The Dilemma: Do I Hire or Automate?

Hey, it’s David!

I talk to business owners every day, and one challenge keeps coming up:

“We need to grow, but I don’t know if we can afford another hire.”

Sound familiar?

Margins are tight. Your team is maxed. You’re doing too much already. And adding someone new feels like rolling the dice… meaning more salary, more time, more pressure.

It’s exhausting.
And the old playbook doesn’t make it any easier:

• More revenue? Hire a new salesperson.

• Better customer experience? Bring in another support person.

• Need things to run smoother? Add a manager.

But here’s the question I’ve been asking lately… what if the answer isn’t more people, what if it’s better leverage?

…I wonder if four flight attendants are enough for this flight

A few months ago, I flew home from a networking event and sat next to a founder who looked exhausted. His company was solid on paper, but his team was buried, and he felt like the only answer was hiring more people.

But his margins couldn’t support it. The cost of salary, benefits, and ramp-up time made every new hire feel like a gamble.

So, I asked him

“What if the problem isn’t that you need more people… what if you need better ways to execute with the people you already have?”

That shifted the entire conversation.

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A Powerful Thought to Ponder

What if the real problem isn’t that you’re short-staffed… but that your people are doing work that’s slowing them down?

Let’s be real. No one lies awake thinking, “I wish I had AI.”
But they do worry about:

✅ Deals stalling because follow-up fell through the cracks
AI can track every conversation, remind your team who to follow up with and even help draft what to say. That’s time back and deals moving again.

✅ Burned-out team members doing low-impact work
AI can take the first swing at reports, summaries, or slide decks so your people aren’t wasting brainpower on busywork.

✅ Operations running hot with no time to stop and fix the leaks
AI can flag patterns you don’t see like rising support volume, lagging delivery times, or cost creep, so you fix problems before they become fires.

Here’s what I’m seeing smart business owners do. They’re using AI like a behind-the-scenes strategist… not to replace people, but to take stuff off their plate that’s bogging them down.

It’s not magic. It’s about removing friction so your people can actually do the work that moves the needle.

Not hype. Not robots. Just better execution.

Before You Post That Job Opening… Pause.

Old way: Growth = Hire more.
New way: Growth = Free your best people to do their best work.

Before you commit to that next hire, ask yourself, “Are we really short on people… or are we short on focus?”

If your people are spending their energy on the wrong things, adding more bodies won’t fix it. But shifting how the work gets done might.

Something to think about.

The win?
Same headcount. Way more traction. And way less burnout.

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David