I can’t afford more staff. But how do I explain?

Dear Aunty B,

I don’t know what to do. We have grown fast and there is a lot of pressure on our staff but I can’t afford to hire any more people, as we are barely breaking even.

One of my key staff is threatening to quit as she says it is upsetting her work/life balance. I am working a 70 hour week as it is. How do I explain to staff that we just can’t afford more staff? Especially as our people are expensive.

LY
Sydney

Dear LY,

You don’t. Here is what you must do. You need to carry out a profit audit of the business. Where is the profit coming from? How do you get more profit? What things can you jettison that are not making you enough money? What can you do less of? How can you move resources around to focus on the very profitable activities? Because this is your aim. To get more money in that door. And I had a quick look at your website and see you run a consultancy business. But not all jobs are $100,000-plus.

Think hard. Can you restructure and bring in a junior to do easier tasks? I am sure you do a lot of presentations. Do you know how quick the kids are at putting them together??

Don’t try and do this at the office. Take your key people away for the profit audit day. You will be surprised at the result.

Good luck!
Your Aunty B

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