A first hire turns a flexible cost base into a fixed one. Everything difficult about it comes from that sentence.
Payroll leaves on a date you cannot move
Until now, a slow month meant you took less. From the first payday, a slow month means you take nothing and the salary still goes out. Most people need three months of payroll in the buffer before this feels survivable rather than frightening.
The real cost is not the salary
Employer contributions, equipment, insurance and the software seat all arrive with the person. Budget the salary plus a quarter and you will be close enough to plan with.
Your own pay becomes a decision
A one-person business pays whatever is left. A two-person business cannot, because “whatever is left” now has to be predictable for someone else. Setting your own salary is the part founders postpone longest and the part that makes the numbers legible.
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