If you're a solopreneur looking to hire your first employee, here are 4 questions to ask yourself before you start

• Some of the millions of solopreneurs in the US may be considering hiring their first employee.
• But when, who, and how to hire can be tough questions to answer as a solo founder.
• Entrepreneurs suggest asking four questions to determine whether hiring is the right next step.

A year after launching his content company, Make with Max, Max Mirho was juggling too many responsibilities to focus on his business. He was simultaneously finishing his undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University, establishing himself as an entrepreneur in the media industry, and balancing multiple side hustles.

Mirho hired his friend as a contract employee, assigning them the responsibilities Mirho felt he didn't have time to complete.

"I brought them on when the workload became too much for me," Mirho told Insider. "I knew that it would allow me to create twice as much content because I would be able to focus on creating rather than editing." He added that the decision to hire drastically increased the success of the business.

Mirho is one of an estimated 25.7 million solopreneurs in America. For those thinking of hiring their first employee — whether to shoulder the workload or help scale the business — it's important to be strategic in the timing, Mirho said.

For him, the decision to hire came down to math. "If you have the money and can predict that it's going to make you more money, or at least find you more customers, you should make the step," he said.

Insider spoke with Mirho and two other serial entrepreneurs about when founders should hire and what to consider before extending a contract. They agreed founders should first ask themselves four questions.

1. Is there a crucial part of my business that's missing?

Krishna Pendyala was an engineer before launching his first multimedia startup, which relied on audiovisual technologies. He could cover the visual components but needed an audio expert to fulfill the company's other needs. His first hire was a cofounder who could bring the skills he lacked.

"It was a 50% partner, because I felt he had as much to share as I did," Pendyala said.

Pendyala said that if a branch of the company or a certain task is pertinent to the success of the brand, that's your first hire.

2. Am I 'EATing' well?

Pendyala said the next step is setting boundaries as a founder to ensure you aren't draining your energy, attention, and time, or EAT.

"If you don't have energy and the attention capability, what good is giving something time?" Pendyala said, adding that if an entrepreneur feels that any of these vital resources are depleting, it's an indicator that an additional teammate may be necessary.

Mirho said it's important to have enough income before extending any offers. "You should only hire someone if you have a significant amount of revenue to support that," Mirho added. "When you're hiring somebody, that's their job; it's important for their life. It shouldn't be a selfish decision."

3. Have I reached a stage where I could hire out tasks for demonstrably less money than my own hourly rate?

David Finkel, an author and founder of a business coaching platform, Maui Mastermind, suggests looking at what it costs you per hour to run your business. If there are specific tasks that could be completed by someone else for a cheaper rate, that's a sign to outsource.

For example, if you're a solopreneur offering consulting services for $300 an hour and your day is flooded with administrative tasks like updating the website or designing marketing graphics, could you hire a contract worker for $30 an hour to complete that work for you?

He added that if your mundane responsibilities are taking up too much time and preventing you from adding another client to your roster, you should consider outsourcing tasks.

4. Are there activities that I find extremely draining and don't directly correlate with company growth?

In any business, there are responsibilities that are crucial to its success, like maintaining the quality of the product or service. But there are also necessary tasks that don't directly result in customer satisfaction, like billing and web development, Finkel said.

He added that if you find that the non-value-oriented work exhausts you, it's important to get it off of your plate.

For example, if you are a legal-service provider who hates invoicing clients, you can hire an accountant to complete company finances.

Finkel said that once you free yourself from those basic jobs, you can spend more time focusing on higher-level responsibilities.