Welcome to…
The Hiring Fix
A 4-part, self-guided hiring course with actionable steps to completely simplify finding, hiring and managing talented & qualified freelancers, so you don’t have to experience the same hiring mistakes you’ve made before or continue trying to do everything in your business on your own.
Something tells me you don’t have time for another so-so freelancer.
Wasted time and wasted money are on the line, or worse—feeling stuck with the wrong person for your business.
And, no one teaches this stuff. Even if you’ve hired someone in a past corporate job or brought on a friend for a couple hours of weekly support, hiring freelancers comes with its own entirely distinct set of challenges.
You find yourself thinking: There has to be a better way... Right?
No matter what stage you’re at in your business, the moment you realize you actually, really need support?
Usually, it’s well past the threshold of balance, and full-steam on your way to burnout.
As an online entrepreneur especially, you already carry a lot on your plate.
Beyond the deadlines, meetings and vetting new clients or partnerships—not to mention responding to inquiries, managing your website, oh, and *actually running* the intricacies of your business—you know there are also new opportunities for growth you’d really love to pursue… if you had the capacity.
But you already live half-attached to your phone, and your to-do list never seems to get any shorter.
In fact, it grows by the day, and the inevitable time comes when you realize, “I can’t do this alone.”
That is, not if you want to feel semi-sane and most-of-the-time present with your loved ones, while also taking your business to the next level.
You squeeze your eyes shut and start to consider it. You force yourself to just try to picture where to even begin… And your mind draws a blank.
After all, what in the world does hiring even look like for online entrepreneurs?
The times you’ve sorta, kinda dipped your toes into the hiring pool, you’ve felt plain confused. Or you’ve been burned.
Sometimes, just a mere static-shock-level burn—a little spark of “ouch, yeah, that’s not for me.” Others, a full-on house fire that you weren’t sure you could salvage and that threatened to do you in.
If you’ve hired support in the past, odds are you’ve dealt with…
Picking someone who you got along with, but who didn’t add any real value to your business.
Getting ghosted by a fabulous candidate who you truly believed was “the one.”
Working with a freelancer who didn’t deliver the quality of work you need in your business.
Wasting thousands on underqualified, subpar or challenging freelancers who weren’t the right fit.
Not knowing how to part ways with someone who simply didn’t deliver consistent or competent work.
Struggling to even figure out what kind of role you need, and where to find the best freelancers for your business.
Even if you haven’t hired—yet—you’ve likely thought about (err, or worried incessantly about) any or all of these scenarios taking place.
And, can I let you in on a little secret? You’re right to take this seriously.
Hiring as an entrepreneur isn’t just posting a job and crossing your fingers that it all works out, that you find someone who’s “good enough.” It isn’t a project you can rush through or throw endless amounts of money at, like many big-name corporations can do.
Hiring for your own small business is deeply personal.
It’s one of the most vulnerable actions you’ll take as an entrepreneur.
Hiring requires understanding your own needs, wants, strengths and weaknesses, just as much as you understand what you need help with and want to outsource. It also requires the ability to let go—to trust that the person you hire is capable and dependable to do their job.
Which means it's your duty to find the best of the best, so that you can feel entirely confident in who you hire (and the ways they’ll support your business going forward).
So, yeah. That’s no small weight to carry.
In fact, it’s an immense responsibility, one that threatens to do two things to most entrepreneurs who come to their own hiring crossroads:
1. You either freeze—you stay stuck doing everything on your own, trying to stay on top of it all and hustling to keep your head above water, because that somehow feels more manageable than trying to guess your way through a complicated, unknown hiring process.
2. Or, you step forward trepidatiously, into the wild, uncharted terrain of hiring freelancers, gathering up inconsistent advice from friends and reading whatever halfway-helpful articles you can dig up on the subject online.
You hear suggestions to start with a family member or friend that needs some extra work. “Just hire someone you know a few hours a week at first!”
Or—no, no… “Start with Facebook groups! Make a post about needing a VA. Everyone needs a VA.”
You wind up piecing together a hiring plan that’s not much of a plan at all. It’s more like, “Well, I may as well try this and see how it goes?”
Months pass, and you find yourself hand-holding more than managing, and redoing blasé work more than leading—without much progress being made on those shiny opportunities you’d hoped for and planned to pursue after hiring help in your business.
And then, you end up wondering if bringing on support was really worth it at all.
The truth is this: No one talks about the unique challenge that is hiring freelancers for bloggers and other online businesses.
Most people who are teaching about hiring are actually talking about employees, not freelancers.
Then, there are the $20 hiring courses that don’t really give you any concrete plan to hiring well and end up being huge disappointments (and a waste of a crisp $20 bill).
Or, you find some spiffy, free resource all about hiring a virtual assistant.
And, let me throw this out there right now: Virtual assistants can be FABULOUS—if you actually need one.
I’d venture to guess that most online entrepreneurs you know who have teams have a VA that they rave about.
They’ve probably urged you to hire your own, too, because VAs have become this popular catchall role in the online business world that everyone thinks they want (and need) to bring on board ASAP.
The problem is, virtual assistants can generally do a few things really well... but you’ll never be able to find one who can handle the multitude of tasks in your business the way that you can.
If you’re looking to hire a mini-you, you’re going to be looking for a long time, because...
The best freelancers, unlike entrepreneurs, are specialists.
You got into running your own business to do what you love and had a part in all the moving pieces out of necessity, to keep things running and growing.
Meanwhile, freelancers have concentrated on a few tasks inside one niche and gotten really, really good at doing those.
At least, the super-talented ones have.
While hiring a VA might seem trendy (or just sound easier), you likely need someone—or, yep, perhaps even a few someones—who are incredibly good at handling distinct areas of your business. Freelancers who specialize in...
Sales copywriting
Content writing
Project management
Video editing
Photo editing
Ad management
Launch management
Social media management
Online business management
Sure, sometimes online entrepreneurs really do need virtual assistants, to help specifically with smaller, administrative tasks. More often, though, they need specific help in one or more areas of running their business.
And, if the thought of *potentially* needing to hire more than one freelancer makes you queasy as you watch dollar signs flash before your eyes, rest assured:
The best freelancers? The ones with specific skills within one niche?
They are often fast, detailed and well-trained experts, who get it right the first time.
(Psst, meaning you’re actually spending less—and stressing less—than if you pay someone who ~kiiiind of, sort of~ understands Pinterest to spend hours prepping pins, when there’s an expert freelancer out there who could get it done in 45 minutes.)
If you’re like other bloggers who have come to the end of a long road of DIY-ing iffy teams from personal recommendations and sleepy hiring forums, then you’re probably wondering…
What next? How do I FIND these super-talented, super-specialized freelancers?
✔️ You know you can’t keep doing everything in your business on your own and expect to thrive, professionally or personally.
✔️ You know you can’t rely on a team that isn’t very good at doing their jobs (even if you like them on a personal level).
✔️ You know you can’t afford (and don’t really want the responsibility of) hiring a full-time employee.
✔️ You know you can’t do the same things you did last time you hired and risk the same mistakes or more wasted time & money.
✔️ And you can’t seem to figure out where to look to find the GOOD freelancers you always hear others talk about.
Truth be told, hiring probably wasn’t even something you thought much about when you started your own business.
You wanted freedom, you wanted meaning and you wanted to do what you loved.
For a while, you were able to reap the benefits and joys of doing just that. Until you got busier. And life got fuller.
Finally, after barely getting by, you realized the only realistic & obvious choice to save your sanity and continue moving forward in your business was to bring in support.
The options for when, how and where to start with your hiring journey can quickly become overwhelming, just like any other big decision in your business.
It’s not your fault, either. You’re well-versed at engaging your ideal clients. You’re excellent at creating resources that serve your people well. You’ve spent years building an active following and generating dream-worthy business partnerships.
And, maybe in a past {corporate} life, you’ve helped hire people before.
You know the basic components of hiring: job posting, applications, interviews, offer and onboard. How hard can it really be to do it for yourself, in your own business?
You’re talented, intelligent, ambitious and aware. You KNOW you’re not able to work on your business alone any longer, or with a “meh” team by your side.
So, you start investigating and digging, but soon understand the number of options to consider when hiring freelancers is staggering:
When do you know it’s really the right time to hire?
How do you figure out what position is the best to hire next?
Where should you post your job posting?
What should you even include in the job posting?
What if people don’t apply?
What if you choose the wrong candidate?
You can do hard things, but this? This is new territory, and although it seems too complicated at times to figure out—I promise there’s a simpler way to approach hiring freelancers.
What you don’t need is another decent freelancer found in some random Facebook group that you spend way too much energy trying to train to fit your business.
What you do need is a time-tested, step-by-step, simple plan that you can implement to discover the best role to hire, to bring that person in and to finally focus on the parts of your business you love.
It doesn’t have to take all of your energy and time. It doesn’t have to come with a heaping side of “what if [insert hiring nightmare here] happens again?”
You deserve to hire a freelancer with confidence. And, you deserve to know that your business (and you!) will be supported by a proficient, caring expert who just gets it.
Hiring well starts with focusing less on where to find good freelancers and, instead, uncovering your own strengths and weaknesses.
From there, you can begin to craft specific positions that totally remove the stress from your plate, and attract the perfect freelancers to fit the bill.
That’s why I created this program:
To help online entrepreneurs like you decode this mystifying world of hiring freelancers, so that you can bring on the team of your dreams and finally get back to those parts of your business that light you up—while you let someone else handle the rest.
INTRODUCING
The Hiring Fix
A self-guided digital course that walks you through a simple and strategic process for hiring freelancers: choosing the right role to add to your team, developing a job description that attracts the best, reviewing applications with ease, making the offer and onboarding and managing your new (star) team member, confidently.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many resources available for online entrepreneurs looking to hire freelancers. And, there’s a lot of misinformation out there. Advice like…
✖️ “Just hire the cheapest person you can find.”
✖️ “Bring on a relative or friend that you know you can trust.”
✖️ “Find a virtual assistant that can handle all of your miscellaneous support needs.”
✖️ “Take this $30 hiring course that you can finish in less than an hour.”
There’s no way to rush the hiring process, but there is a way to simplify it.
While none of these are inherently wrong, they shouldn’t be your go-to move in hiring freelancers.
Why? Because hiring freelancers has so much more to do with YOU—and what you need support with in your business most—which means, there’s no one-size-fits-all way to hire.
The best way to hire freelancers well isn’t by quickly getting anyone semi-qualified who *could* do the job onboarded ASAP. (In fact, I’d argue that’s a recipe for disaster & disappointment 99% of the time.)
It’s by unearthing your own goals, passions and holes in your business—so that you can create a position that complements what you want and like doing—and then strategically attracting the person (or people) who can work on everything else.
If you focus less on where to find good freelancers and instead uncover your own strengths and weaknesses, you can begin to craft a position that totally removes the stress from your plate and attracts the perfect freelancer to fit the bill.
And I’m ready to show you exactly how.
THE PROGRAM
Four modules of easy-to-comprehend lessons, tools and exercises to clarify the role you need, attract the best candidates, review & filter applicants stress-free and ultimately make the right hire.
You’ll also receive all of her plug-and-play templates for job postings, work sample ideas, interview questions and more, so you can feel entirely ready and confident to rock your hiring journey and bring on the support you need.
Plus, with the VIP level you get direct feedback on your job posting, a 1:1 strategy session with hiring strategist & course creator Emily Perron to ensure you’re on the right path and access to Emily’s email list of freelancers for when your job posting is open.
MODULE 1 | Build Your Team
After a quick introduction and details about Emily’s core philosophy around hiring freelancers, you’ll get a walk-through about how to make the most of the course materials long-term. You’ll also gain an understanding about the difference between employees and freelancers and why it’s an important distinction, plus you’ll start narrowing down the exact role you need to hire next.
By digging into your own greatest needs and finding the holes in your business, Emily will show you how to determine your strengths and discover what’s missing in order to nail down the role that makes most sense for you.
MODULE 2 | Attract the Best
After you’ve selected what role you want to hire, it’s all about attracting the best freelancers to fill that position! While you might think it’s all about where to find good freelancers, the truth is that it’s much more about your approach: HOW you find them. The key component? A captivating job posting that’s mega-attractive to top freelancers.
Module 2 will take you through the 6 steps to drafting highly appealing job postings* that will snag the best freelancers’ attention (and ultimately get them to apply to your role). From crafting an irresistible title to communicating the specific tasks you need to outsource, your job posting will take shape and prominently stand out from the multitude of vague, shady and unspecific job postings floating around that top freelancers do their best to avoid.
*Plus, as a bonus at the VIP level, Emily will personally review and provide feedback on your job posting to make sure it’s as captivating as possible.
MODULE 3 | Find the One
You’ll waltz into Module 3 with the confidence that you have a knock-out job posting, which sets you apart from the majority of people looking to hire freelancers. Now, let’s focus on getting your job out there with lessons on how and where to publish your job posting, the easiest way to review applications (without overwhelm) and how to conduct interviews simply.
Emily’s job posting formula attracts anywhere from 30 to 60-plus applicants, which increases your odds of really awesome freelancers applying. If those numbers stress you out, rest assured: The lesson on reviewing applications hands you a simple process to identify the top 10 to 15 candidates, without reading every application in depth, plus instructions to narrow it down further so you only have to interview three to five candidates. Emily has refined this process to make it as efficient and effective as possible, because she knows your time is valuable.
Finally, you’ll get her straightforward method for how to pick the BEST candidate for your business, and how to share the good news with your freelancer of choice!
MODULE 4 | Onboard New Team Members Smoothly
Hiring a fabulous freelancer is only a benefit to your business if you’re able to bring them on-board smoothly and manage them well. No pressure, though! You’ll be equipped with everything you need by the end of Module 4, which is all about building a lasting, mutually beneficial professional relationship with your team.
From hosting a comprehensive kick-off call and assigning your first tasks to addressing miscommunications or missteps with a team member, you’ll gain an understanding for how to best communicate with and lead your team so that everyone gets the most out of the partnership. Emily also addresses how to handle team members who just aren’t working out, as well as the most common management questions that come up long-term.
The Hiring Fix completely simplifies the process of hiring freelancers and delivers the most straightforward system to get the RIGHT role added to your team.
In so many ways, it’s the exact course I wish I had when I was first starting to hire freelancers in my own business.
I found my very first freelancer by making a post in a Facebook group that I was looking for a “sparkly and reliable VA” to help with editing and other administrative tasks.
*FACEPALM*
After four people applied, I interviewed one and hired her then and there. No shockers here: It didn’t work out. She’d randomly complete assignments on her own timeline, wouldn’t respond to messages and then raised her rates (even though her service was lackluster).
Following that, over the course of five years, I went through 10 more freelancers—all performing various roles and some who even ~majorly~ upsold me on services that I later realized I didn’t need whatsoever.
It was a hiring hot mess:
I hired people just like me, with my exact same strengths… who ultimately multiplied my weaknesses.
I hired people with attractively low rates… who ended up spending dozens of hours on “research” and materials I didn’t end up using or needing.
I hired people who looked incredible on paper… who actually weren’t good communicators or easy to work with… at all.
My goal is simple: I don’t want you to experience my same hiring mistakes.
I wasted thousands of dollars and spent countless hours trying to manage the wrong people. But, over time, I refined my process and built systems to support what was slowly, but surely, becoming a better way to hire freelance support.
In 2018, I made my first absolutely amazing hire, and my process has remained unchanged since (and our partnership is still going strong). Since, I’ve brought on two more fabulous team members that fully round out my team and position me to concentrate on the areas of my business that energize me.
I’ve also taught my strategic hiring process to hundreds of bloggers and creative entrepreneurs who want to spend less time doing the stuff they don’t enjoy or aren’t good at in their businesses.
This work has led me to build this self-guided curriculum, in order to help you find the RIGHT support. The support you deserve.
It’s the “how to hire freelancers, without the headache” course. This is the most effective way to hire the best freelancers for both you and your business to flourish.
Allow me to {officially} introduce myself:
Hi! I’m Emily.
I work as a Hiring Strategist and help online and creative entrepreneurs expand their teams with high-quality support.
Previously, I spent 10 years in the corporate world, where I was a hiring manager in event planning for more than 5 years.
Over the course of my career, I’ve worked in marketing, coaching and organizational consulting, and I have a Master’s in Industrial & Organizational Psychology and Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and English.
In other words? I really get people.
My zone of genius is connecting with others, building relationships quickly and teaching what’s worked for me in business. What’s more: I’ve been running my own online business for more than 5 years, and I get the unique challenges that come with building a team when you’re working from home and running your business from a laptop.
That’s how I got into this complicated space of hiring freelancers: I experienced my own trials, errors and frustrations with the process and began playing with new ways that eventually transformed how I hired.
And then I began showing other entrepreneurs my method—mostly, at first, as an experiment: to see if what I was finding to work for my business could work for others.
When it did? I knew I had something exceptional that I needed to share with even more business owners looking to expand their teams with actually solid freelancers.
It’s so funny as I look back at my life and career, because as much as I never assumed I’d become a trusted expert in hiring, so many indicators from my past lit my path toward this work.
Throughout my work experiences in both the marketing and event planning corporate roles, I was consistently asked to help with hiring in multiple departments. Heck, in the ninth grade, I was asked to be on a student selection committee to help pick the new principal at my school! I was 14 years old, one of only four teens selected for the committee, and it was the first time I consulted on hiring.
When I’m not helping entrepreneurs build amazing teams, you’ll find me spending time with my husband, Paul, our sweet baby boy, Tommy, and our ultra-sassy Labrador retriever. We live in western Wisconsin and love the outdoors (yes, even in the winter!). I have about 35 hobbies in total (from reading and playing piano to long walks and Fantasy Football) and get bored quickly... which, in hindsight, might explain all the hobbies.
If you ask me, one of the most beautiful parts about having an amazing team you trust is that it frees up your time and capacity to truly enjoy things like your family and your hobbies—oh, and the pieces of your business you adore.
I’m here to help you get that team in place, so you can build the balanced business (and life) you so deserve.
Enroll in The Hiring Fix and you’ll get:
+ The 4-module lesson plan with snappy and actionable 5- to 7-minute videos, illuminating activities and smart templates for building and implementing a seamless freelancer hiring plan. (Valued at $1,495)
+ Plug-and-play templates and samples to make your hiring journey as smooth as possible, such as sample job postings for common roles, a spreadsheet template for filtering candidates, work sample ideas, the most important interview questions and email templates for communicating with candidates throughout the process. (Valued at $995)
+ Lifetime access to the program so that you receive all enhancements, updates or added templates going forward. (Priceless!)
Upgrade to The Hiring Fix VIP and you’ll get everything above plus:
+ Direct feedback from Emily on your job posting to ensure the language attracts the best talent and you’ve covered everything top freelancers look for. (Valued at $995)
+ A 30-minute 1:1 strategy session with Emily to break down your current hiring roadblocks, discuss your strengths and determine where you need support the most. (Valued at $995)
+ Access to Emily’s freelancer email list to get your job posting out to freelancers who also resonate with Emily’s approach to hiring so you can increase your chances of attracting a high-performing freelancer. (Priceless!)
GET THE HIRING FIX NOW FOR JUST $297
Or, a simple option to spread out the investment:
UPGRADE AND GET THE HIRING FIX VIP FOR JUST $497
Or, a simple option to spread out the investment:
Frequently Asked Questions about
The Hiring Fix
+ What if I’ve hired in the past and it didn’t work out?
I get it. Hiring freelancers is HARD.
And that’s why this course is about a different way of hiring. One that creates a top-notch experience for you and all the candidates, so you attract the most talented and high-performing freelancers.
If you have hired before and were disappointed, my hope is that this detailed process reinvigorates you and gives you a new path to follow.
It will help you get clear on who you need, what you need and what’s important when it comes to hiring. And it takes the guesswork out of reviewing, interviewing and selecting candidates.
Hiring previously shows you’re brave enough to seek out help. Now let’s make sure we get you the very best support in place.
+ Where do I find the best freelancers?
This depends on a few factors like whether you need someone locally or virtually and the role itself: writer, virtual assistant, project manager, etc.
All of this is covered in the course, and I’m available by email if you have additional questions on this.
More than focusing on where to find them, the course will show you it’s about HOW to find them: how to craft a highly attractive job posting, how to clearly communicate what you need and how to set up a mutually beneficial partnership that lasts.
+ What if I’m not ready to hire yet?
This program is for online entrepreneurs who have hired unsuccessfully in the past or are hiring for the first time and have too much on their plates to even try figuring it out again on their own.
If you believe you’ll be ready to outsource in the next few months, this course will be the simplified roadmap you need to gain confidence, clarity and support around how to hire.
+ Isn’t it expensive to hire a team?
We’re talking about hiring specialized, talented, high-quality freelancers here, not employees.
The beauty of hiring the right freelancers is they can do the stuff you avoid or hate doing in way less time. So, you’ll get to spend MORE time on your strengths and focus on growing your business, and you can start with just hiring one freelancer at an hourly rate for a few hours a week.
The money spent is far more likely to come back in when you are able to focus on what you’re really good at doing, and outsource the rest.
+ What if I have no clue what position I need to hire?
Determining what role to hire is tricky, but this program will give you access to the tools I use in hiring, from selecting roles to hiring and onboarding.
Plus, I’ll give you direct, 1:1 guidance throughout your hiring journey to help you make the best decisions for your business.
+ What if I already have a team, but I’m not sure it’s the most effective?
If you’re unsure about the support you have in place, odds are it’s not the best support possible. When you have the right team members working for you, you’ll feel supported and empowered to pursue new opportunities and trust that they are taking care of their individual tasks with timeliness and detail.
Inside the course, I provide guidance on how to peacefully end relationships that aren’t working out with freelancers, as well as how to give constructive feedback if you do think the partnership can be repaired with the right communication.
+ How long will I have access to the course materials?
You’ll have access to the course materials for the life of the program. You’ll also receive access to any and all upgrades, additions or new resources that may occur in the future.
I’m proud to offer a 100%
money-back guarantee.
I’ve seen these materials work—not just within my own business, but for countless bloggers and creative entrepreneurs who didn’t know where to start with hiring freelancers or who were afraid to repeat past hiring mistakes. Because I believe so fully in the transformative power of this hiring process, I’m invested in making sure it works for you, too.
If, however, you aren’t happy with your results from investing in The Hiring Fix, I offer a 100% money-back guarantee for up to 14 days after you purchase the course. The one requirement is that you complete all the worksheets connected to Module 2 to receive your refund. Send us proof of your participation at hello@emilyperron.com, and we’ll return your money, no questions asked.
