The author's personal experience with hiring their first employee, Aaron, led them to conclude that finding and hiring great people is not easy and requires careful planning and execution. They highlight the importance of using the right tech tools and workflow to streamline the hiring process, rather than relying on guesswork or intuition. The author shares their own small business hiring toolkit, which includes tools like Evernote, Google Forms, Calendly, Dropbox, and Google Sheets, among others. They emphasize the need for a clear and focused approach to hiring, including writing a winning job description, filtering applicants, and conducting thorough interviews. By following these steps, small businesses can increase their chances of finding and retaining top talent.