mpahlca

One of the key factors (in my opinion) for staffing prior to the questions to ask or backgrounds to check is to know when you need to hire.

A common problem for most small business owners or small to medium business owners is not wanting (or not being able) to give up personal income to cover the costs of staffing. There is no easy way to address this beyond setting a budget for your income and sticking to it and then re-investing the rest of the income into the business and then only hiring when your business can afford to.

An example guideline is to spend around 10-15% of gross revenue on staffing; this is a very common number in adult and why I picked it. This is a goal number you can set your own numbers higher or lower depending on your circumstance but without spending on staff your business will never grow beyond your singular ability to put in time. Further to that, I think as your business grows or shrinks you should continue to spend at or around this number the entire time. It gives you either a pot of money to give bonuses or increases out of or it gives you the ability to hire further and start or expand on projects.

Now that we have covered some of the basics of the budget and when to hire based on revenue, let?s discuss some steps prior to posting an ad:

List all the tasks this person will be doing, spend time listing and writing it all out so you know exactly what your expectations are. If you don?t know what you want or need this person to do then how can they accomplish what you need? (People will say this is obvious but so few companies or people do it.)

Prepare an online test, if possible, covering the above listed tasks and have it ready for the potential applicants to allow you to verify their skills quickly. (If they can?t do the test no need for an interview.)

Know your budget and post the job with it, don?t spend outside of it for any reason. There is no one ?worth it? the world is a huge place and if you are open to hiring remotely you can get someone with the skills you need in your price range.

Make sure to prepare your questions before placing the ad and if possible have a friend review them.

When preparing interview questions don?t ask questions you wouldn?t want to answer, questions like ?tell me about yourself? or ?list a weakness you have? are silly as you will never get a truly honest answer. Instead ask questions that will see what type of person they are outside of work and if you will like them personally. Some examples; ask them what if any books or TV shows they watch, what websites they visit, things they like to do outside of work and try to be conversational. This person will potentially be working with you every single day so don?t treat them any other way than as if they are already your co-worker. (out of place tip: get someone to do a second interview if possible and don't talk to them about the applicant before hand let them tell you what they think)

After you have placed the ad and started getting responses remember that respecting the applicants will help create respect for your company.

Give every applicant a response whether that is ?Sorry I have already hired for the position? or ?Your resume doesn?t match what we are looking for? it doesn?t hurt to be honest and open with these people as they will remember you and the application in the future (Just because you didn?t hire them today doesn?t mean you might not later.).
Set a deadline with all interviewee?s during the interview tell them they will get a response one way or the other and give them the date, if they didn?t get the job don?t leave them hanging.

And finally for today a disclaimer:

Always hire with full exposure that you are an adult company. Say adult company in the ad, say it in the description and reply back asking if they are comfortable with porn and adult material. This will cut out a lot of grief on your part and will remove any stress from the process for you.

Do a background check, get a legal opinion on this in your area and that of the area of any potential applicant but make any job offer contingent on a background check.

Lastly have a lawyer make an employment contract for you, whether it?s a simple 1 pager to a 5 to 10 pager its best to have this very crucial document covered.


I hope this helps someone here out so enjoy.

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Rothstein

did not read.

porno jew

can't see what this has to do with treyvon or chaturbate.

mpahlca

Quoted for truth.

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mpahlca

Fuck, uhmm should I re-write this part:

"Give every applicant a response whether that is ?Sorry I have already hired for the position? or ?Your resume doesn?t match what we are looking for? it doesn?t hurt to be honest and open with these people as they will remember you and the application in the future (Just because you didn?t hire them today doesn?t mean you might not later.)."

to

"Give every applicant a response whether that is ?Please god don't live in Florida or wear a hoodie? or ?Chatterbate is an amazing program but we have no openings? it doesn?t hurt to be honest and open with these people as they will remember you and the application in the future (Just because you didn?t hire them today doesn?t mean you might not later.)."

thoughts?

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Rochard

That's what I was thinking...

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tattoo

Hire only those who you can afford to pay.

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Ask for their Facebook password

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anexsia

It's a damn shame, all of these business threads like this one are bringing down the quality of GFY.

candyflip

Good info, but how many people out there are looking to expand and hire these days?

This thread might have been more useful a few years ago.

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V_RocKs

Adult industry reminds me of major league sports teams...

A losing coach is fired or "let go" and then is picked up by another team the next day...

epitome

There are still plenty of companies. There are also plenty of great people looking for a gig. I'd wager many positions are filled without having to place an ad since the Great eople usually network and hear of the company that has a need.

clicker

To add to this, asking for a photo is not allowed in the US, yet so many companies do it.

papill0n

and dont forget to punch every potential employee into google

gabe100

Good information, really good. Thanks for sharing. I kept shit so slim during the recession, now im back around 12% and it's a little higher than I like, still good to know it's the norm.

Miss your posts dude, some people still care.

shake

Thanks mpahlca, that is good advice I wish I had several years ago when my company was hiring

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raymor

Thanks so much. Always great to get your thoughts as a successful industry veteran. As a matter of fact, yesterday I was thinking about contacting you to get your thoughts on some things. It's interesting to me you say 10%-15% in this industry. Most industries are closer to 25%-30%.

A little tidbit I've learned is that you don't ever want one employee, not for long. At least in the US and some other countries, being an employer is bitch, so make it worth it. Federal taxes four times per year. State taxes. Unemployment taxes every three months, and Congress constantly chasing the rules, recently setting withholding rates for only a few months at a time because they can't do their job and pass an annual budget.

If you're going to deal with all that crap, get to three and four employees as fast as you can. Contract it out if you only need one person part time.

There were comments about nobody hiring. We're probably getting ready to do some hiring in November. Depending on what happens between now and then, we'll either hunker down or go for it, expanding rapidly. I say that because for example our old insurance was $400 / month per employee. If it turns out that Obamacare adds another $1,000 per employee along with new taxes, we'll have to hunker down in survival mode for a while. We'll see what happens.

raymor

Another quick thought - if you're hiring skills you don't have, engage someone who does have those skills to consult in the hiring process. Especially technical skills. If you can't code, you don't have the knowledge to judge an applicant's choice of algorithms. I can interview a programmer, but I'm not qualified to choose a marketing manager. I don't know that field well enough to make the best selection so I'd consult with someone who DOES know marketing to help choose the new hire.

epitome

PayCycle is your friend. They figure and pay electronically all employment related taxes for you. I use it for myself since I have a LLC taxed as an S-Corp and treat officers as employees (even have to pay unemployment; was able to opt-out of worker's comp). I get a notification on my dashboard that taxes are due and click pay.

What I do so that a tax liability doesn't sneak up on me is I have a payroll account and when I do payroll I transfer the "total cost" amount (includes payroll, employer and employee tax contributions) from Operating to Payroll account and it's just sitting there waiting for me to hit the pay button. Tax payments are then deducted from the payroll account.

TMM_John

Keep it simple. Hire from outside of the industry (primarily), don't do remote employment (have an office), have them on salary (with room for growth), provide good benefits and an enjoyable work environment.

10-15% seems very low in my opinion, but I'm sure it depends on where your other expenses fall. For instance, as a software company, the majority of our costs are staff related. For someone producing a tangible product, or reselling goods, I'd imagine that that would not be the case.

Use a payroll service such as ADP or Paychex, they're extremely cheap for the amount of headaches they take care of for you and the extra services they can provide. We've tried both and have ended up with ADP in case you're curious.

The BIGGEST part of it all IMO is having an actual office. You'll find that it will take your company up a level and it allows you to have things such as proper employees. Start there, start small, grow slowly & steadily. Treat your business as a business.

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TMM_John

I missed that. Classic & so true.

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Joshua G

thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom. adding you to the people i admire on GFY list.

raymor

Ditto and ditto. I may try ADP. I wish I could find a clueful accountant. I've gotten rid of three because they didn't know basic stuff like section 179 and all had us doing something illegal because they didn't know any better. In each case, the errors were basic enough that I noticed them and confirmed on the main accountant message board how it should be done.

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Lykos

Very nice post !

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Relentless

Excellent thread

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Barefootsies

Thank you for the top notch read fine sire.

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Enough Said.

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Fletch XXX

this is funny.

i got into in adult in 1998. my wife saw an ad in the newspaper looking for people to monitor chat rooms LOL

turned out to be babenet in disguise, next thing i know i am sitting at control panel moving cameras in rooms all around me from a control and filming livesex and multi angle DVD porn,.... been in porn ever since. hahaha

background checks to work in smut? LOL thered be NO TALENT if we did ;)

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NemesisEnforcer

Do you recommend drug testing as well?

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sake

Solid post Mike! The last part is SO important.

Barefootsies

Oh yeah, why don't I just hand over passwords to sites and servers to some shithead you barely know and hire from GFY/Craigslist. Make sure you do this without due diligence of any kind.

That way when, not if, things go wrong or you terminate them later... you will not be surprised when they delete your whole server, or sabotage your shit for spite. Sounds like a brilliant business model you have.

Let me know how that works out over the long term when you get into hiring.

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"Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

Relentless

A background check doesn't mean you 'can't hire' someone with something that comes up on the report. It just means you are aware of what is on the report and you can make an informed decision. If someone has a felony conviction on their record for selling a pound of pot 15 years ago, that probably wouldn't impact a decision too much. However, if they have a felony conviction for stealing credit card numbers 3 years ago, and you are considering hiring them... that bit of information would be very good to know.

Information is never a bad thing

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Barefootsies

Correct.

However, you would be surprised how just making this a job requirement will help eliminate the fraudsters right out of the gate. Same as requiring an up to date resume, and contact details. They will simply drop out of the job hunt. Which essentially helps accomplish the same thing in finding quality candidates.

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Enough Said.

"Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

rhon23

ah back when you were young and no so innocent. I miss those days with you guys

mpahlca

I think you are wrong here, I would bet the industry has never had as much hiring as it is right now.

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mpahlca

I think you would be suprised. I almost always hired from ads and am pretty sure most companies do.

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mpahlca

If I was in the states I would only hire on contract work. I would consult with a lawyer but essentially I would hire each person as a contractor for x period of time. Let them handle their own taxes.

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mpahlca

John, I am also very "pro" the office enviornment and how it can be a a benefit to a companies growth. I do say though that remote staff can work if its done with a manager who is comfortable managing people remotely. I think the days of remote work without video/skype conferencing are gone but remote staff who are plugged into the office and visibly working with others is doable. (In your case for developers its VERY hard to have them remote I completely understand and would do the same.)

For a SaaS company like yours I would go and look at public companies and then see what other companies that are larger than you are doing in terms of staffing percent. It would give you an idea of where you should be in relation to the industry. (I wouldn't do startups as they are really not in it to make money.)

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Barefootsies

Agreed. Considering the level of consolidation = bigger companies.

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"Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

Barefootsies

You can only to that to a point. The IRS is cracking down on some of those loopholes.

For anyone in the U.S., you would want to talk to your accountant/CPA on this subject.

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Enough Said.

"Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

TMM_John

It's doable, but the vast majority of the time you'll get much lower production out of the remote employee. I know people will argue the contrary. They're more than welcome to burn all the money they wish

As far staff costs as a % of revenue; I don't believe you should ever try to mimic other companies or industry averages. Each company is going to have unique circumstances. Some may do quite well at half the industry average, some may need double. You need to look at many other things and figure out what is right for you, not try to mimic large companies.

TMM is also not SaaS. Our mainstream end of things is tho.

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mpahlca

This is a great point I didn't bring up. Well said Ray. (and hi Ray long time no chat!)

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mpahlca

I would say a background check is a must though if you are legally allowed to do it. Drug test I honestly debate back and forth with myself on it could be voluntary but I would consider that option depending on the size of my company. The smaller more exposed I was the more I would lean on that idea.

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TMM_John

That's called payroll tax fraud and is illegal. Definitely consult with a CPA and/or attorney before going that route.

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mpahlca

TMM is not Software as a Service? I thought you leased it and then charged for support? It may have changed so sorry if so.

As far as doing what others do I agree you should find your own way but not knowing what others are doing is a mistake IMO as you then don't know what others have done successfully.

Knowing and understanding others successful patterns doesn't mean you have to replicate them, it means you can see what others are doing and then improve on it. As I believe was the point of NATS in the first place. MPA was a product you did better than they did.

But again everyone is different (I am just super happy there has been some real discussion here on it.)

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mpahlca

As John said look into the legalities of it in your area. Its not illegal to do it in Canada as long as the individuals have their own companies and they are hired as sub contracts for a specific job with an end date.

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Tom_PM

I think telecommuting/working remote is something that should always be worked into a game plan. Provided there are tasks that can be done from a remote terminal obviously, and the ability to take written reports.

Relocating for each job could become a job in itself without some long term contracts.

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NemesisEnforcer

I've debated drug testing as a regular course of business. However, I do request a drug test if we're hiring some that will be trusted with a great deal of company assets, i.e. large sums of money to do production or to manage a remote location, etc.

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CaptainHowdy

I look down on management ...

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plsureking

and the boards if hiring from within the industry.
being associated with some guys around here would cripple your project or brand..
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alias

Nice work on the creation of a real business thread.

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