Whether they want to or not, most entrepreneurs start their businesses on their own. Several do want workers but have a difficult time filling open positions.
SCORE’s latest infographic highlights the challenges of entrepreneurs creating the right team in their first year of business.
This infographic highlights the findings of part 3 of The Megaphone of Main Street: Startups report.
Who handled these responsibilities during your company’s first year?
Strategy/Planning:
- 96.6%: Owner
- 0.6%: Employee
- 0.6%: Contractor
- 0.1%: Intern
- 2.1%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Sales
- 92.9%: Owner
- 3.5%: Employee
- 1.5%: Contractor
- 0.1%: Intern
- 1.8%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Marketing
- 92.3%: Owner
- 1.5%: Employee
- 2.4%: Contractor
- 0.1%: Intern
- 3.5%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Logistics/Inventory/Distribution
- 88.9%: Owner
- 5.3%: Employee
- 2.8%: Contractor
- 0.1%: Intern
- 2.8%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Service delivery or Product creation/Manufacturing
- 82.6%: Owner
- 9.3%: Employee
- 6.1%: Contractor
- 0%: Intern
- 2.0%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Technology
- 79.1%: Owner
- 2.5%: Employee
- 10.3%: Contractor
- 0.3%: Intern
- 7.8%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Accounting/Finance
- 76.7%: Owner
- 3.5%: Employee
- 14.3%: Contractor
- 0%: Intern
- 5.4%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Manufacturing
- 72.7%: Owner
- 6.1%: Employee
- 18.8%: Contractor
- 0.3%: Intern
- 2.0%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
Legal
- 60.5%: Owner
- 1.3%: Employee
- 32.6%: Contractor
- 0.4%: Intern
- 5.1%: Family/Friend (unpaid)
More startups want to hire in the first year than those surveyed in our 2017 Megaphone of Main Street data report:
- 54% sought employees in their first year in 2019, while
- 38% sought employees in our 2017 survey.
Finding qualified people is a bigger struggle in 2019:
- Owners who had difficulty filling job openings: 52% in 2019 and 41% in 2017
- Owners who could not fill job openings: 33% in 2019 and 14% in 2017
Challenges in filling open positions:
- Cannot find qualified applicants (skills/expertise): 75.7%
- Need to raise salary/wages to be competitive: 28.8%
- Do not offer health care benefits: 27%
- Too time-consuming to hire qualified workers: 24.3%
- Company location not desirable to candidates: 7.2%
- Candidates do not pass drug-testing requirements: 6.3%
Whether you’re a startup or an established business, SCORE mentors can help you succeed.
