Why you should hire entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are known as self-starters, highly motivated individuals who are willing to provide a grand vision as well as roll up their sleeves and get involved in the work on the front lines of a business. Of course, they're also associated with owning and operating those businesses, but that doesn't mean your company should overlook them when it comes time to recruit new staff.

"Entrepreneurs bring an undeniable passion for the business and the industry they work in – after all, that's why they opened their own businesses," says Lisa Rauhauser, Division Director of Beacon Hill's Legal Division in Los Angeles. "Entrepreneurs also offer the unique perspective of knowing what it's like being an employer and also an employee. When they are hired after running their own businesses, they are often more understanding of all aspects of their employer's business. They have been in their shoes, and have a finer appreciation of the decisions and risks inherent in running a business."

Hiring entrepreneurs can help your company by adding diverse skill sets, management experience and plenty of exposure to working in high-stress situations. Let's take a closer look at how job candidates with this type of background can benefit your organization.

Experience - even failure - can make entrepreneurs better employees

The task of starting a business - and all of the considerations that come along with it, from making the appropriate legal filings to marketing and building a positive reputation - is no small feat. A candidate who has successfully completed this process knows how to organize their professional responsibilities and manage their own activity. That's true even if their startup eventually dissolved. While it's a good idea to look into the reasons behind a potential hire's business closing and make sure there are no red flags, this experience can help them be a productive, dependable staff member.

Forbes contributor Louis Mosca said failure builds character, providing valuable context and knowledge that is difficult to gain outside of spending many years in a managerial or leadership capacity. Be sure to discuss what candidates with entrepreneurial experience learned while operating their own businesses and consider how it applies to your organization. Short-term rental site Airbnb found significant success after its founders focused on hiring staff with entrepreneurial experience, former employee Jonathan Golden said. He noted that finding staff who were capable of seizing the initiative and taking action directly, when necessary, was especially valuable for the company as it grew.

Entrepreneurs can identify opportunities for improvement and spearhead change

Every successful business has to grow and change over time, whether it's dramatic, short-term shifts or more gradual, but no less transformative, adjustments over time. Employees with entrepreneurial experience understand the importance of business development and expansion, having led efforts to help their own companies do exactly that. While they likely won't be hired specifically as change management specialists or managers for an upcoming effort to move the company in a new direction, they have plenty of relevant knowledge that can be brought to bear when the time comes.

Allbusiness pointed out that employees with entrepreneurial experience can also lead change efforts on a smaller scale, such as implementing new scheduling systems or inventory tracking processes. Directing these new hires toward projects that are within their specific job descriptions and require some type of improvement, so long as the appropriate level of guidance and context are provided by more veteran staff members, can lead to positive results.

For assistance seeking out and hiring new staff with entrepreneurial experience and the right qualifications for the specific roles you need to fill, get in touch with the expert recruiters at Beacon Hill.