The hiring process can be very daunting, and as I mentioned before, we're in the process of filling two positions and it's time consuming. But make sure you make the time, because if you don't, you won't be sure to hire the right person.

Here are five of the most common mistakes I see retailers make during the hiring process:

Mistake #1: The average store owner spends far too little time during the actual interview process. I'd recommend spending between two-three hours interviewing, because you need to hire the best possible employees for your store. Hiring mediocre employees can cost you thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Mistake #2: Asking potential candidates "leading" questions. There are many underlying reasons why employers ask leading questions ("We're looking for a great sales person. Do you think you excel in that area?"), but I suggest that retailers use behavioral interview questions. In this style of interviewing you're asking open-ended questions where job candidates give you specific examples of previous experience. This methodology is successful because past performance is usually the best indicator of future performance. When interviewees don't have previous experience in an area, or skills for a certain task, they are unable to give specific examples, signaling they may not be as strong as another candidate.

Mistake #3: Only using one source to find potential leads. I post our job openings in various newspapers (online and off), on Craigslist and on our website—then I conduct a paid search of resumes on Monster.com, ask our current employees for referrals of people they know who might be interested and sometimes even ask customers for suggestions. Through this multi-prong approach, I'm able to find a wide variety of candidates.

Mistake #4: Always check references and do a background check. When you're hiring for your store you should always run a background check and check references.

Mistake #5: Spending too much time talking and not enough enough time listening. As an enthusiastic store owner, it's easy to spend a lot of time talking about the position, why your store is unique and why you offer such a great work environment. While it "breaks the ice" for the employer to spend the first five to ten minutes giving a brief overview of the store, I'd suggest getting into the behavioral interviewing process very quickly. During that time, it's critical to really listen to what your candidates are saying and try to minimize "jumping in" while they are answering the question.

One last thing… I record most of the interviews we do on my iPhone (research has shown that interviewers only retain about 30% of what they hear)—it makes it helpful to go back and listen again, especially when you're trying to narrow the field of candidates.