Finding Your Workforce On WhisperApp ; - )

It's been awhile since I blogged about one of my most favorite apps, Whisper. Of course one of my post about Whisper has been number one on my top ten most popular post on this blog. Not picked by me, but by how many readers hit on that one. There is virtually no chance that anyone of my other post will ever be able to beat it, except my current rising star on my blog, my daughter Shayla. She got on the top ten in days, and no one has done that, except Whisper. 

When I had first discovered Whisper I was immediately addicted to it. As the months went by and life hit some hardships for me, I stopped Whispering. Then every once in a while I get on it, and the most amazing things happen. I meet great people. Funny people. Good people. 

Just this week alone I have met two perfect candidates to hire for my startup Passdown. Yep, I think I could hire my entire workforce from Whisper App. I can't tell you how many developers I've met on Whisper, and of course you can find Venture Capitalist and Angel investors too if you so seek. As an employer I'm not interested in posting an ad in Craigslist or some other form and getting ninety applicants to read though. I kind of like, just bumping into people randomly. Discovering who they are in real life. 

As earlier this week Shayla and I were at the mall and I found a potential great sales woman, who surely could sell Passdown. I saw her in action and I hope she will be a future employee.

Now you may wonder how I find people to hire on WhisperApp, if it's anonymous. I talk to them in the chat area. It's so funny cause often times the chat room conversations are not about seeking employment. Shhh, can't tell you what they are about. I find that people are actually pretty damn honest, since it is anonymous, unless you choose to share more. 

If you take away all the nerves a person would feel when interviewing for a job, well, than you get the real person. Of course I did find a few people I hired from Whisper for my last startup, and well, they didn't work out. I had to fire them. Good practice for me. They both were good people, but not good workers. 

I will have to have some other checks in place to hire these future employees, one of them will be to be interviewed by my co-founder Wael. As a startup builder, I like to be creative and do things the non traditional way. I do not want to hire the traditional way, that's boring. There are great potential workers all around us, we just have to stumble upon them in ways neither side expected. 

Enjoy your Whispering and keep your mind open for the unexpected! 

Hiring People For My Startup? Not Part Of The Fantasy.

Every time I followed my ideas, I never thought about the whole picture. If my idea turned into something that people would want, then I might need to hire people to help me build a company. Well, that never entered my mind. Hire someone? No, not in the fantasy of the idea at all.

The Idea Fantasy Is Just That
A fantasy without all the intricate details of how to mass produce the product, get it to the customers, yeah, sign on the dotted line to be a startup, when you wake up out of the fantasy.

The day came, when I needed to hire help. Yet I was still in the unstable ground of my startup, not having a cash flow, not making money, yet needing help. How do I hire someone and tell them "I can't pay you anything" uh-huh or "I can pay you a little here and a little there" that one works just about as good as the other one. Okay people here is the job posting: New Startup looking for someone who will work countless hours for no pay. Someone who likes to create, devople and discover. Someone who loves tech, the internet, mobile, apps, design, and having no social life. Oh yeah, it's a really great job by the way! So please apply. : - )

I Started Seeking Hiring Help
I knew it would take a special kind of person, who had the special kind of circumstances to be able to work for me. That kind of person is super hard to find. People need to get paid to live. You have rent, automobile gas, insurance, internet connection, cell phone charges, heat and electric, and some people have families to support. Virtually no one can work for no pay, except the founders. The founders always seem to find a way.

I have managed to bump into a few potential hires. Now, I have a problem, because, I've never been a boss, I've never had to hire someone or fire someone. How do I judge them? How do I decipher their code? Are they someone who who can see my vision, or are they someone who pretends just to get a job? Are they seeking cash just to stay alive, or are they seeking a quality of life, and cash is only the means to quite the bill collectors? 

Judging Others
To be placed in the position of judging another is so very hard for me. It's been quite shocking to me to be frank. I thought all people were just like me. Hard working, never giving up, give way more then you get paid for, never be late, outshine everyone with a smile, and go way overboard to care for your customer. Hmmm, it seems like, no one is like me. This makes me sad. 

As kind as I am, I have been used. Yep, I let these people who say they want to work for me, basically con me and take my money. The very little cash I had left to make my startup go. I gave it to them in hopes they would give me what they promised. Yet they had seen that cash as only a means to end their agony, not as a means to build a gift for humanity. 

It's Not My Fault They Are....
Yet I don't blame them solely, I blame myself. Because I have no skills in hiring people. I think every person is great and has potential. Then when I have to see the truth about them, it hurts me. The truth was, they only want money and to satisfy themselves. They are not concerned with helping me build a company, they are not concerned with helping others. Yes, they truly are all consumed with themselves. It's really sad. 

It's A Catch 22
Yeah, we all have bills to pay. But when you agree to do something for another person you should always give them more worth then what they pay you. That's my philosophy. It doesn't hurt me at all to give the countless jobs I have had every bit of my soul. I show up early, I always show up happy and with a smile. I always give every patient (customer) my everything. I am being paid to be there and to do a job. Not a so so job, not a lousy job, but a more than they pay for, job. This is how I live my life. Giving way more than I'm paid for, because to see another worker slack and make excuses for not being kind to another, for not doing the job they are paid for, to see the lazy worker who hates their job, and would hate any job, well, to see that kind of person is to see a self concerned person. That's not what I want to be.

Step Out Of Yourself And Help Others
You can do that every time you show up to the job you don't like. By being the best at that job, then anyone. By being the kindest at that job than anyone. You can help others in every job you have, by being the most extraordinary worker. It's up to you to SHINE. You can shine shoes, shine mirrors, shine floors, it doesn't matter. You can SHINE in any job you have, even if you hate it. When you find that the struggle to pay the bills is not what you should focus on, when you find, that your focus is on helping others and not yourself. Well, you'll find, life is pretty awesome! 

Give it a try! : - )