Here is a video about how to fix a pothole and with two different methods of compacting the mix into the hole. With a small hole you can use a car tyre and drive back and forward on it to give the initial compaction and then finish it off with a tamper such as a 4x4 piece of timber. To hire a compactor for a small hole doesn't justify the time, energy and cost and these items will do just fine. It may require some hard physical labour however I believe the cost is worth it.

It you have a larger hole or area to resurface, you should use a compactor as there is more chance of a vehicle doing tight or even stationary turns on the repair and we want the maximum compaction in the first couple of weeks which the product is hardening the most rapidly.

Tip - In a couple of weeks after the coldmix starts to harden it is good practice to use Bitumend Crackfix to seal the sides of the repair so no more water gets in under the surface causing the asphalt around the repair to weaken and therefore create another pothole in the weeks and months to come.

As soon as you see a crack in your asphalt - seal it.  Water is the biggest asphalt killer and cause of potholes and asphalt repairs. 
It's not water on the surface that is the problem. It's the water that gets under the asphalt that weakens the sub base of the driveway or road that causes the problems. The water strips away at the integrity of the sub base making it weaker and therefore more cracks appear. 
Because the asphalt surface over time become more and more brittle it continues to crack and can form potholes very quickly after a big downpour.
Get onto sealing them now - it will save you plenty of money in the years ahead. I can't tell you the millions of dollars i have seen go up in smoke because asphalt life has been shortened because of a lack of maintenance. By shortened the length of life of the $100000K by 3 years is an extra cost of $20000 to its owner. That's big money and if you take good care of it you can lengthen it out and make savings of $30000 easily. Easily!!!
Where did I get these figures? Let's assume an asphalt carpark should last 15 years (that's a good life), that's a cost of $6500 per year. If you don't look after your asphalt it means you have to come up with the cash much sooner than anticipated and if you lenghten its life you are effectively saving yourself time and therefore money because the next resurfacing job.
Below is a quick video of how easy it is to reseal a crack - anyone can do it. There are products on the market, but the most popular and easily to use for the home owner or even the smaller contractor is Bitumend Crackfix.