What Every Business Needs Before Hiring Its First IT Person
Most businesses wait too long to think about IT. The network works “well enough,” Wi-Fi seems fine, and there’s always that one person who “knows a bit about computers.” But when growth hits—or worse, something breaks—patchwork systems turn into real problems fast.
You don’t need a massive IT department to build a strong foundation. What you need is a clear structure: networking that scales, basic security that works, and visibility into your systems before they become a problem.
This guide breaks down the essential IT infrastructure every business should have before they hire their first IT professional.
A Network That’s Actually Designed (Not Just Plugged In)
In early-stage companies, it’s common to set up routers and switches in a way that “just works.” The trouble is that these quick fixes often create blind spots.
A solid base includes:
A structured network map (even if it’s just a single diagram)
VLANs to separate critical systems from general use
A managed switch rather than a random pile of consumer routers
A secure Wi-Fi network with proper guest segmentation
📝 Pro tip: Investing in basic network visibility tools early on saves a ton of debugging later. Solutions like PathSolutions can help lean teams understand not just where devices are, but how they’re interacting—critical for spotting weak links before they break.
Security From Day One
You don’t have to implement a zero-trust architecture on day one, but ignoring security until “later” is a fast way to invite trouble.
Start with:
MFA on critical accounts
A password manager for the whole team
Role-based access (so no one has “admin just because”)
A basic endpoint protection solution
📎 Recommended resources:
CISA MFA Guidance
NIST Zero Trust Framework
A Monitoring & Alerting Layer
This is the part many small teams overlook. You might not need an enterprise SOC, but you should have:
A basic dashboard showing the health of your network
Logging on critical services (especially authentication)
Alert thresholds for downtime or device issues
A way to trace problems between devices—not just on devices
This is where network monitoring solutions come into play. Tools like PathSolutions, SolarWinds, and Datadog offer visibility that helps small teams operate like big ones. What sets PathSolutions apart is its focus on inter-device monitoring, helping identify issues before they snowball into outages.
A Documentation Culture (Yes, Even at 5 People)
Every company reaches the point where someone asks, “Wait, where’s that configured?” If the answer lives only in one person’s head, you’ve already got a problem.
Before hiring an IT person, write down:
Network maps and IP address allocations
System access credentials (stored securely)
Vendor and service contacts
Recovery steps for basic issues
Good documentation doesn’t just help future IT hires—it makes onboarding new employees faster and keeps your systems consistent.
A Simple Incident Response Plan
When the network goes down, chaos is inevitable. A one-page plan can be enough to keep things calm:
Who to call first
Where to find network documentation
How to escalate if something’s beyond your team’s expertise
A basic recovery checklist
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to exist.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to be a Fortune 500 company to take IT seriously. In fact, the best time to build good IT foundations is before you hire your first IT person. With a structured network, basic security, monitoring, and clear documentation, your future team won’t spend their first six months cleaning up avoidable messes.
And when your systems start to grow, you’ll already have the visibility and resilience most organizations only wish they’d had from the beginning.
Quick Checklist:
Structured network with visibility
MFA and basic security in place
Monitoring layer installed (PathSolutions, SolarWinds, etc.)
Documentation started
Incident plan ready