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.

Sara Mayer

Professionally I have always managed large teams with direct and indirect reports. When I first started out on my own, one my biggest frustrations was not having an implementation team for my wild ideas. I knew that it was not in the budget, but I also knew that I could create a plan. I started by creating a future organization chart with my future employees. I assigned job titles and even started list out tasks they would be responsible for. Next, I assigned priorities to hiring them. Read more>>

Dorothy Korbe

Our firm started out with just me. This was the situation for a couple of years, at which time I just could not keep up with the demand. Looking for the right first staff member to join the team started out rocky. Like many businesses owners we found ourselves in a very uncertain time. I knew I couldn’t do it by my self any longer and I needed someone I could count on to help complete the work. I admit I committed many of the usual errors on this path to the first employee including: Read more>>

Kelley Dufresnse

A lot of what people may not understand about starting your own small business- especially when you bootstrap the entire operation like we did- is that for the first few months/years you occupy every job within that company. You are owner, accountant, bartender, product maker, marketer, event planner, and custodian. And as a result of that, you become so self-reliant that it’s almost more difficult to begin the hiring process because you’re so used to doing everything on your own: letting go and delegating can be hard! It’s like leaving your kid with a babysitter for the first time. Read more>>

Dominque Morgan

I have never entered any business venture alone. Team Morgan is not just a statement for The Morgan’s. I’ve had my husband Anthony’s unwavering support from day one. He always has my back just as I have his. Not just with this business but all of our businesses. Many people don’t understand the dedication and hard work it takes to start and maintain a successful business. We are often approached by people and expected to be pay people under the table…..not quite. We run things decent and in order. Applications, W9’s and our accountant handles their portion. Read more>>