Hire someone to make it better, not to make it disappear

Burnout makes you want to hire your way out of a feeling. Not a problem. A feeling.

I see it all the time. A business owner hits the wall, and the first instinct is to find someone, anyone, who can take the heaviest thing off their plate. The inbox that never stops. The revenue that rests entirely on their shoulders. The relief that comes from imagining it’s someone else’s problem now is real, and I understand why it’s so tempting.

But relief is a feeling, and a feeling isn’t a plan.

01The Escape-Hatch Hire

When you’re burnt out, it’s tempting to hire an EA so you never have to look at your inbox again. Or a salesperson so revenue stops being your problem. I get it.

An escape-hatch hire is built around one goal: getting something off your plate. That’s it. And in the short term, it works. The task is handled, the pressure drops, and you feel lighter.

What doesn’t change is everything underneath. No better systems. No sharper strategy. No one asking whether the task should be done this way in the first place. You’ve moved the work to someone else, but you haven’t improved it. Just relief, for a little while.

And when the relief fades, you’re often left with the same problems, now with a salary attached.

02The Strategic Hire

The best hires aren’t an escape hatch. They’re partners who make what you’re doing better and help you grow strategically.

A strategic hire changes the business. They bring judgment. They catch what you’d miss. They move things forward instead of just holding your place.

The difference isn’t the title. You can hire an EA as an escape hatch or as a strategic partner. You can hire a salesperson to make revenue disappear from your to-do list or to build a sales process that works.

Same role, completely different outcome, depending on what you’re asking that person to do.

03Why This Matters Financially

Every hire is a financial decision, and it’s one of the biggest ones a business owner makes. A salary, or even a contractor’s rate, is a commitment that touches your cash flow, your profit, and your options for months or years.

If you hire to escape, you’re spending real money to avoid looking at something. If you hire to improve, you’re investing in a part of the business that gets better and pays you back. Those two decisions can look identical on paper the day you sign the offer. A year later, they look very different.

04Relief Is a Fine Reason to Start Looking

I’m not saying burnout isn’t a valid reason to hire. It is. If you’re exhausted, you should be looking for help. Relief is a perfectly good reason to start the search.

It’s just not enough to build the role around.

If relief is the only thing the role is designed to deliver, you’ll end up with someone doing a task, not someone improving the business. Build the role around what you want to get better, and relief tends to follow on its own.

05Questions to Ask Before You Hire

Before you post the job or make the call, ask yourself:

1. Am I trying to make this problem disappear, or make this part of the business better?
2. If this person does the job exactly as I’d do it today, is that good enough? Or do I want someone who will question it and improve it?
3. What would it look like a year from now if this hire were a real success? Is that picture about me feeling relief, or about the business being stronger?
4. Do I have the clarity on my numbers to know what I can actually afford, and what this role needs to produce?

06Disappearing the Problem or Building the Business

Before you hire, ask which one you’re actually doing.

Escaping the problem, or building the business.

Both start with the same exhaustion. Only one ends with a business that’s stronger because you finally got help.

— Joy