Today, we’re going to talk about how to build the best team for you.
Putting together a team that maximizes your strengths and supports you in every area of your business is essential to your entrepreneurial journey. Let's look at a few options you have to build the best team for you.
Transcript
This might surprise some of you, but the best team for you is different from the best team for me, and it’s different from the best team for John or Mary. We are all going to have a different team that’s best for us.
There is no “one size fits all” in creating a team that kicks ass for your business.
The Leader
I’ll start with my team because people are always curious about it.
I don’t like having employees. I know. You’re thinking, “That’s so weird. You’re teaching people to hire and recruit and you don’t want to have employees.”
Notice I didn’t say, “I don’t have team members”…I don’t have employees.
I don’t have W2 employees simply because I don’t want to. I’ve had them a lot in the past, and over the years I’ve found that I really enjoy partnering with other entrepreneurs more – so freelancers, other vendors, partners like that who have struck out on their own and are very good at what they do, so they can either make a living as a freelancer or they have a company doing it. That’s who I work best with, because they generally talk fast and think fast, just like me.
A lot of times with employees, I felt like I was really spending a huge amount of time getting them up to speed, and you just see money going drip, drip, drip. I realized that isn’t who I want to work with. Personality-wise, I fit better with entrepreneurs.
That’s something that you should think about. Are you hiring employees over and over and being constantly disappointed? You might want to look at building a team of experts. Call them your superhero squad. You’re the super stud at what you do. That’s the graphic designer star. That’s the content writing star. Whatever it is, you can build the team that supports you, so you get to do what you’re genius at, and you get supported in all the other areas that are important for your business.
That’s how I create my business. I surround myself with people who are excellent in their field, but they don’t just work with me; they work with other people. Some of them work almost exclusively with me, however the vast majority of them have other clients. That’s one way to build an amazing team.
The Manager
I’m going to use my sister as an example of another one, just to show you that two people who are biologically related can have entirely different approaches. My sister is the quintessential manager. She could turn a lump of coal into a diamond in five years. It’s crazy. She is patient. She is very upfront. She sets clear expectations. She holds people to it. Everything they tell you in the manager books that you should do, she does.
I know, weird right? I am so not that person at all. I Don’t like managing people. I feel like you're an adult, you should show up and do your job. That’s what I hired you for.
However, if you happen to be one of those people who is blessed at being able to be patient, explain things, set up processes and systems, set clear expectations and repeatedly hold people to it, address when they’re not showing up to work on time or if their work quality isn’t there, you have a huge opportunity.
You can work with employees, and you can hire people who are a little bit greener, so you can pay less. and grow your own. That ability to manage is a way to save money and get great rewards. Also, if you’re a really strong manager, lots of times, your team is very attached to you, because they see how you’ve helped them develop and grow. It can be really powerful if that’s your nature.
It is not my nature. I can manage. I was a HR manager. I had a team of 20 direct reports, and different things like that. I am certainly competent and capable of managing; I just don’t love it. As I mentioned in a different video, if it’s not fun, I don’t want to do it. I don’t think managing is fun, so I don’t want to do it. So I find people who are awesome, and I work with them. Simple.
My sister feels like you expand your world exponentially when you can train people to do it your way. She’s right. It opens up a huge amount of doors, and it saves you money. But that’s not who I am. She would probably never – because she’s frugal in nature – hire the expensive people I hire to do it, because that would be more painful to her than spending the time to train them. Whatever is your way, own it.
I would describe myself as a leader, because I want you to be excited to follow with me. I don’t want to make sure if Bob is staying on the trail. Bob, if you’re with me, you’re with me. Catch up, and make sure you’re keeping up! Whereas my sister is very willing to have that conversation as many times as needed.
The Independent Contributor
The third person, who I would call the independent contributor, is somebody who is an individual contributor by nature. That was me as a recruiter. I was in a commissioned position. I didn’t have any reports, it was just me, a Lone Ranger, eat what you kill kind of thing.
That is true for a lot of people – a lot of realtors, a lot of people who are selling insurance, different things. They are essentially a Lone Ranger and an individual contributor. You need to decide if that’s what you want to be, and maybe have an assistant here or there to support you, or if you want to build a team of awesome people. You need to decide, but there’s nothing wrong with being an individual contributor and that being your nature.
My most successful business to date – I’m hoping RikkaBrandon.com beats it – was largely me as an individual contributor rocking and rolling at recruiting, because that’s what I’m great at. I hired assistants to support me. They did the stuff I didn’t want to do, and I just made bank.
Any of these work. They’re all super powerful: the manager, the leader, and the individual contributor. You might be like, “Oh, I don’t fit any of those.” These are three archetypes that really fit most entrepreneurs, and so I just wanted to share them with you and give you an idea of how you can build a team that supports you and your type of entrepreneurship.
I hope this helps!
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