Overwhelmingly, media coverage of team building, hiring, training, etc. is often geared towards the issues faced by HR at Fortune 500 sized companies. Even when it’s positioned as advice for small business owners it is often coming from an executive or consultant working primarily with giant corporations. We think it’s far more relevant to hear from small and medium business owners who have successfully grown their businesses – and so we asked some very talented folks to tell us the stories of their initial hires and the struggles and lessons they can share.

Jamilla Robinson

From Day one I knew that I desired my business to be ran as a business with employees and multiple locations; however I did not start with employees. It all started with me working in different cities and events, I.e. weddings and fashion shows alone but desiring a team. I would have to lug bags of makeup, lights, and chairs by myself to set up and breakdown consistently. Read more>>

Kamri Moses

When I started my business, it was just me. I began KRSmoothies in 2018 when I was 14 years old. I was young, I didn’t know all the ins and outs of the business. I went through a program, the Y.E.S. program, with Our Dream Foundation, where they taught me what business was about and paid me to do so. I thought that since I knew the information, I could put on all of the hats. However, I realized that I just don’t have the capacity. Read more>>

Veronika Druzhyna

It was just me from the start! I didn’t think I would be able to hire never mind even take this business full time but after a quick 3 months of being consistent, showing up, outreaching, I began attracting clients quickly. About 10 months ago I realized I had too many clients and work to manage all on my own. I was skeptical of hiring due to hearing horror stories from other business owners about their assistants. Read more>>

Bryce Givens

Recruiting the first team member for Elevate Recovery Homes was a unique experience. Robby Mitchell and I met while serving time in prison for drug-related charges. It was during this time that we realized we wanted to create a supportive and structured community for individuals in recovery. We decided to make it our mission to help others who were going through similar struggles and to make our community a better place for those in need. Read more>>

Yahnee’ Gober

I officially started my business back in 2015 all by myself! No actual L.L.C just jumping out on faith, hosting free makeup parties with a variety different brands of cultures and races! Trying to build my brand while getting my skills up to become better at the same time! I would do these types of events often so that I could get a better practice on mixing my colors together and not having my clients looking crazy! Read more>>