Operations · 6 min read

First 3 hires every solo business should make — or outsource.

Hiring is the obvious answer to overload. It's also expensive and slow. The right move is usually outsource-first, hire-later — but not for every role. Here's the order most solo businesses should think in.

Quick answer

The first three roles to fill (in order): (1) routing/dispatch — outsource to a routing service like OutOfOfficePro, $9.99/mo; (2) bookkeeping — outsource to a part-time bookkeeper, ~$300/mo; (3) admin / VA — outsource to a fractional VA, ~$25/hr. None of these need to be hires until you're past $500k revenue.

The principle: outsource specifics, hire generalists

Outsourcing works for narrow, well-defined tasks: bookkeeping, dispatch, copywriting, design, paid ads. Anyone who can do the task can do it for you.

Hiring is for roles where you need someone with context across multiple things, judgment specific to your business, and continuity. The first hire is almost always a generalist who does many things — wrong move for most solo businesses too early.

Role 1: Routing / dispatch

What it is: handling after-hours and overflow inbound calls/emails so they reach the right vendor or person without you.

Hire path: $25–35/hr answering service per call, or a fractional dispatcher at ~$3k/mo.

Outsource path: a routing service like OutOfOfficePro at $9.99/mo or $99/yr.

Verdict: outsource until you're at $500k+ revenue. The math doesn't work to hire until then.

Role 2: Bookkeeping

What it is: monthly reconciliation, invoice tracking, expense categorization, sales tax filings.

Hire path: full-time bookkeeper at $50k–70k/year.

Outsource path: part-time bookkeeper at $250–500/mo, depending on transaction volume.

Verdict: outsource until you're at $1M+ revenue. Even then, fractional often wins.

Role 3: Admin / virtual assistant

What it is: scheduling, email triage, simple research, document prep.

Hire path: full-time admin at $40k–55k/year.

Outsource path: fractional VA at $20–35/hr, ~10 hrs/week.

Verdict: outsource at first. Hire when you're paying a VA more than 30 hours a week consistently.

Roles to skip in your first three

These often look tempting but rarely belong in the first three:

Salesperson. If you're solo, you ARE the sales-person; that's how you build the muscle that lets you train someone later.
Marketing manager. Outsource specific functions (SEO, ads, content) before you hire a generalist marketer.
COO. Tempting but expensive. Most 'COO problems' are actually 'I haven't built operational redundancy' problems — fix that first.

How to know when to hire instead of outsource

Three signals:

You're spending more on outsourced services in a month than a part-time hire would cost.
The work needs context that doesn't transfer well between contractors.
You've been burned by quality issues with outsourced providers in the same role 2+ times.

// The cheapest operational hire

OutOfOfficePro is the dispatcher you don't have to hire.

$9.99/mo. 14 days free. Replaces the after-hours role most owners eventually hire for at 100x the cost.

Start 14-day free trial →