How small marketing agencies set up a team. See the roles in one table, the trade-offs in who to hire first, and which work can go to an outside team.
- What Does It Cost to Hire a Social Media Manager?
What does it cost to hire a social media manager? See US pay from two named sources, one marketplace's own rates, and what employer taxes add in Texas.
- How to Hire a Project Manager
How to hire a project manager. See what the job pays in Texas and the US, where owners look, and when an outside team's manager covers the need.
Budget and other options
The money test before a hire, and the other ways to get the work done.
- How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Assistant?
What it costs to hire an assistant: hourly pay for a personal or virtual assistant, then the monthly cost of an administrative assistant on your payroll.
- Outsourcing vs Hiring: Which Fits Your First-Hire Budget?
Outsourcing or hiring for your first role? See what each one covers, who manages the work, what's counted in the cost, and how a flat monthly team compares.
- Overwhelmed Business Owner? How to Tell It's Time to Get Help
Overwhelmed business owner? Learn to tell a busy season from a real capacity problem, and see which kind of help fits each: a hire, a contractor or a team.
- Alternatives to Hiring an Employee
Not sure a hire is the answer? See the other ways owners get work done: contractors, part-time help, virtual assistants and a flat monthly team.
- Can I Afford to Hire an Employee?
A plain money test before a first hire. See the wage, the employer taxes on top, what's left out, and how to check the total against your monthly income.
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