Are you planning on setting up a business team? As a business owner, running a business alone can be burdensome, especially if you are thinking of upscaling and hitting a big number. To achieve your entrepreneurial goals and bring your dreams to life, you need to get a team. If you want to get something done right, the best way to achieve this is to do it yourself.
However, as golden as this rule is, it is only applicable in certain scenarios and can only get you so far. In the elementary stage, during expansion, the rule that says “two hands are better than one” is your best bet. Especially when setting up a team.
Another important reason for this is the need for a broad skill set. As your business grows and expands, you need not just more hands on deck but more skilled hands. You are not going to be an expert at every aspect of running even your own business. There are skills you won’t have, experience you will know nothing about. And you will need these. This is why you need a team.
However, setting up a business team is a delicate affair for a small business owner. It means you are opening up your doors to external parties to be a part of the journey with you. This can either mean well for you or end up draining you of your entrepreneurial energy and drive your business off course. To prevent this, there are certain things you should be on the lookout for in selecting your business team members.
Compatibility
This is the first thing factor to consider in setting up a business team. Your team should comprise people you are comfortable working with. Do they have the same vision for the future as you do? Are they interested in the vision, the business idea in its inherence, or they are just in for the money? You need people who are ready to see your business idea grow to become something massive.
People, who will see your vision as their vision. You don’t need someone who will pull out when the going gets tough. You need the person that would motivate you to do better. So the question of compatibility is a very serious one. You need someone who can see eye to eye with you on certain issues. If not, setting up a business team may be your business’ kiss of death.
Value
When you have successfully ascertained that your potential business partners or team members have the same vision as you and want to see your business grow, the next thing to do consider is value. What are they bringing to the table? According to WorkSpan,” 57% of organizations confirm that they use partnerships to acquire new customers.”
This is not only true for organizations. Partnerships should be the coming together of two entities that have value to offer each other. So the question remains, what value is your potential partner or team member bringing to the table? Skills? Industry experience and network? Excellence business mindset?
You should identify the values, assess them and see if they are what you need right now for your business.
Reliability
You are seeking a partner in this business so that you don’t have to do the job alone. Zig Ziglar said, “ability is important in our quest for success but dependability is critical.”
Having values and abilities alone is not enough when selecting potential partners and team members It matters also if you can rely on them. Can you close your eyes and go to sleep and be certain that they will get the job done? Can they handle things if you are absent for any reason?
This is a crucial part of your team-building decision. You have to be certain that it is catered for before you bring anyone on board. To do this, you can always give them some sort of assignment to work on. Just watch to see if they are going to get it done.
It can be as simple as asking them to take up a meeting in your absence. You may even ask them to follow up on a potential client or investor without your input. See if they can stand in the gap for you. See if you can depend on them to see you through the rough times when you need a helping hand. Once you can get reliability in, then you can consider them to join you.
Challenging
Lastly, you need a challenger. Starting a business alone means you are always motivating yourself and challenging yourself to aim high and do better. But once you bring someone in to work with you, then they should be able to do the same. This is especially true because you will need it.
Lethargy may set in along the way and you may feel unmotivated. When you have a partner or team member who knows how to challenge you to work, such days wouldn’t last long. They will be there to lift you rather than waiting for you to get up and motivate them.
Hence, you need someone who can challenge you to work when you do not feel like it.
Conclusion
Setting up a team might sound scary especially if you have always been running your business alone. However, it may be the best decision you ever made for your business if you do it right.