Small business owners are often engaged in a constant struggle between keeping overhead low and expanding the capability of the business. Hiring employees is a positive and exciting experience that unfortunately has the potential to turn very bad. Business owners need to trust their new hires, and as much as folks want to rely on their gut feelings and judgments, there are just too many bad people in the world. It is important to avoid small time crooks and professional con artists who have perfected the art of earning trust. So, how can a small business owner find all the necessary information about potential hires while maintaining low costs?

Free background research

Remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch. There is also no such thing as a free employee background check, at least not one that is easy and comprehensive. What you can do for free is search for public records on your person of interest. There are a number of websites, such as SnoopStation.com, that allow you to more easily thumb through criminal, financial, martial and vital public records. You have to do the search by state, which is troublesome if your potential employee is a recent transplant. These sites require time, effort and even a little bit of savvy, and you are never positive that you have all the available information on a given individual. There are sites that instantly give you all the available information but they charge fees.

Free and easier

It is possible to find out information on your potential hires without official background checks. You might not get hard facts about previous court records, but you can at least supplement your gut feeling with some information other than what the person gives you face-to-face or on an application. Try using search engines such as Google. If the person has a common name, search for the name with a location. This should at least turn up any newspaper records, and you can often also find proof of enrollment in colleges and previous employment with large employers. You might not get a lot of straight up details, but you can probably verify some information. Also check social networking sites such as Facebook, where you can at least get a small glimpse of the prospective employee's private life, such as what he or she posts or how he or she communicates with friends. Note that you might not get access to the profile, and as a potential employer, you should probably refrain from asking for access. Do not "friend" the applicant, it is uncomfortable for everyone involved.