Finding Talent - Fast & Cheap

One of the hardest parts of scaling a business is knowing when you need to hire or affording the right hire at the right time. 

Usually, when we decide we need to hire, we’re already burdened with too much.

Here is the process for hiring at Rugby Bricks when we can’t afford a new full-time hire but need quality talent to start immediately. 

1. Look at what tasks you are doing that are low-value tasks that you could hire someone else to do (sheet here)
   

2. Write an explicit JD with those tasks and a specific question about how they should apply. Here is an example of one we’ve just used at Rugby Bricks
   

3. Now post the role on Student Job Search (or the equivalent of your local site from whichever country you are in) for however many hours your business can afford - SJS is better than other job sites as most people are looking for full-time work whereas students are much more flexible with hours
   

4. Send an email to pre-screen candidates before you interview them. Here is an example of what we’ve used:

This process weeds out poor candidates and gives you access to top-quality people at a price point the business can afford.

As the business scales, you can pay them according to the value they produce, but this is a great way to start when you are low on cash.

Notes: This isn’t foolproof, but this formula has allowed us to find great talent at malleable hours as we scale the company's needs. 

Opportunity Or Execution?

Isaac started a business selling Katanas (swords). He couldn't use ads, so he made Mr. Beast-style content with Katanas as the main event. Who doesn't want to see if a sword can slice a bullet in half?

He took his mini-Kanata brand to a billion monthly impressions and $20 million in sales in two years.

Isaac had a problem, though. When you get a billion impressions a month, you quickly run out of customers. Very few people interested in buying a Katana sword are interested in buying two.

He applied 10/10 execution to a 2/10 opportunity. He captured 100% of his market, but it was only worth $20 million.

I think I made the same mistake. It's taken me seven years to get my gym to where it is financially. Compare that to my new business, Gravy. I knew nothing about this a year ago, and in seven months, it's more profitable than my gym.

Somewhere along the way, fortunately, or not, picking the right opportunity becomes more important than being good at what you do.