Feeling Overwhelmed? 5 Signs It’s Time to Expand Your Team.

Reduce your workload & stress levels

“There’s too much work coming in” is a good problem to have—but it’s a problem that needs to be solved. Trying to handle it all yourself or with your existing team can lead to long hours, too much stress and even sub-par customer service. Maybe the boost is just a brief surge, or maybe it’s time to hire new staff. Here are the signs to look for.

5 signs your business is ready to expand

1. You can’t do it all yourself anymore

When your business is just getting started, it’s possible to do everything by yourself. You can serve customers, manage your budget and look for new leads without stretching yourself too thin.

Once business picks up, that all changes. You might find yourself falling behind on your day-to-day work or working unreasonably long hours to get it all done. You can make that work for a while, but it’s not a long-term solution. Stress is bad for your body and mind, especially if it leads to a lack of sleep. You can’t run a successful business if you can’t think clearly or keep getting sick.

If you have too much work to handle alone, it’s time to hire someone else. Figure out which responsibilities require the least training and hand those off first. Once you offload some simple tasks, you can take a breath and focus on the bigger picture.

Finding new hires has changed a lot over the past few years. Read The New Office Normal: Attracting Talent in a Post-COVID World to learn more.

2. You’re missing business opportunities

Even if you’re pushing yourself as hard as you can, there are only so many hours in a day. If a new customer comes to you when you’re already maxed out, you’ve got three options:

• Ask them to wait

• Turn them away

• Hire more hands

The first two can hurt your business both in the short- and the longterm, so if you can reasonably afford it, the third option is the way to go. Not only will you be able to take on more business now, but you’ll also have more availability in the future. If demand is steadily increasing, that’s a sure sign that your business is growing. The sooner you hire new staff members, the more you can say “yes” to promising opportunities.

Check out How to Upgrade Your Business Tech on a Budget to get your staff the tools they need.

3. Your staff feels burned out

If your staff has been dealing with huge workloads and long hours, they’re going to get tired and worn out. Remember how bad fatigue and stress can be for you? The same is true for your staff.

Burnout can cost your business both time and money. If an employee makes a mistake on an invoice, for example, they’ll have to fix it—and you’ll have to oversee the whole process to make sure it doesn’t happen again. If you work directly with customers, an overworked staff member could be slow, forgetful or flat-out rude. A few experiences like that could convince people to take their business elsewhere.

Adding more staff members takes pressure off of your current crew. Training new staff gives your current team the chance to build their leadership and management skills, which will come in handy as your business grows.

Feed your crew with 10 Tasty Options for the Office Kitchen & Breakroom.

4. You need specialized skills

You may need to hire someone simply because they can do something that you can’t. Maybe your revenue has grown so much you need a full-time accountant, or you need someone to manage the e-commerce section of your website. Recognizing when it’s time to bring on a specialist is part of being a responsible business owner. It also just makes sense. When every employee does something they’re good at, the whole business becomes more efficient.

Check out The Perfect Vending Machine Snacks List for food that your staff will love.

5. You’re making more money

While you’ll usually want to expand your team to solve a problem, sometimes you’ll want to build on a good thing. If you find that your business is making more and more money each month, it’s time to think about hiring new staff—even if you don’t need them this very second. Remember, earning more money means that demand is increasing, and sooner or later (hopefully sooner), it’ll get to a point where you and/or your current staff can’t handle it. Hiring new employees while you still have some breathing room lets them learn and settle in more comfortably.

Every business needs to grow, even if it’s only to keep pace with costs. The fewer people you employ, the fewer opportunities you’ll have to expand. If you have extra money on hand, hiring new staff members is a smart investment in your company’s future.

Grow your company with Walmart Business

If it’s time to expand your business and you need some help getting started, Walmart Business can help. Check out the Walmart Business content hub. There, you’ll find proven strategies for hiring new employees, building budgets, creating marketing plans, finding the right equipment and more. 

You can also sign up for a free Walmart Business account. This will let you buy goods in bulk, set up recurring deliveries and share an account with multiple users in your organization.

If you already have an account, then upgrade to a Walmart Business+ Core membership. With it, you’ll get free shipping from Business.Walmart.com¹ and free delivery from nearby Walmart stores on orders of $35 or more.² You’ll also earn 2% back in Walmart Business Rewards on orders of $250 or more.³ These perks could help your business save more than $500 per year.⁴

¹ Excludes most Marketplace items, freight and certain location surcharges.

² Restrictions apply. 

³ Rewards can only be used toward future purchases on Walmart Business. Additional terms apply.

⁴ Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business Rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).