As your business grows, your team should also grow with it. As your cash flow increases, the extra profit will be very rewarding, but the increased workload can be extremely taxing on the business owner. In order to avoid things like burnout, you should build up your team as your business grows.
More Than a Full-Time Job
Every entrepreneur knows that running a business is more than a full-time job. It is not uncommon to spend well over 40 hours a week getting your business started. This is a very high-stress time and adding to your one-person team can greatly reduce the stress during this time.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
While adding to your team may seem like a great idea, you have to decide if the cost of hiring an additional employee(s) will result in more business. Some small businesses function perfectly fine as one-person businesses, but if you’re receiving more orders than you can keep up with, then it may be time to consider adding to your team. You don’t have to add an entire team of employees right away. You can slowly add to your team as your business grows to ensure you are staying profitable and not spending more than you’re bringing in.
Team Members That Share Your Vision
You should be very selective about who you decide to hire as your business grows. You should find the right people who share your vision and have a true passion for the product/service you are selling. Hiring unproductive employees can actually slow down your business and the time you spend firing and hiring new employees takes away time that you could be spending to grow your business.
Having happier employees who are passionate about the product you are selling is also important as they will provide better customer service. The whole point of hiring additional team members is to have them handle other responsibilities so you have more time to run and grow the business. These employees are now a part of the image of your business. They will be who customers will interact with. Having excellent customer service is extremely important as it is much cheaper to retain existing customers than to gain new customers.
The Takeaway
Every business, no matter the size, can benefit from building a team. That is as long as it makes financial sense to hire new employees and you hire the right people. It is important to note that just because you build a great team does not mean you shouldn’t keep working just as hard as you were on day one. Every great team needs an even greater leader. They will look to you for direction and reflect the passion you have for the business.