How I Think About Hiring (and the Risk of Getting It Wrong)
Hiring is always a risk, especially when your team is small. In this clip, I explain how I evaluate alignment, why work ethic matters more than credentials, and why having a plan to exit is just as important as having a plan to hire.
A couple years ago, I took what some people would call a risk.
I hired someone who wasn’t a traditional applicant.
No recruiter. No formal resume. No interview process.
He was first a customer that became a friend.
We had known each other for about 4 years. He was one of the first users of our software and our first international user. We’d been at events together. He supported us in his shop with vinyl graphics on the wall and social media shout outs, all on his own. I had seen how he showed up, how he worked, how he carried himself, and how he treated people.
Recently, he asked me on camera:
“You took a big risk hiring me. Do you think it paid off? And what would you tell companies that are struggling to hire?”
Here’s my answer.
Hiring Is Always a Risk
There is no safe hire.
You can interview someone five times.
You can check references.
You can run personality tests.
It’s still a risk.
The real mistake isn’t taking a risk.
The real mistake is pretending it’s not one.
When you hire someone, you are betting time, money, culture, and momentum on that person. Especially if you’re a small business.
If you have 3 people and you hire a 4th, that’s a 25% culture shift overnight.
That’s not small.
Start With Who’s Already Around You
If you’re building a small team, don’t start with job boards.
Start with proximity.
Look at:
Customers
Vendors
People you’ve collaborated with
People you’ve worked alongside at events
Even family or friends (if they’re solid)
In this case, he had been a Tint Wiz user for years. One of the early ones. We had interacted constantly. I knew how he thought. I knew how he worked.
He had already, in a way, done work for us at events just by how he represented the brand.
That matters.
When you’re small, you don’t need a perfect résumé.
You need strong pillars.
Even if that person can’t work 5 or 6 days a week.
Even if it’s not full-time at first.
You need someone who strengthens the foundation.
Fit > Credentials
When I hired him, it wasn’t about skills alone.
It was:
I know his work ethic.
I know how he treats people.
I know how he handles pressure.
I know how he shows up in real life.
Now it’s just a matter of aligning the role to the person.
That’s the real work of hiring.
Not “Is this person impressive?”
But:
Is this person aligned?
And does the role actually fit them?
If the role doesn’t fit, you will feel friction immediately. And friction compounds.
Have a Plan for Firing Before You Hire
This is the part nobody talks about.
Before you hire, ask yourself:
“If this doesn’t work, how do I unwind it?”
Because if you don’t have an exit plan, you’ll keep someone too long.
And keeping the wrong person too long is what kills companies.
Not one bad hire.
One bad hire that lingers.
If someone is not a fit, you have to move quickly. Not emotionally. Not dramatically. Just clearly.
You can like someone.
They can be a good person.
And it still can be wrong for the company.
Those are two separate things.
If you don’t make that distinction, your business pays the price.
The Cost of the Wrong Hire
Here’s what really happens when you keep the wrong person:
Resources get drained.
Other team members feel it.
You hesitate to hire again.
The business stalls.
Worse, you block the position from being filled by someone who would actually thrive in it.
That’s the opportunity cost nobody calculates.
When we’ve had hires that didn’t work out, the person wasn’t “bad.”
It just wasn’t the right fit.
And once you see that clearly, the decision becomes simple.
Not easy.
But simple.
Was It Worth the Risk?
Yes.
Because the risk wasn’t random.
It was informed.
I had years of data on this person. Not spreadsheets. Real-world data.
How they show up.
How they speak.
How they operate under pressure.
How they represent the company when I’m not in the room.
That’s real due diligence.
When you hire from proximity, you reduce blind risk.
You still have risk. But it’s not blind.
If You’re Struggling to Hire
If you’re a small business owner and you’re stuck, here’s what I would tell you:
Don’t rush because you’re overwhelmed.
Look around before you look outward.
Hire for alignment and work ethic before talent.
Be ready to move quickly if it’s wrong.
Understand that every hire changes the culture.
And most importantly:
Don’t be afraid of risk.
Be afraid of indecision.
Hiring is not about being 100% certain.
It’s about being clear enough to act, and disciplined enough to correct.
If you’re building a small team, you don’t need a perfect org chart.
You need strong pillars.
Everything else gets built on that.