James Altucher

From James Altucher, editor, The Altucher Report: Sometimes, you need to hire people. But triple-question this. Because once you hire them, you can’t fire them…

Are you sure you aren’t hiring someone for a task you can do yourself? For instance, you don’t need a secretary to book your plane flights and make restaurant reservations. Do it yourself.

Or sales. The founder should be the sales guy for the first $10 million in revenue.

Don’t hire five programmers. Studies show the difference between a good programmer and a bad one is about 10:1. Hire one great one and pay double what you’d pay five mediocre programmers individually.

The success of a business, the success of a relationship, the success of an artistic scene—are all going to be determined by the people you surround yourself with.

If someone isn’t an A+, he’s an F. He or she might later become an A+… but if your only choice is an F, don’t hire anyone.

And don’t hire if you don’t have at least six months’ cash in the bank to support the hire.

Reeves’ Note: To see James’ list of nine more basic mistakes every entrepreneur makes, for free, click here.

Mark reveals his own “Secret Recipe for Success in Business”—including why leaders should devote most of their time to developing superstar teams—in this month’s Creating Wealth. All paid PBRG subscribers can view it right here.