The Irony of Hiring a Team

One of the biggest challenges I hear when working with clients is “I need to hire someone but I can’t afford to”.

It’s ironic isn’t it? You need to get things off your plate to focus on business growth but you can’t afford to…

Well…

I want to challenge that today and offer you an alternative way to approach it.

But first, I need to share an idea with you.

NOT hiring a team could be costing you a lot more than hiring a team.

Let me explain…

There are certain things you can do to grow your business that no-one else can do. For me, that would be hopping on calls with people who are interested in Expansion, creating content for people interested in The Online Course, doing talks on stages…

Everything else is actually a barrier to me doing that…

Raising invoices – it’s a barrier.

Designing those graphics – it’s a barrier.

It’s a barrier because someone else can do it better and more affordably for me. It’s their zone of genius. They’re set up to deliver exactly that. And it’s their passion.

When you pay someone else to do what they love, what they’re set up to do and what they’re better than you at (let’s be honest!), you actually save money because you free yourself up to use that time on things ONLY you can do…like turn up for your customers, vlog, create courses.

In the beginning it’s tough, I know! I’ve built three businesses now and I’ve done this three times…all from scratch.

Here’s how I do it:

Step 1 – I set the intention and create a plan for my team. I knew a year ago I was going to build the world’s best marketing team. I knew the roles. I knew the daily activities. It was part of my vision, my intention, my strategy. I used to sketch out the structure and say to myself “Don’t worry, the team is coming, keep going!!”.

Step 2 – Act as if they’re joining. When I do something, I think ‘How can this be handed over or replicated by someone else’. I set up online systems my ‘future team’ could access, like Google Drive for file storage, Basecamp for project management. Hardly anything is done over email in my business. That’s too restrictive.

Step 3 – Write a role profile. Think about your first hire and write out their role. What will they be doing? How can they help you? Then decide on the salary and figure out what that will cost each month. Sometimes, it means one or two more sales to cover that wage. Sometimes it means tightening up when they first join to free up cashflow.

Step 4 – While I’m preparing to hire (building cashflow / looking at application forms) I outsource tasks in micro ways. I find people who can take small tasks off my hands so I get used to paying for work, so I can test my cashflow, so I can see what works and what I need…so I can free up my time to grow my business to hire my first team member.

Step 5 – When my wonderful new rockstar team members join, I don’t throw the role on them and say GOOD LUCK!! I say, “Welcome! Now here’s how we do things at DARETOGROW, here’s what my incredible community has grown to expect, here’s what I’d love you to do…”. I’ve already got systems, processes and relationships in place for them to use. I know what’s expected. And I communicate it clearly to help them add value. The more time you spend helping them hit the ground in the beginning, the quicker you can move on to the next level of activity in your business…

And so the process continues…

Hiring isn’t easy, I know. But it’s essential if you want to grow a business, build a team you can rely on and have a bigger, bolder impact in the world.

So…start at the beginning…what will your team look like in 6 months’ time, a years’ time…and how can you set that in motion in smaller ways today?

Lisa x x

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