For many solo entrepreneurs, moving from seasonal workers to putting your first employee on payroll becomes a matter of necessity.

“I became a little overwhelmed with the client load,” says Bill Douglass, principal of Gotham Communications in Fairfield,Conn. Douglass hired his first employee because “I needed someone to handle administrative details and research.”

After that straightforward decision comes the grunt work — the unfamiliar and occasionally scary financial and legal obligations of the employer, including a legal hiring process.

But take heart; you can handle it if you plan ahead, take it one step at a time, get good advice, and render unto staffing services your small business staffing needs what you’re better off not doing yourself. Here are some key factors to keep in mind.