The highlight of my day was interviewing a potential hire. It brought back some memories — the kind that shape you as an entrepreneur.

This year, I’ve had to let two people go, and it has taught me a lesson I wasn’t prepared for: hiring is easy, but letting someone go is incredibly difficult. This has made me to become more deliberate in my approach to hiring.

As a new entrepreneur, you never really think about having to let someone go when you first hire them. You focus on the excitement, the promise of what they can bring to your team. But sometimes, things don’t work out, and you find yourself facing one of the hardest parts of running a business. It doesn’t feel good. It leaves a mark. And it makes you much more cautious about the next person you bring on board.