Throwback: Stop Hiring Helpers - Why You Shouldn't Be the "Genius with a Thousand Helpers"

In this episode, host Josh interviews Ryan Deiss, founder of DigitalMarketer, about the smartest way for entrepreneurs to hire their first employees. Ryan explains why business owners should avoid hiring assistants for minor tasks and instead recruit experienced professionals who can fully own critical business functions. He discusses overcoming fears around big hires, financial considerations, and the importance of mapping out your value creation process. Ryan also shares strategies for systematizing operations and building a team that enables real growth and freedom, rather than creating more management headaches.

Chapters:

Introduction to Ryan Deiss and Episode Overview (00:00:00)
Host introduces Ryan Deiss, his background, and the episode’s focus on business operating systems and hiring.

Common Mistakes in First Hires (00:02:12)
Ryan explains what not to do when hiring your first employee, warning against hiring assistants for minor tasks.

The "Genius with a Thousand Helpers" Trap (00:02:56)
Discussion on why hiring helpers instead of professionals leads to more management and less freedom.

Hiring Professionals to Own Critical Functions (00:03:46)
Advice to map value creation, identify weak spots, and hire experienced professionals to own those areas.

Overcoming Fear and Financial Concerns in Big Hires (00:04:37)
Ryan addresses the fear and financial hesitation of hiring high-level employees and how to mitigate it.

Cost Comparison: Professionals vs. Multiple Helpers (00:06:14)
Breakdown of the financial and operational impact of hiring one pro versus several lower-level helpers.

The Real Cost of Ineffective Hiring (00:07:48)
Explains the long-term frustration and wasted resources from hiring multiple helpers instead of a pro.

Path to Entrepreneurial Freedom (00:09:18)
Ryan outlines the goal: remove yourself from all value creation steps by hiring pros for each function.

Debunking the "Learn It Before You Hire It" Myth (00:10:13)
Ryan refutes the idea that founders must master a function before hiring an expert for it.

Three Actionable Takeaways (00:11:39)
Host summarizes key actions: value creation mapping, overcoming imposter syndrome for big hires, and automating processes.

Closing and Where to Learn More (00:13:31)
Ryan shares where listeners can learn more about his programs and communities.

Links and Mentions:

Tools and Websites 
Founders Board

Key Takeaways 
Value Creation Mapping: "00:11:58" 
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: 00:12:59 
Automating the Value Creation Process: 00:13:28

Transcript:

Josh 00:00:00  Today I'm super excited to introduce to you Ryan Deiss. Ryan is the founder and the CEO of The Scalable Company Digital Marketer, and a founding partner at Scalable Equity, LLC, a venture equity accelerator that builds and acquires B2B media and software brands. He is a bestselling author, founder of multiple companies, collectively employing hundreds around the globe, and one of the most dynamic speakers on business operating systems in the United States today. So welcome to the podcast, Ryan.

Ryan 00:00:32  Thanks for having me. It is not difficult to be among the most dynamic speakers about business operating systems, because most people would consider that to be like watching paint dry. But I think it's I think it's pretty sexy stuff, so I appreciate that.

Josh 00:00:47  Hey, and I agree as well. Typically it is, it is one of those topics that most people, I think tend to avoid, right? If you go to a conference and you're like, which one should I go to? I think the shiny object is always like the newest marketing hack, right? Or like social media? and with your experience obviously running Digital Marketer, you're you're well versed in that.

Josh 00:01:09  And I think you could argue you're one of the most well-versed in digital marketing itself. But today we're going to be talking all about business operating systems. So how do you know who should be your first hire? Right. is it kind of going along that customer journey, so to speak, or your value journey that we're talking about here? And is it identifying, you know, hey, actually our secret sauce is in product innovation, right? Like that's our secret sauce. That's where it seems like we're bringing a lot of value, especially on Amazon. Right. You talk about, you know, bringing traffic. It's like well Amazon's brought traffic to you. Plus they have the fulfillment engine. So like they've tackled two big levers for a lot of people right. so if you identify like, hey, we're really good at product innovation or something like that, Does that mean, hey, I should first hire out that product innovation? Or do I need to figure out a product? Do I need to hire a project manager? Or is it an executive assistant? Like, how do you go through the process of deciding who to hire first and why?

Ryan 00:02:12  So let me answer the question by telling you what not to do.

Ryan 00:02:14  And then I'll come back around and give a more explicit answer. So what most people do, and it's not what you should do, is they go around and they look at all the stuff that needs to get done, right. And it's their name in all the boxes. And so what they say is, okay, I need to get somebody to help me with all of the little things so that I have more time to do these quote unquote important things. Right? So I need to hire, you know, a virtual assistant to help, like, answer my email and to deal with my scheduling. And, you know, I need to hire somebody else over here to, you know, respond to this and take care of that. And, you know, in this particular step, if I, if I just had somebody to help me do some of the pieces of this, you know, then, you know, then then I could be more efficient. And what we're doing when we do that is.

Ryan 00:02:56  And the reason that's not what you do is you're what is known as the genius with a thousand helpers. Okay. And so you're not actually creating any additional space and freedom for yourself. You're just adding the management of other people and the tasking out of other people to your already cluttered to do list. And that's why it doesn't work. And that's why ultimately these people wind up failing and we're like, oh, they suck. And they were supposed to help me. And they're supposed to take time off. And they're not. They're just asking me all these questions. I don't have time to answer all these questions. Right. It's because we didn't hire someone to own a critical aspect of the value creation process. We hired somebody to help us continue to own that process. So what I would encourage you to do is look at the value creation flow and to say, what are the critical tasks and processes that I don't like. And I'm not particularly good at, but I'm currently being forced to do okay.

Ryan 00:03:46  So it's incredibly critical. It's incredibly important. But you don't necessarily like doing it and and you don't necessarily. You're not necessarily the best in the world at it. So let's say again, you know, you're running an e-commerce business and you really love the product side of things. You love the innovation and the sourcing. you love, you know, thinking about the packaging and the positioning, but you're getting the bulk of your traffic, let's say, from, you know, Pinterest and Instagram. And really, you don't geek out that much on Pinterest and Instagram, but you're good enough at it, right? So what people would say is like, I guess I'm gonna get somebody to help with photography and maybe somebody can write some of the descriptions and do a littl...