Sometimes their value to you is less than their value to someone else. You may need them, but the value they bring to the business has to pay off. That puts a hard limit on what you can pay for that skill.
It can suck to run a business - sometimes there's no good solution. I'd suggest more contracting for necessary-but-non-critical skills, but contracting's a jungle too.
It can suck to run a business - sometimes there's no good solution. I'd suggest more contracting for necessary-but-non-critical skills, but contracting's a jungle too.