Dreaming of starting a business and making it bigger? You'll likely need to hire some help.

Hiring your first employee is a major milestone, but it also brings payroll, legal, and management responsibilities many founders underestimate. Roger Pierce speaks with Sharilyn Vandermolen, founder of HR Collab, a fractional HR consultancy that helps small businesses build strong hiring and people systems.

Sharilyn is a Certified Human Resources Leader, Certified Diversity and Inclusion Professional, and workplace investigator with 15+ years of experience. She has hired over 1,000 employees, reviewed 100,000+ resumés, and advised teams across Canada, the U.S., and Latin America. She also hosts The Resume Whisperer Podcast.

They discuss when to bring in HR support, how to define roles, why hiring based on “liking” candidates is risky, contractor misclassification, and how small businesses on a budget can compete for talent.

Like many small business owners, it's easy to wait until the last minute to hire. “Desperation leads to bad hires,” warns Sharilyn in the podcast, instead recommending clear success criteria, consistent interview questions, and hiring for complementary skills.

Resources
HRCollab.ca
The Resume Whisperer Podcast
Almost A Boss Newsletter
https://www.unsureentrepreneur.com/subscribe
Show Credits
Host & Producer: Roger Pierce | Artwork: Kaitlyn Pierce | Sound Engineering & Editing: Aleksandar Nikolic, FixTheAudio.com

At only 16, Chanelle Chalazan has already spent three years building Chic & Charmed Boutique, a Canadian jewelry business focused on affordable 925 sterling silver pieces. She began selling handmade earrings through Facebook Marketplace at age 13. What started with one customer coming to the family home each day grew to 20, then expanded into online sales, trade shows, radio campaigns, and billboards.

Chanelle tells the Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast how her father’s construction business and her mother’s love of jewelry helped shape the idea. She explains how the company keeps prices down by avoiding retail stores and overhead costs. She discusses balancing business with high school, where she earns grades in the high 90s, and her plans to study business before pursuing medicine.

She also shares some surprising insights on what rejection, risk, customer service, and time management have taught her at a very young age. “You learn so much from just doing things in person,” she says. Check out Chanelle's very inspiring start-up story.

Visit her store
https://chicncharmedjewelry.com/

Show Credits
Host & Producer: Roger Pierce | Artwork: Kaitlyn Pierce | Sound Engineering & Editing: Aleksandar Nikolic @ FixTheAudio.com

Are you waiting for the perfect time to start a business? Steve Strauss says this may be it.

“This really is, I think, the golden age of entrepreneurship.”

One of America’s best-known small business voices, Steve is the bestselling author of The Small Business Bible and 17 other business books. He spent more than 20 years as USA Today’s senior small business columnist, now writes for Inc., and was named by SCORE Mentors as the country’s leading champion of small business.

In our conversation, Steve makes a strong case for why America needs more entrepreneurs.

The U.S. has more than 36 million small businesses. They represent 99% of all American businesses and employ about 62 million people. But those numbers only tell part of the story because small businesses are at the heart of our communities. Small businesses are the ones you see in your own neighborhood; the local pub, the busy hair salon on the corner, the tradesperson shingling a new roof, and your favorite coffee shop where the owner knows you take one sugar.

Steve sees entrepreneurs as builders. They create work. They serve customers. They support families. They bring ideas into the world. They give people hope.

“What I love about entrepreneurs, what I love about small business, is it’s positive,” he says.

If you feel the pull of entrepreneurship, listen to our conversation for a clearer, more encouraging look at what it takes to begin.

Resources
Steve's website MrAllBiz.com
https://www.mrallbiz.com/
Steve's columns at Inc Magazine
https://www.inc.com/author/steve-strauss
Steve's newsletter "Notes To An Entrepreneur"

https://news.planetsmallbusiness.com/
SCORE Mentors
https://www.score.org/

Show Credits
Host and Producer: Roger Pierce | Artwork: Kaitlyn Pierce | Sound Engineering & Editing: Aleksandar Nikolic, FixTheAudio.com