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If your to-do list feels longer than a wedding seating chart and you’re dreaming of the day you can finally hand over just one thing to someone else… this one’s for you. Because as business owners, especially women doing all-the-things in between daycare drop-offs and launch deadlines, hiring someone feels like the logical next step.
But hiring someone to fix your overwhelm might not work if you haven’t figured out what your actual job is.
This episode with Ash Battye is the pep talk-meets-strategy-meets-wake-up-call we ALL need before hitting “post” on that job ad.
1. The Messy Middle Before the Hire
Ash knows the chaos. She’s running two businesses, raising two small humans, and planning a wedding. So when she says there’s no such thing as a perfect time to hire, she means it. But the real trick isn’t timing… it’s clarity.
“If you don’t know what your role is, you don’t know what another role is that you’re going to bring into your business.”
Before you hire, you need to define your own job.
Not the reactive, wear-all-the-hats, 400-tab version of it.
But the intentional, this-is-my-zone-of-genius, CEO-level version.
Get clear on:
- What only YOU can do in your business
- What’s draining your energy (and could be handed off)
- What your business actually needs next based on your vision
Because if your business is zig-zagging with no clear direction, hiring someone won’t fix that. It might even make it worse.
2. Define the Role (and Make It Make Sense)
Most of us don’t start our business thinking about org charts and role descriptions. We start with, “Let me see if I can make this work.”
Ash breaks it down beautifully:
“You have to define your own role as CEO so you know what sits with you… so you know what you can take off your plate to then hire.”
Defining your team member’s role isn’t just about tasks. It’s about fit:
- What are the soft skills they need to thrive in your culture?
- What do they value?
- How do they communicate?
Forget the checkbox of “must have 3 years experience in XYZ software.”
What you really want? Someone who aligns with your vision and values first, because skills can be taught.
Alignment can’t.
3. Hiring Isn’t About You (Surprise)
“Their hiring process is not about them at all. It’s about the candidates that they’re putting the role out into the world to find.”
Oof. That one hits.
Ash challenges the traditional hiring mindset that says “I have a job, someone should be grateful to get it.” Instead, flip it: how can I create a great experience for the person applying?
Why?
Because how you show up in that hiring process becomes part of your brand. And because aligned, values-based candidates are attracted to that energy.
That means:
- Writing a human-centred, values-led job description
- Communicating clearly and kindly (even with the “nos”)
- Treating your candidates as humans, not headcount
4. Trust (But Don’t Ghost)
Okay, so you’ve hired someone (go you!). Now what?
This is the point where most of us (yes, even me) start creeping back into micromanagement mode. Because it feels easier to tweak things or jump in “just this once” than to fully let go.
But Ash reminds us:
“It’s okay to let this go. That in itself is a massive thing that we don’t know how to do because we’ve held onto it so tightly for so long.”
Delegation is a mindset shift. It’s less about “they’ll do it perfectly” and more about “I hired this person for a reason… now I’ll let them do their job.”
5. What If You Made a Bad Hire?
First up, it happens. Even when you’re intentional.
But instead of spiralling into guilt or writing off the whole process, start with curiosity.
“Start with a conversation, a simple conversation… what do you need from me for us to move forward?”
Sometimes it’s just a language misalignment.
Or an unclear expectation.
Or a support gap.
Start there. Talk. Lead. Adjust.
And if it still doesn’t work? Move quickly. The longer a misalignment lingers, the harder it is to fix.
Final Thought: Leadership Isn’t Just for Big Teams
You don’t need to call yourself a CEO (unless you want to). But you do need to lead your business with intention. Even if it’s just you and a VA.
Hiring is a milestone, yes. But more than that? It’s a mirror.
It shows you what you believe about your business, your leadership, and your worth.
So start there. Start with your job. Define it, own it, and THEN invite someone in to support it.
About Ash Battye and Emerald HQ
At Emerald HQ, we support women in business to build teams that actually work – the kind where people share your values, take ownership, and grow with the business. We focus on hiring the right people the first time, HR admin that sets you up for long-term success, leadership support that helps you step out of being the employee and into your role as leader of your business, and defining and embedding culture that attracts and keeps the right people. Everything we do is real-world, people-first, practical, and built for small businesses. Founded by Ash, Chief Hiring Nerd and Hiring & Leadership Partner, our work combines clarity, culture, and confidence to create trusted teams and sustainable success. At Emerald HQ, our focus is ultimately on supporting women to build with intention a business they enjoy and life they love, whatever success looks like for them.
Connect with Ash:
https://www.instagram.com/emeraldhqau
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleighbattye
Step into your role as leader of your business and join the Emerald Leaders Lounge as a founding member for just $79 per month – https://www.emeraldhq.com.au/emerald-leaders-lounge
WORK WITH JACQUI:
// DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb
// The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub
// Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio
