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.

Brandi Biswell

Fluesbrothers was started around 1999. At that time my husband was running the day to day and I was a nurse. When I came on to help full-time in 2013, I was the office manager and we had 5 technicians. This is where it gets interesting. These technicians were hired on the spot, no questions asked. We joke if you had a pulse you could work at Fluesbrothers. I had learned in graduate school when you are new to a role, you should not make any major changes for the first 90 days. Read more>>

Dr. Angella Banks

I literally built my organization from a dream. I woke up and knew that it was purposed to be nationwide; however, I was clueless about how that would happen. During the time that I received the dream, I resided in Jackson TN. A smaller suburb sandwiched between Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee. How would I build an organization and attract leaders nationwide with such limited reach and resources? I immediately called one of my best friends, Audra to share the dream, and she became my first leader, I named her my Co-Founder. Read more>>

Dianna Feliciano

DFNTLY Entertainment is based on working with talented people to entertain at events. So from day one I worked with different performers from different backgrounds. But I did all the back work from sales, marketing, bookkeeping, costume design, recruiting, and creative vision. Which were humbling times of working until 2AM hemming costumes, while still having another day job. In the beginning, I didn’t have a washer and dryer at home so I would have to take the costumes to a laundry mat. Which patrons there seeing dancer shorts and stilt pants may have wondered if I was a stripper or a clown, or both. Read more>>

Hailey Cory

Since starting my business it’s always been just myself. As my business grows, I’ve recently been contemplating the idea of how I can expand my team. I have always known I wanted to build a team, but never knew I’d need one so soon. It’s definitely not something that’s easy to navigate and I’m not sure how to administer tasks among another person or people, but I know it’s something my business would benefit from. Read more>>

Tiffany Tillman

Great question. So, no my business didn’t have any employees, just friends & family willing to help out as needed. I’m currently in the “Building a team” phase. with Melanie Hancock (Director and Editor of “In the Mix with Mel” and Santrell Davis of Luminous Concepts (Videographer/Movie Editor of Trust Issues). With the new projects I’m working on such as a documentary for Platinum Crown Management, it’s extremely important to have an awesome team of professionals working alongside me. Read more>>

Angela Brooks

Although we started small, often just my daughters and myself, we did hire employees pretty much right away. One area that small business owners struggle with is making sure you have the right people in the right place, so that you as the owner can focus on the areas of the business that will bring growth. A small business can become pretty stagnant if the owner is spread too thin or time is consumed in the wrong places. Read more>>

Deborah Omowale Jarmon

The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) was founded in 2017. It was completely volunteer-ran until the first employee a part-time accountant was hired in February 2020 to ensure the books were “grant-funding” ready. I was the second employee hired, March 13, 2020. A job announcement was posted by the board of directors for an archivist shortly after my onboarding. Read more>>

Julia Ho.

I wouldn’t really describe my self as a business owner, moreso as a community organizer and founder of a couple organizations in the St. Louis area — Solidarity Economy STL and STL Mutual Aid. However I feel like the experience if building a team and knowing how to find the right people to partner and work with is similar to what business owners go through. Read more>>

Jessica Wise

Audacity started with myself and one friend, and now I’m the only remaining founder. When my friend told me she wanted to step down last year, honestly I was distraught. At the time, I had just started a new day-job and I had a season contract performing at a local theatre for the first time since pandemic (btw, I’m an actress too ). I was working 60 hours a week NOT INCLUDING Audacity. What was I going to do? Read more>>

Brooke Gursoy

Being fresh out of college and only 21 years old when I opened the studio, you could say I was broke. During the early days of Industry Dance Co. when I was preparing to open, I was running the show completely on my own. From creating the studio logo and building/designing our website to conducting interviews/hiring and creating classes, programs and schedules, it was all on me. With just starting out, I wanted to keep my costs as low as possible as anyone who has experience with remodeling and construction knows just how expensive things can get. Read more>>

Fabiola Mistelske

I have a Team of 5 talented artists! At the beginning of my journey as a business owner and entrepreneur, I was by myself, I knew since the beginning I wanted to be able to generate jobs and a healthy welcoming atmosphere for my team! as well as to bring more volume of clients into my business and grow. And because of that I have attracted the most wonderful hairstylists and makeup artists I could have asked for, I am so thankful for Sharlenia, Aneishca, Lu, Zulger and Cristel for joining me in this amazing journey! Read more>>

Serge Krikorian

When my wife and I started our catering business, it was just the two of us. We would cook the food, deliver the food, go back and break down the deliveries, and then come back, prep and then everything started over again the next day. We quickly grew enough that it was necessary for me to spend all my time in the kitchen prepping and cooking so we hired friends of mine to work for us delivering and setting up caterings. That was back in 2004. Read more>>