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.

Lauren Coats

Rockwall Counseling & Wellness has experienced significant growth in the past four years. It has grown from one location with one therapist to four locations with over 30 therapists! When I initially bought the first building for Rockwall Counseling & Wellness, it was a huge financial leap. At the same time, it felt right, and the pieces came together quickly. In the beginning, we renovated the building and decorated it on a very tight budget. The first year, I added four full time therapists in addition to myself. Read more>>

Sahar Paz

Learning to trust others, letting go of control, and truly making room for yourself to be the leader of your business is a HUGE step. Before this mini-leap is taken, there is usually a burned-out woman who has done it all by herself, for too long. This is a lesson I’ve learned personally, and one I guide my clients NOT to make. No one can do it alone. Read more>>

Ish Laos

When I first ventured into my new business, it was just me, myself and I. At the time, it was strictly a website design company. Looking back during those times now, I think it was the best way that things could have played out. I say that because I had made SO MANY mistakes, which at the time, were devastating to me. A lot of lessons were learned, a lot of business was lost, and many times I reached an ultimatum of whether I should keep going, or go back to looking for a job. Read more>>

Dawn Paul

I juggle many hats and have to definitely prioritize, but it comes with entrepreneurship. Some days, it can be quiet and some days it is like everyone wants something all at once. But I remember in the beginning, wishing and praying the phone would ring and emails would come in with clients and opportunities. So, now, I am definitely not going to tell God this is too much. Instead, I’m thankful, not wanting Him to take any blessing away from me. I say a little prayer, take a break, and handle each assignment and project as it comes, whether scheduled or not. Each day will not be the same, so as an entrepreneur you must learn to adapt. Read more>>

Kelcey Summers

The hiring and building a team journey at SBE (Service Business Evolution) has been one that I’m excited to share. It has not been easy, and it was not overnight. Where we are today is a place I am proud of. The team we have built is the most talented and collaborative team I have ever been a part of. We have made bad hires and had no process in place in the beginning, but we learned over the years from that experience. Placing a job ad with a job description and range of pay seemed simple. Googling interview questions was once the way I used to interview. It took some bad hires and bad experiences to make me pause and re-evaluate how we were approaching hiring. Read more>>

Jennifer Wehner

My 19 years in real estate have been exciting, turbulent and also sometimes quite scary. I have seen up markets and down markets. I came from Riverside, California with no entrepreneurs in my family and no roadmap for success. I was a teen mom that needed a way to make money for my family. I started as a waitress, saving up tips to start a tanning salon business. It wasn’t until 2003 that I started my real estate career because some friends said that Arizona had a lot of opportunity flipping houses, so I moved and figured out how to do it as a solo agent. Read more>>

Scott Moore

We opened the doors to the restaurant in 2015 with the owners, Michelle, Greg, and myself along with 2 employees which were friends of the family. Building a qualified staff has been our biggest challenge this far and it remains so today although it is getting easier with the maturity & popularity of our business. We posted ads on job sites, put help wanted signs in the window, posted listings with the Texas Workforce Commission, posted on social media sites, and told anyone we could that we were hiring. Us three owners put in a lot of sweat equity in the beginning. Read more>>

Ty Hamilton

My business started with a few cousins of mine and we had to play every employee then. I appreciate that too because it showed us how to be hands on with everything from A to Z. Today our team is growing with our business so the bigger our brand gets the bigger our team gets. Read more>>

Janice Stokes-Naumann

Developing a team in my business is different than hiring employees. All of my team members have their own businesses and may choose to do the business in a different way. When I first started creating a team, I felt responsible to train them and if they did not do well, I somehow felt it was my fault. I also felt like there was a special training manual that I needed to follow. Along the way, I have learned to just treat each team member as a unique person and each has their own goals and dreams. I see my role now as a facilitator more than a trainer. Read more>>

Tyler Martina

Mr. Inkwells Tattoo & Piercing shop is set up like a collective. We all have our own individual job we do, and all those jobs work together to create the business. We are like a modern day “renaissance style workshop”, where we all work together to create the best possible art, body art in the case of Mr. Inkwells. Read more>>

Stephanie Riel

When I first started my business it was very much a side-hustle. I was a solopreneur and a company of one. Behind the scenes I was creating everything for clients from copy and graphics to websites, automations, public relations and more. In fact, what is now RielDeal Marketing survived that way with me working nights and weekends for the first 9 years I was in business. When I first started building my team and finding help I used sites like UpWork to build key team members like my Operations/Project Manager. Read more>>

Bryan Tanner

When we started Tanner Autism Services of CO, we were a husband and wife team with a highly active and supportive community member interested in our success. With her support, we began getting our name out to the members of the Northern Colorado IDD community. We found that when we clearly outlined our values, we found a rudder to guide us in hiring and clinical practices. Finding out some of the best ways to get at if a person shared our values in the interview process has been an ongoing challenge but when we bring team members who value the same things we do, they and we are much happier. Read more>>

Peter Ajello

SATIN FINISH Concrete had employees from day 1 but was not always hands on trained and licensed family members. Being in my shoes starting out as a small self made company it was difficult to lead members I did not know and to trust here in South Florida that there dedication to the art I taught them would not be used for side work or there own projects as they are all paid handsomely to be artists and installers of state of the art floors. If I were to have to start over after 15 years of business, holding a 5 star rating on Google, and expanding into a large flooring company, I would probably have more Non- Compete paperwork signed and a more stricter version of leadership towards the ship I have built! Read more>>

Greg Corey

I started Porchlight as a freelancer but quickly became overloaded. I was lucky to have more work than I could do on my own, which meant that I needed help. But help and hiring are two different things. Case in point, of my first two employees, one is still here while the other is someone I no longer talk to. Read more>>

Shada Ghatrehee

When I first opened up my dog grooming business it was just me. I was a one man show answering phone calls, booking in clients, cleaning, grooming , bathing, ect. It was very hard doing everything on my own and definitely a learning process. When it came to hiring employees, I first wanted to look for a bather to help me with the dogs. I put ads out and job descriptions on what kind of person I was looking for. Read more>>

Joshua Okpara

When I started it was just me and my wife who played the role of administrative assistant. I was a project manager earning money, but unhappy. I wanted to communicate and help people, but all I had was a desk and a computer and tasks to do on excel. Then one day, I walked up to my director, told her that I wanted to follow my dreams/goals, and tackle it head on. It seemed like. joke to her at first until I left and told them I couldn’t come back. it was that day I started my company. Read more>>

Jaimie Miller

We did not have any employees when we first started. My business partner, Victoria, and I worked sunup to sundown every day of the week. We couldn’t afford to hire any employees in the beginning. It was exhausting, yet so rewarding. We did literally everything that needed to get done. We baked, rang out customers, made drinks, hosted events, wiped down tables, took out trash, painted walls, did the dishes, and fixed the toilets when they broke. Read more>>

Suzie Hanavan

When we started this company it was myself and the two other partners doing the day to day tasks from greeting customers, drawing labs, consultations, follow up and marketing. It was very hard recruiting team members because once you have a concept and patient’s are used to seeing those same familiar faces day in and day out it is a hard transition for customers and also letting go of everything you built to put it in someone else’s hands was a bit scary. Read more>>

Molly McGrath

Hanging your own shingle is fun and exciting in the beginning until you start to get clients and then realize you cant do it all alone, you find yourself waking up at 2 a..m in a pool of panic worried you are going to get fired by a client. You relize you cannot keep up the pace of being a rugid individualist, your family and friends are always upset and dis appointed with you as your never available.And when you are….they see that undeniable look of wonder and worry in your eyes.. Read more>>

Heather Rogers

I was 3 years into my organizing business when I figured out, I could ask for help. I was at a monthly NAPO (National Association of Productivity & Organizing) meeting and asked one of my colleagues, “how can I clone myself?” She answered, “hire an assistant.” It was such a simple solution, I felt pretty dumb for not thinking of it. I myself assisted other organizers when I first started out. I don’t think I felt big enough or successful enough to be ready for help. Read more>>