I've been running a tech consultancy solo for a while. Recently I started bringing on my first team member. It's been equal parts exciting and terrifying, and I've picked up a few things worth sharing.

Why Now

Honest answer: I'm turning away work. Not because I don't want it, but because there aren't enough hours. When you're the only engineer, salesperson, and project manager, something always gives. Usually it's sales, because client work has hard deadlines and prospecting doesn't.

That creates a nasty cycle. Finish a project, realize the pipeline is empty, scramble for new work, land something, disappear into delivery. Repeat. Breaking that cycle takes another human.

Start With Someone You Trust

My first hire isn't from a job board. It's someone I've known for years, whose work ethic I've seen in real situations, not just interviews. In a small consultancy, culture isn't something you design. It's whatever the first three people are like. Getting person two right matters more than almost any other decision.

The Prove-Out Model

Instead of jumping to a full-time salary, we're doing a 60-90 day trial. They keep their current job, handle sales and client dev on the side, earn commission on what they close. If they hit clear milestones (specific projects closed, minimum first-year value, invoices paid) we convert to W-2.

This protects both sides. They don't quit a stable job on a prayer. I don't commit to payroll before the revenue model proves out. And we both get to test the working relationship before it's locked in.

What I'm Looking For

Not technical skills. I can teach those. What I need:

  • Relationship building. Small consultancy work is personal. You're selling trust, not a product.
  • Ownership mentality. Someone who treats client problems like their own, not tickets to clear.
  • Complementary strengths. I'm an engineer who can sell. I need someone who can sell and learn to engineer, or who covers operational gaps I have.

The Scary Part

Payroll is the scariest commitment a small business makes. You can't defer it or negotiate it down. Someone is depending on you for their livelihood. That weight is real.

I've set a hard threshold: enough recurring revenue to cover the salary for three months even if zero new work comes in. Non-negotiable. Hiring ahead of revenue is how consultancies die.

The Vision

The goal isn't to build a big company. It's to build a small, excellent one. Three to five people who are genuinely good at what they do, serving clients who value quality over price. A company where everyone knows every client, decisions get made by the people doing the work, and "scaling" means doing better work, not just more of it.

We'll see if reality cooperates. But it starts with getting the first hire right.