What kind of person should I hire for a small newsletter business?

Nothing in this business is really that hard. Newsletters, cold calls, websites. You can figure it out.

Do I need specialists?

No. We don't need specialized people. We need people with growth mindsets who say, I've never written a newsletter before, okay, tell me how to do it.

There are exceptions. When I posted a social media role on Handshake, a job board for college students and recent grads, I got a ton of resumes and talked to a few people. I didn't love any of them. Social media is such a unique skill set that most people aren't good at it the way I want. For a writer, operations and proofreader type of role, I think a college hire could actually work.

What attitude am I looking for?

• No hiding. This is not a big company where you can hide for three months before somebody notices you didn't do much.
• Not an employee mindset. I want you to do what I'm saying, but I also want you to push back and give me ideas.
• Forward motion. The question is always whether we're moving the ball forward on the business.

Does a college degree help?

For me it's a hurdle. If you have a degree and want to work for me, that's a barrier you have to overcome. It doesn't mean I won't see your personality, but I'd have a negative view until you started telling me what you're actually doing: running ads, newsletters, cold calling. Then I'd think, okay, he gets it.

I'm not telling anyone to drop out. The old path of degree, internship, then a big salary to shuffle papers is done. Have some skills.

Will they actually use AI?

Most won't, at first. I'd argue over 50%, maybe over 80%, of people want to keep doing things the slow way because it's familiar. We're not in the familiar game. I'm changing this stuff every minute.

If someone tells me they like spending a week on something, I don't care what they like. Do it the most efficient way possible. I also hold off on paying for software for a new hire until they show they'll change their behavior. Paying for a tool you won't use means I'm wasting money thinking you're doing something new while you're still doing it the old way.

How do I test whether they're fast enough?

"Took you a little too long for that. I understand it's first time. Let me show you why you could have done that in not 45 minutes. You could have done it in five or 10. Watch this. Here's how you're going to do it. And then you test her again the next day."

The right people may not get things at first and may seem slow. That's fine. What matters is what happens after you show them. If they're not quick after learning, that's when it gets scary.

Where do I find them?

• Your own newsletter. An operator I know hired a local mom to write his newsletter. As I understand it, she was reading his newsletter and asked him about a job.
• College job boards. I put up an intern writing job on Handshake for the first time and got a candidate who sounded pretty decent.
• Offshore VAs. My notes on that are in Upwork vs. a managed VA firm.