Do you remember your first hire? There is so much that goes into building a company, but few things matter as much the quality of the team you assemble. Given the immense importance of team building, we wanted to create a series where we ask entrepreneurs who have been there and done that, to share their stories and lessons with the community.

Logan Fahey | CEO, Robin Autopilot / Managing Partner, Fahey Group

Over the last five years, I’ve had the privilege of building one of the best teams in the industry and its come from a philosophy of an “open hiring model” – we’ll hire anyone, regardless of background, education, etc – so long as they have the motivation, loyalty and drive to be successful. The best example of this and a pivotal moment in my career is the hiring of Ellen Bruno our now COO and partner in Fahey Group. When we were starting our first business I almost passed on even interviewing Ellen due to her lack of experience in both the green industry and management – however, I was convinced by a colleague to interview her and we offered her the position the same day. Read more>>

Brandon Rose | Entrepreneur & CEO

RoseGold Apparel was just myself for the first year. It was tough growing pains as I had to wear every hat and learn on the go, but I also would never trade that for the world. It was very important to understand all operations and ins-outs of the business. It allowed me to grow personally as well as professionally, understanding my strong suits and where the most help is needed. I quickly connected with an accountant who is a relative, and that allowed me to start organizing the backend books and streamlining financials. One aspect I always stayed focused on and will continually improve, is product quality. While scourging social medias and the internet, I found a manufacture in Brazil who made incredible leather goods sourced from Italy. Read more>>

Lisa Druxman | CEO FIT4MOM

I started FIT4MOM as a solopreneur. I did it all. From teaching the classes to updating the website. I knew because of the demand for the classes that I would not be able to have the impact that I desired if I tried to do it all by myself. I credit the success of our business on the amazing team members who have built it. I have been very lucky in that incredible women want to work for us. They believe so much in our mission. Plus, they love that we succeed because of motherhood, not despite it. In the early days, I probably hired people just because they were excited to work with me. Now, I have learned to hire people who are different than me. We have a well balanced team who compliment each other. We bring our unique strengths to our work. Read more>>

Priscilla & Michael Sweet | Owners

When we started our business it was just us. Priscilla and Michael. Our company has had a steady and slow growth and little by little we started making decisions to outsource certain tasks. We were the typical “we can do it all ourselves” to save money. Well – no – you cant lol. Anytime you start thinking about paying someone to do something you aren’t good at or simply don’t want to do, these thoughts go through your mind like “can I afford it?”, “how can I trust they will do a good job?” etc. We had to change our mindset to do just that – TRUST. Of course hiring people who believe in your vision helps! We own a bakery, so hiring some college kid to make cake pops whose career path was criminal justice wasn’t going to fly. Read more>>

Donna Fisher | Women Owned Small Wellness Business Owner, Pilates Instructor

Starting in 1999, it has always been my husband and I working this business as a side job. It did cross our mind a couple times over the past 20+ years to add on, expand or move into a more full time business but as many other things in life it was never the right time. Fast Forward to 2019 an opportunity presented itself that was hard to walk away from. The existing Pilates studio I was training at full time was closing and the clients and other teachers were looking to me to figure our what the next step would be. The pressure to find a suitable location, affordable price, staffing, equipment and jump through all the hoops of building out a space I needed was quite overwhelming as many studio owners understand. I built the budget around 3 full time teachers and 3 part time teachers, with room to grow. Read more>>

Mark Lee | Founder & CEO of MDMartin

I started MDMartin in 2011 essentially alone. What began as an idea between myself and a friend, after the first three months of not securing a client, he was put in a situation where he had to go back to corporate life. I struggled with his decision to essentially ditch the “project” and call it quits but I gave myself a 12 month timeframe to keep pushing and see what came of it. It was right at the 11th hour that I secured my first client, prolonging this experiment into entrepreneurship. I hired my first team member and asked a good friend of mine to help out with payroll. A year later, that friend left his day job as a financial advisor for UBS and came on full-time, assisting with ops, accounting and payroll. Read more>>

Colleen Teran Preschool Director | Early Education Administration

I have been in the field of early education for many years. I directed a center with 251 kids and 40 employees when I was invited to start a new center in a different location. We opened with five kids and four employees 10 years ago. Within one year we had over 100 kids and had started a waiting list. We now have two locations and by September we should be at 250 kids. One of the keys to our success is the understanding that the the director is the front door to the program but the teachers are the back door. The key is hiring quality people, pay them well, treat them with respect and offer the most benefits you can manage. It is important to communicate a thankful attitude for their loyalty and job skills. Our teachers are not babysitters but rather early educators! Read more>>