Why Hiring Before Need Matters

As a business owner, you’re in problem-solving mode all the time.

Sometimes, you slip into opportunity mode, but for most leaders, your days revolve around problems: spotting them, solving them, anticipating the next one. And when you’re always looking for what’s broken, you miss something critical:

You miss the opportunity to sit in what’s working.

That’s the danger—getting caught in a loop of constant dissatisfaction. Especially when it comes to people. Because people—your team—are your most valuable asset. And if you’re only looking at them through the lens of problems to solve, you’ll miss the ones who could unlock something extraordinary for your business.

You Don’t Control the Timing

If a brilliant potential hire crosses your path, but you’re laser-focused on solving some unrelated fire in your business, you’ll look right through them instead of at them. And here’s the truth: The idea that you get to declare when a need exists—and then go find the perfect person to fill it—is delusional.

Can you post a job and fill it? Sure.

Is that the only way to find people? No.

Is it the best way to find the right people? Absolutely not.

You’re not in control of everything. Sometimes, the universe delivers the right person, but if you’re not open to receiving them, you’ll miss it.

A Personal Story

Several years into my career, I was ready to leave the company I was at and step into a more supercharged stage of working—the “I know enough to be dangerous, but I still have a lot to learn and need a place to spread my wings” type of supercharged. But that’s not exactly something you put on a resume. I called the one person I knew at the company I wanted to work for, got a meeting with the owner, and pitched an idea for a role I thought they might need.

We had two open-ended interviews. I could tell, based on my background, he was trying to push me into sales, but I stayed focused on what I really wanted to do. I left that second meeting thinking it probably wasn’t going to work out. But a week later, he sent me an offer. The position? Basically TBD.

He didn’t know exactly what I’d do but he brought me on anyway. That runway turned into 14 years of building systems, leading teams, and eventually being one of three people on his executive team.

He wasn’t hiring. But he was ready.

And look what he would’ve missed if he wasn’t.

Hiring From Need Creates Desperation

If you’re only hiring when you’re desperate—guess what? You will find people who are also desperate. That energy attracts itself every single time. And every time I compromised, even just a little, to get a seat filled? I regretted it.

Every. Single. Time.

Keep the Channel Open

If you’re serious about hiring for opportunity—not just during crisis—you need a system that reflects that. That means having a way for people to find you, even when you’re not actively hiring.

Keep a general application form live on your website.
Let people pitch themselves—whether they know you personally or not.
Use language that invites people who feel aligned to raise their hand, not just those checking boxes.

Some of your best candidates won’t be watching your job boards. They’ll be watching you. Keep that invitation open and the right ones will accept. This is especially powerful for customer-facing businesses.

People who’ve experienced your brand might be your biggest advocates—and your most motivated hires.

When you leave the door open, with the right intention, you don’t have to chase the synergy, you’ll just attract it. You only have to recognize it when it walks in.

Build Your Bench

Now, I get it. You can’t always hire full-time at the drop of a hat, especially while you’re building. But that doesn’t mean you wait around until you’re under water.

You can still build a bench.

Take the meeting.
Keep the connection.
Track great people.
Follow their career moves.
Be ready when timing aligns.

Having a bench means you’re not scrambling. It means investing time into people with potential even if you can’t yet invest money into them. It means when the right role or opportunity opens up, you can move fast—because you’ve opened this channel already.

“If you’re desperate for a hire, you’ll find people desperate for a job.”

Hiring, Simplified Still Applies

Having a bench doesn’t have to be stringing people along. Like everything else, it has to be thoughtful. Keep them informed as to what’s going on with you. Be truthful with what you believe is your hiring target, and let them know when it changes (because it will). These aren’t pre-interviews, these are connections, so be clear about what this nurtured relationship means—that when you’re ready, you’ll open the door for actual interviews with them.

Just because you didn’t start with a job posting doesn’t mean you go off script. The steps in Hiring, Simplified still matter. Fit still matters. Alignment always matters.

You’re not abandoning the process, you’re just using it with an open mindset.

“Lean” Is Not a Leadership Badge

Let’s talk about this obsession with being lean. What does that even mean? Yes—profit matters. But too many founders wear “lean” like it’s some kind of badge of honor. It’s not. A fully staffed team—hell, an overstaffed one—is not a liability. It’s a launchpad.

Running lean is running in lack. Eventually you’ll realize you’ve been sprinting a marathon—and you’ll collapse. You want a team that can carry momentum without you dragging it.

Let’s call it like it is: Business doesn’t stop. There’s no summer vacation, no graduation, no time for reflection. So stop pretending like you’ll “catch your breath” after the next hire, the next fire, the next deadline. If you don’t fuel the system—you’ll break down.

So think about this: What would change if you stopped from leading lack and started leading with momentum, alignment, and opportunity?

What would your business look like if you only hired for what was possible, not just for what was broken?

Why Don’t More People Do This?

Because it feels risky.

It feels like a luxury to hire when you don’t have an obvious gap. It feels reckless to spend money before there’s a problem to solve. It feels safer to wait until the need is painfully obvious—until you can justify every dollar, every hour, every role.

But that’s survival. And I’d bet you didn’t get into business just to “survive” every day.

You’re not actually avoiding risk by waiting. You’re just delaying the moment you’ll have to scramble. And scrambling is expensive. So your choices are—

Keep playing defense—waiting for the next fire, the next gap, the next desperation hire.
Or start playing offense—building from what’s working, hiring for what’s possible, and attracting the kind of people who don’t wait for permission to do great work.

And let go of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Because when the right people show up? You don’t want to miss them. And you sure as hell don’t want to be too afraid to say yes.

It’s Ready For You Now

I took care of the how, so you can focus on what you need. Hiring, Simplified is the proven framework and strategy you can use for your first hire or your fiftieth. And there’s no wrong time to start it.

Get it here.

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