Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I have recently been looking for an SEO writer and description/content writer for my site. I have received several candidates, but none seem to really hit the mark when it comes to impressive style or skill.

Does a business settle for what they can get, or do you not hire that position until you get the perfect candidate?


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Iouone2,
Good topic, this question is very common. Although, I`m not looking for an SEO Guru, I can relate to you. One thing that I found out is, don`t just settle for anything. In the long run you will find out that, you just threw out precious dollars away. What I would suggest is, wait... the right person will come along. Don`t fill a position, just to have someone sitting there.

I run into the same  problem everyday. I`ve interviewed about 40 web designers within the last month.. and you know what my conclusion is... they are all self taught... No real life experience, or knowledge of programming. Thanks to Dreamweaver.... they made it so easy for anyone to say "I`m a web designer".... Mind you I still code my pages in notepad, when I was in college that was the only way to code a web site (back in 1996 or 1997) So I do look at cleanliness, whitespacing, layout, and design.
But, in your case...... HOLD ON, IT WILL BE WORTH EVERY PENNY

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

Isn`t this actually a life question? Is it better to settle, or compromise based on "need?"

I used to compromise and settle. In fact, my entire music career was based on settling: I needed money for the bills, so I played music I knew was crap. Then time passed, I got fat and lazy, comfortable, and didn`t write anything original. Eventually, I passed into the oblivion of mediocrity, despite having a really great "copy" band. "

Now, in my fourth career, I`ve begun right from the git-go with the rule that I`ll never settle again. I won`t compromise, and the hell with the consequences. :-)

Of course my immediate result was to crash and burn, almost totally. I went right to the bottom, and the whole world of anyone I met told me I was a fool, ignorant, and unrealistic. And so I had some serious thinkin` to do. Shouldn`t I compromise? If I was utterly failing, without a single person interested, what was the point of being such an idealist? Doesn`t pragmatism have a fundamental merit?

Then I went back and re-read Ayn Rand`s "The Fountainhead." Watched the movie, too. It helped.

Now, still in the process of paying my dues, I`m ever so slowly beginning to crawl up from the abyss. I have so very few contracts, but the ones I have are based totally on those ideals. I can`t yet, adequately write out the sheer magnificence of having work that has no basis whatsoever in compromise, settling, goin` along to get along, or any other tired phrases for settling.

Is it worth it? LOL! I really wonder how many people with families and obligations can afford to go forward without compromise! It seems to be a rule of thumb that before you can get down to the brightest, sharpest, shiniest steel, you have to strip away EVERYthing of the rust, dullness and chipped blade.

I have spoke to a good friend whom owns a mechanical, body and paint shop for autos. He told me he rarely gets 50% of what he is looking for in a worker. Although his industry is very specific, I was suprised to hear his applicants are only 50% of expectation. It made me think I need to get into body and paint for autos. :)

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

LOL! We`re talkin` the American work ethic, as people call it these days.

I remember seeing the Ph.D. who wrote "The Peter Principle." I think his last name was Peter, but it may`ve been the first name. Anyway; he`s the one who demonstrated that people will be promoted to their level of incompetence, then live out the remainder of their career in the wrong place.

That was 40 years ago, and since then I`ve watched the results. We now have an increasing number (I`d say a majority) of people who`ve stayed in their corporate or employment job, never having left to do what they actually enjoy. We have managers who were promoted when the competent, previous manager quit to start a consulting business.

I would argue that those with a strong work ethic, enjoyment of life, and a desire to be productive in a way that brings them satisfaction have for the most part left the world of "employment." They`ve become the rapidly growing "nation" of entrepreneurs, only some of whom we see here in this community.

To that end, to hire a mechanic and expect quality work probably isn`t so successful these days. Instead, the quality mechanics have decided to open their own shop. And so it comes down to a measure of quality, what it is you expect from someone, and knowing how much you can afford to pay for that effort and skill.

With subsidized salaries and pricing, artificial markets, and so forth, I`d propose that one standard of value in today`s world is quality of performance. That`s entirely separate from the `crowd` and rests on both the real product being constructed, and the ability of the "world" to perceive a difference between quality and mediocrity.

Unfortunately, along with the exodus of talent and skill to the small (micro) business realm, we now have a decreasing capacity in society at large to even perceive differences in quality. "Good enough" has become the watchword, and "not enough time" to appreciate anything is the modern way to live.

Don`t just take what you can get - it is better to wait for the right person.  I made the mistake in my last business of employing people who weren`t right, just because I was short staffed. 

Do look for enthusiastic people, and do get references. 

Why not wait for the people you are trying to recruit now, and in the meantime, you could try using freelancers.  There is a good freelancers site where their work is star rated on past performance - I think it is at www.elance.com

I believe the issue here is about speed. If you wait for the perfect candidate for a job you may miss the boat. Most companies hire looking for the best person at the best time. If you wait too long, you may just miss the opportunity. 

I can`t remember where I got this nugget of advice but it made sense for my situation...Hire for attitude, train for skills. You want people on your team with good work habits, a positive attitude, and an ability to get along with others. You can teach a smart and willing person a particular skill, it`s much more challenging to instill the right attitude in the wrong person. Your business is only as good as the people who work for it.

"Your business is only as good as the people who work for it."

I truly believe this RedDogGraphicsInc.


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

"The bigger problem on Elance, in my experience, is dummy projects. Some buyers post projects simply to get an idea of the cost or to try to find free work."

Actually our organization wanted to hire virtual employees for web designing and SEO. And we are looking for whole virtual team. Because now it`s become very expensive for our organization to recruit employees :( And we need reliable and quality virtual employees.

We were prepared to post our requisite on freelancers or e lance sites. But we have observed the unacceptable thing. “Dummy projects”. Due to which we people unable to understand that why our bids not get awarded. Ultimately the outcome is wastage of time as well as money in the entire biding process. So, what next?

Then our team decided to directly contact companies who are providing virtual employee services. But the question is "RELIABILITY and Hiring charges".

We have got replies from some forums and communities. So, now we have one option company www.marketraise.com. It’s nice.

But we want best service provider with better package.

So, the major facts which we believe with freelancing/e lance/other bidding sites are

Disadvantage- time and money saver

Advantage – ensure reliability

Thanks in advance

Sophia