Sarah Lerche

As a startup, you face different challenges than more established companies face. Many of these challenges have to do with staffing and human resources. Let's look at some unique HR issues faced by startups. Lack of management buy-in Sometimes startup management teams don't care enough about HR policies and ignore them. They go so far as to think HR is only about hiring when it's about so much more. Make sure your leadership team buys in to your policies. Your human resources team will set your ...

You probably know your employees dread performance reviews, but did you know that most managers are uncomfortable with them, too? If you fall into this category as well, it's good to know you aren't alone. Performance reviews are difficult to do, but they are the basis of a happy, well-trained staff. That is, if they are done right. In this article, let's look at performance review options for startups. Ditch the annual review ​ Who really wants this hanging over their head all year long? Plus, ...

You've thrown everything you have into your startup. You've been the one in charge from the start, making things happen, and gradually leading your startup to growth. In the beginning, you probably had your hand in a little bit of everything – you were product developer, human resources manager, marketer, fundraiser, and several other jobs in-between. At some point during this time and now, you might be thinking about transitioning your role into something more specific. In this article, we look...

Scaling your startup in the right way and with the right people is certainly key to your success. When you begin building a startup team , it's about finding people with the right skills. But you also want to find people who will work well together and complement one another. You have the unique opportunity of creating your team from the ground up. You get to choose the skillsets, the personalities, and the right mix of people who can work as a true team, collaborating to scale your startup. To ...

Do you like working with people who are sick? Probably not. Would your employees like sharing space with someone coughing and sneezing? Of course not. Do you like it when employees call in sick when they really aren't? That's an easy one – we're sure your answer is no. If there was a ripple effect, and everyone called in sick in the same week, what would happen to your startup? Because of these scenarios, we look at why your startup needs a sick leave policy from day one.  Policies are vita...

You're ready to launch your startup, and you know you need employees. Does the task seem overwhelming? Recruiting, hiring and training employees is an intimidating task for even the most seasoned businesses. What's more, you may not have the finances you need in the beginning to provide a salary, benefits and even office space and equipment for an entire team. This is where outsourcing comes in. Outsourcing is a terrific way for startups to take care of essential functions when your budget is sm...

Mistakes happen every day in the business world, and some are more forgivable than others. Payroll isn't on the list of forgivable mistakes. Why? Payroll mistakes can be incredibly costly to your startup. Failing to comply to payroll laws gets the government involved which leads to penalties and fines. In the most extreme cases, it can even lead to jail time. What's more, when you mess up payroll, your startup's team can lose faith in you, and you may even lose staff members. To help you avoid c...

As a founder or CEO, you want to hire the most experienced, skilled, and knowledgeable team to propel your startup to success. To do this, and to do it well, you may want to make sure that your team is also diverse. Your first inclination may be to hire people just like you, but this isn't always the best idea. You want to find skilled, capable people who are different from you, so your team is well-rounded, and your employee culture is more open and accepting. In this article, we look at how st...

With unemployment hovering around 3.7%, you're going to have to work hard to find the best talent for your startup and retain them into the future. Yet, as a startup you are in a unique position in that you can set your employee culture from the ground up. This is important because building and maintaining a strong employee culture with high morale makes your employer brand more attractive to potential hires. This gives you the competitive edge when recruiting and retaining the top talent. Let's...

You may think because you are a startup in its early stages that you don't need a social media policy, but this isn't so. In fact, your startup benefits greatly from a social media policy whether you're outsourcing this marketing or doing it in-house. In this article, we look at why your startup needs a social media policy and how to write one. Why you need a policy Social media is vital to the success of your online marketing. In fact, social media can make or break your startup, especially if ...

Did you know that job seekers rank social media networks as the most useful resource for jobs when compared to job boards and ads, recruiting agencies, employee referrals, and recruiting events? This is worth noting because the recruiting process has changed for many companies over the last several years. Like many things, social media has solidified its place as somewhere your business needs to be. When you use social media to attract candidates, you are easily able to narrow your target market...

Launching a new business is often filled with equal parts of excitement and trepidation. It can even be overwhelming at times. Because there are so many details involved, especially when it comes to startup taxes, you want to be extra careful. Sales tax and your compliance with federal and state income tax laws creates extra challenges for most startup owners, and you want to avoid mistakes at all costs. Below are six common tax mistakes startups make that you need to be aware of. #1: Tax deduct...

​ For many employees, just hearing the words, "team building" and "ice breaker," are enough to send them on an extended vacation. While they understand your intentions, traditional team building activities can be a source of stress for some of your employees. Yet, team building activities are good for your staff and your company, so how do you encourage happy participation? Let's look at five team building activities for startups that are exciting, fun, and less emotionally painful for your team...

The average startup owner works well past the traditional eight-hour mark with some clocking well up to 70 hours per week. While some of that is true work, you can bet that much of that is eaten up by tasks that don't need to take as long as they do such as perusing email and attending numerous meetings. When it comes to wasted time, startup CEOs are just as guilty, if not more, than the established business CEO. What can you do about it? How can you manage your time better and streamline your w...

Are you tempted to do everything yourself? If so, you're not alone. It's a common dilemma for startup founders and CEOs. It's easy to see why entrepreneurs would want to maintain total control of their products, their marketing, their sales, their finances, and their delivery systems, but it isn't realistic. The art of letting go and delegating can be a hard task to learn, yet it is vital to the success of your startup. Why delegate One of the most important and perhaps obvious reasons you shoul...

Do startups offer vacation time? How much vacation time is normal? Does everyone get the same amount? Because this can be such a hot topic for your newly hired team, we look at what startups need to know about vacation policies. Today's workers, especially Millennials , don't like the traditional model of earning vacation where you have to wait months or even years to get two weeks of paid vacation. To cater to this growing subset as well as the generation of workers coming up behind them, you w...

Running a new startup is tough. It takes long hours, lots of sweat equity, and tremendous planning. While you may have a handle on getting your startup off the ground and bringing your products or services to market, do you know what you need to do when it comes to your finances? One of the most important things you can do is prepare good financial statements. Why? It's the only way you, your board, your staff, and your investors will know where you stand. Good reporting helps you with financial...

As a startup owner, you wear many hats, and so do your employees. One of those many hats may be that of a hiring team and interviewers. Hiring is often a task that everyone must assist with on top of everything that's on their plate. To help you have the most effective recruitment and hiring process possible, check out these four tips for startups looking to improve their interview process.   #1: Prepare for the interview Many startups overlook this important first step. It's easy to do, es...

As the owner of a startup, you understand that money is often a challenge when it comes to hiring. This makes it extra hard to compete for the best talent, especially when the economy is hot, and the jobless rate is low. So, the question is out there, "How do you hire a top-notch team when you are competing against the big guys?" Take a look at these five ways startups can attract great talent in a competitive market. #1: Create an employer brand You are probably well-versed in how to create a b...

Ask nearly anyone, and they'll tell you they wish they had an extra hour in every day. Ask a startup entrepreneur, and they might tell you they wish they had an extra five hours in their day. So, while we might all wish for it, we aren't magical, and we'll have to do with the time we're given. The best answer to gaining time is to get more productive with your day. In this article, we look at five ways for startups to increase productivity. Do this, and you just might find that elusive extra hou...

Your goal with your startup is to make money, right? This is why it's so important to keep money in the bank moving in and out in a healthy manner. If you want your startup to succeed, you'll have to manage your cash flow with finesse. This can be difficult for new business owners especially when it comes to keeping tabs on your burn rate. In fact, not paying enough attention to your cash flow can result in startup failure. Even if you are profitable, or you've raised a lot of capital, things ca...

So you've opened your doors, you've hired your first round of employees, and now you need to pay them. While payroll may seem like an easy task, it's full of twists and turns that can trip up even seasoned bookkeepers. Here is what startups need to know about payroll accounting to ensure it's done accurately and in a timely manner. Decide pay dates Your first step is to set up your payroll. It's a safe bet that your employees want to know for certain when their paycheck is coming. You have sever...

Your startup is growing, and you are busy. You're selling your products, it's time to hire more staff, and things are looking good. Yet, because you're so busy, you don't have time to look at your finances, and perhaps your cash flow doesn't seem as good as it could be. Your startup needs financial systems and processes in place to help it grow, and to do that you need to hire someone to take care of it for you, so you can concentrate on your duties. In this article, we'll look at why hiring an ...

You can find many articles on the internet about how to get funding. In fact, you may have even gotten loads of advice on how to get venture capital from business leaders in your community. The one problem, though, is few people tell you what to do with it once you have it. Let's take a look at things startups need to consider once they receive venture backing. Plan your budget wisely Your venture capitalists are going to want an accounting of where you are spending your money. They will expect ...

You're a go-getter. You've spent months, if not years, getting your startup off the ground. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you've done most of it on your own. But, regular tasks like recruitment, hiring, payroll, benefits plans and employee care are slipping away from you, and there's that nagging voice in your head that's telling you that you need some help. Yet, you don't think your startup is quite big enough for an HR (human resources) department. So, what do you do? In this article, we'...

Taking care of your startup's accounting functions in-house can not only be a headache but a time-consuming task that eats up a lot of your resources. Whether it's payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, credit card reconciliation, inventory and budget reports, bank reconciliation, or payroll reconciliation, accounting can often be too much for the small startup to handle. How do you know you need help? Here are five signs it's time to outsource accounting. #1: You have no time left for ...

An employee handbook is vital to the success of your startup. But, perhaps you're wondering why your startup needs an employee handbook and when it's appropriate to create one. Two of the simplest reasons you need one are for the creation of processes and policies and to facilitate benefits administration. Let's look at these reasons as well as a few others, but first, let's discuss when you need one.   When do you need a handbook? While there's no one-size-fits-all answer, it's the best pr...

As a startup, you know you need general liability insurance, property insurance, and workers compensation insurance, but have you ever considered cyber liability insurance? What is cyber liability insurance Cyber insurance generally covers your startup's liability for a data breach that can involve private, sensitive customer information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, account numbers, addresses, health records and driver's license numbers. When hackers gain this informatio...

Your startup is in its early stages, or perhaps you've been in business for a while, and you're ready to hire employees. Have you thought about how you'll hire the best ones? The most beneficial thing for your startup and your employees is to offer a healthy benefits package. In this article, we look at five employee benefits small companies can offer new employees, but first let's look at why you should offer benefits at all.   The reasons you should offer benefits Yes, offering perks to y...

You know that to help your startup succeed, you have to have a competent, experienced, dedicated team. Unfortunately, though, many startups slip up when it comes to human resources, hiring, training, developing and retaining a great team. To help you avoid these all too common issues, we look at some top HR mistakes made by startups and how to fix them. Mistake #1: Not hiring a human resources person Whether you have a part-time, full-time or outsourced professional manage your HR, you need some...