Wise business owners can I have some advice please!

[Frostyarse]

I have a small business, I can offer a very limited service due to my lack of qualifications and because of my lack of them it makes it hard for me to pass through regulations. However I can get passed them - eventually.

I’ve the option of hiring a very qualified ( maybe over qualified) person who can deliver that service and much more. They can also bring other more qualified people to the table.I’ll easily get through regulations. However their pay per hour is a lot. Much more than I would take home. I’d have to plough a lot in to advertising to make sure I met the targets just to cover their wages/mine and company expenses.

It would also eat in to my profits and hinder my business plan of expanding. I’d get there eventually but it would take much longer. Also my business would now revolve around these new employees and not the work I could offer.

What would you do?

It depends on what you want to do.

Do you want to work in the business (as in, do the work yourself), or work on the business (running it while others do the work that brings in income)?

As soon as you have an employee, running the business will take up more of your time, so you'll have less time to do the work yourself.

I’d focus on getting qualified myself. Is this something you can do?

I agree with the PPs.

Could you get qualified yourself?

Otherwise it doesn't sound a very great business if it is based on a service you can't deliver.

Is this a one off hurdle you have to pass due to regulations or will it be ongoing? There are grants available for specific projects.

For instance if I was opening an artisan food company and needed to refit a kitchen to get it to standard- that may be worth the investment.

If I decided to become a technical translator with only a GCSE in French and had to sub contract the work to someone qualified that business will be doomed.

Can you outline your situation a little more OP?

I think you will need to give more info to get more advice. I don't see why you can't elaborate

It's a bit confusing but I'm not quite sure why you can't get qualified yourself/ how you can expand if you don't/why you are in this line of work?

What was your plan when you started the business, we’re you planning to qualify yourself and can you operate/get enough work while you qualify. I’d focus on that to begin with - bringing in someone more qualified than yourself can create problems down the line in that they can leave and take your clients with them and you’d be powerless to stop them because you can’t do the work yourself.

Could you offer this person sessional work when you have clients that need someone with the qualification/regulated work and do the rest yourself?