Getting The Right People on the Bus

There's no easy way but I have found that one factor is critical - that YOU believe in your business and have a vision for where you know it's headed.

Think about it. You are trying to literally "sell" someone to become a part of your team that has nothing but an idea and you're telling them that they can take part in making it a reality.

Here's what's going on in their mind. Do I trust this person to lead the team? Do I think this person has the leadership abilities to exploit the business opportunity? Will other people also want to help out and join the team? Basically, they are evaluating YOUR ability to make it happen.

I can't stress hard enough that you should give them the hard facts up front. You won't get paid a large salary (I'm not even getting paid!) If you expect to help the team succeed you will put tears, sweat (maybe even blood...who knows...maybe you get a paper cut) into building the business. You WILL (and should) lose sleep over it. There is no ONE way to reach the solution (or they may even be multiple solutions to the business problem your team aims to solve). So be flexible, be ready to put in some long hours, and hopefully your new team member will enjoy the ride.

What can you promise them? That they will learn 10 times as fast compared to them sitting in a cubicle somewhere in a large corporation and that those skills will one day be used to build their OWN business. Don't promise a large salary, a ton of equity and perks - because this is NOT what motivates people to work for a start up (of course it plays a part, but the intangibles account for the drive and passion that people feel for building a business).

Good people will realize all of this and stick through it all with the team. It takes dedication, perseverance and believing in the leaders' ability and the vision of the business.

"All things go to those who go after them" - Rob Estes

So dream big and go build not just a good team, but a great team.

Why PeerFX?

"I want to work on PeerFX with you."

That's music to my ears baby.

I've heard that once this past week and I'm thinking of seriously bringing her onto the team. I see a drive, passion, commitment that money can't buy. On relevant skills? I believe that skills can be developed and both of us are in it to learn together. I can't say that I have the most relevant skill set for the business either! But here I am!

The past weeks have been stressful dealing with my partners on the shareholder agreement issues; I'm so fortunate to have my advisor help me out with the legalities of the agreement and to make sure that I am protected as well. Thanks Irf. I'm spending $1500 on that agreement - 20 pages of paper. I suddenly want to go to law school instead.

I need to have someone share the passion I have for the business. The gleam I have in my eyes when I talk about it and the excitement of making an idea a reality. I admire those that have the courage to venture into the unknown and frankly this new candidate that I've been speaking to has that. I just want to make sure they are taking a "calculated" risk and not just risking everything to be part of a new Start Up business because it's just. so. cool.

The Team has Disbanded

So it's a no go. The team I mean. For me that doesn't mean the idea's a no go. I fully intend on taking this on to a very successful finish :)

I understand that people have other priorities, commitments, etc. It feels a bit awkward that the team is suddenly down to....me, myself and Florence. Great. Three people! Yay!

Maybe it's for the better that we figured out whether we wanted to proceed with the business at this time instead of having people drop out a year later. This means now there's more room in the team for new hires! New opportunities are everywhere!

Oh. The road ahead is tough. Good thing I got some tough shoes on as well :)

Time in the Trenches 4: Team Commitment

Ughhh. The "C" word. I'm sure you all know how important it is to have a great team with people that you trust will deliver great work every time. I'm even more sure that we all know people that are committed to a business work with more passion and deliver results beyond expectations. Some businesses are lucky and the founding team members all decide to stay on to realize the dream, but my scenario was slightly different.

My founding team started with our idea and we saw that it had potential from the favorable feedback that we got from judges at various national and international competitions; then we graduated and the real world hit us - each member had to make a choice between stable corporate life and a start up with possible potential.

Everyone wanted to contribute to a small portion of their time to work on the business. Let me tell you now - part-time contribution does NOT cut it. Do you think you have the greatest idea on Earth? Well if that's seriously what you think...wouldn't you want to contribute every waking moment to realizing your idea? Yes. That's what I thought.

Before you incorporate and try to seriously start a business, make sure that you have the commitment from your entire team; people that want to stay on because there MIGHT be some potential but can't contribute all their effort to it for one reason or another just aren't a fit for a start up business. I know that many individuals have mortgages to pay, kids to feed, etc. but that just means the start up life may not be for them. I'm fortunate that I have a minimum amount of commitments so I can pursue my dream.

The bottom line is that your team should be aligned to building your business 24/7; not when they have spare time.

If you have stories about your business team that you want to share please do post it in the comments!