When your business first starts to grow, hiring is a necessity. There’s work that needs to get done and you need people to do it. You want folks who will be a good fit, sure, but mostly you need work done.
Once you get to 10 – 15 people you need more than help to “do stuff,” you also need some adults who can solve problems for you, manage parts of the team, and eventually parts of the business! You go from needing “arms and legs” to needing “brains and hearts.” That’s what gives you a team that can carry on if you aren’t there!
You need leaders.
You used to look for potential, for young up and comers; now you need to look for a track record of success doing the thing you need to be done in a business of a similar size and scope as yours.
You used to think about how you would train folks; now you have to hire people who know more about what they do than you do! You don’t know about finance; you need a finance expert! You know how to sell; but selling at this scale is a different game. Instead of learning that yourself, hire an expert! Truthfully, it’s a relief not to have to be the expert at everything.
Remember, if you are the expert on everything you can’t sell the business! You need a team that can work without you.
Your role needs to change.
There’s no beating around the bush, one of the key differences in business that stall out at around $1M, and those who rocket past that mark, is whether the business owner can shift her role to make room for some additional leaders in the business.
When you get those leaders on your team, your role changes, managing managers requires a different management style. You focus more on establishing goals and objectives, collaborating with the experts on process, and then get out of their way!
Building the team that can support your growth beyond $1M in sales is a different challenge than what you’ve faced so far in your entrepreneurial journey. But it’s critical to continue if your growth beyond $1M, and it is crucial if you want the option to sell your business someday! To sell, you need to have a team that works in your absence. (Not a bad idea if you want to take a vacation too.)
Have you tried to hire that next generation of leaders and been disappointed? Do you see turnover with those critical hires that are going to make your business a success?
It might not be “them,” it might be you.
(If that’s hitting home for you, hit reply and let’s talk.)
