Why is building your business team so important? Well, one very wise entrepreneur once said:
Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.
Steve Jobs, former Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Apple.
We’ve written a lot recently about the loneliness of being an entrepreneur, particularly if there’s only you in that business! If you follow our blog, you’ll know that it’s one of the reasons why we set up our co-working events. But today it’s time to take this a step further and think in more detail about why none of us can be a truly successful entrepreneur, entirely on your own.
When you’re starting out, this is especially important. So when you’re building your business team, what do you need to think about?
Your external team
The first, and for some, the most obvious team, is the group of external people you’ll need to fill the gaps in knowledge that you simply don’t have. Examples of this include an accountant and someone who can provide legal advice and the documentation that you’re going to need. Or people who can provide technical assistance – perhaps a graphic or web designer.
In our case, we are lucky to have an amazing accountant in Rosie of Wilkins & Co, who is very patient with our questions, and from whom we have learned a huge amount.
We also have two mentors, without whom we quite simply wouldn’t have got as far as we have.
Our first is Helen Steel of Streamlion Consulting. Helen has supported the development of our business from the beginning, and advised us with our Start Up Loan application. Helen has also agreed to be our Business Strategy and Funding Expert, and so we are excited to also be able to introduce her and her expertise to our course participants!
The second is Mike Bourton, CEO of Right Stone Consulting. Mike brings with him a wealth of business experience and insights, and also provides a hugely valuable male perspective to an organisation run by two women!
Your internal team
The next team to consider building is your internal team. The question to ask yourself here is quite simply – can you go it alone? The answer may well be ‘Yes’, but equally, it may be a ‘No’.
In our case, it was a definite ‘No’.
The Tabono ‘inner circle’, if I can call it that, is Chloe and I. And as we’ve mentioned before, our business wouldn’t exist for one of us, without each other. It needs both of our skillsets, and both of our personalities – and when we bring all of that together, it creates balance.
But equally, we knew that we needed a ‘second level’ in our internal team. Chloe and I are able to deliver a good proportion of our programme ourselves, but again, it comes back to knowledge gaps. And this is where our Experts come in. They fill those gaps, and allow us to create a truly holistic approach to entrepreneurship.
Your ‘home’ team
This is a simple one. It’s your family and friends. Starting out as an entrepreneur is a huge decision, and the road ahead is undoubtedly a challenging one. So you need people to support you, and help out when you just can’t fit everything in. You need people to pick you up when you’re down and to give you honest opinions when they’re required. In a nutshell, you need people to go home to at the end of a tough day at the helm.
Building your business team is a fundamental part of entrepreneurship and we cover if from both perspectives. Check out our Building Your Team module for more information.