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.

Michelle Markquart

When I first started Eau Claire Sober Living, it was just me — one woman with a vision, a set of keys, and a deep belief that the people in our community deserved a place to heal the way I had. There was no team, no funding, no roadmap. I was cleaning rooms, answering calls, supporting residents, and building the structure all at once. Read more>>

Robin Newman

I’ve learned that when it comes to hiring, your gut and your heart are often your best guides. My very first teammate was actually my first egg donor. We simply hit it off. What we were building felt exciting and meaningful, and she understood it instinctively. Read more>>

ADRIA MARSHALL

In the beginning, it was just me. Literally me in my kitchen, making hair products and filling the seven little orders I got each month. When we suddenly went viral, everything exploded. I immediately brought in my oldest daughter and my mother-in-law to help. They were dedicated, but they just didn’t have the bandwidth to keep up with the growth. Read more>>

Katerina Cozias

As a premium transformational leading expert in my field of Media & Communications, I can say through experience that when building a company from the ground up, it is imperative to be proactive not only with respect to the people you hire but with the hiring process itself. After years of working for large multinational corporations, in 2017 I branched out on my own and founded my first company. Today I am the helm of two firms, VasGeo Media Corp., a Hollywood-based media training and production company along with sister-team Charismark Communications, staffed with an elite communications and language training professionals, servicing organizations of all sizes. Read more>>

Indya Davis

When I first started my business, it was just me wearing every hat imaginable — from marketing to client calls, to designing systems I had to learn as I went. I was driven by a vision bigger than myself: creating a brand that empowered others to build financial freedom and legacy. Read more>>