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.

Martin Kier

It was just me from the start in 2018. I often spent between 12-16 hours each day working on the business and building it. There were weeks at a time that I would pretty much stay at home and work away. Eventually, as I started to get more clients, my processes started to break down and around this time I came in contact with my business partner in mid 2020. He wisely told me to start bringing on employees and building a team which was good advice. Read more>>

Ben Kalkman

In those early years of the business, I was a one-man show. I was working from home and taking care of my newborn son—Dad by day, business when I could fit it in, mostly at night. Things did not come easy, and I quickly discovered I needed to take on some additional work to afford to keep the lights on. I started working for a handyman as his assistant in the mornings to help pay the bills and did so for just over a year until I had enough clients I no longer needed to do the extra job. I often questioned what I was doing during this time and wondered if I had made the right choice to pursue my own business. Read more>>

Tiffany Days

When I launched The Communal Group it was me, God, and a spiral notebook. Funny thing is I recently found that notebook prior to this interview and it has really given me insight in how far I’ve come. From being at a kitchen table to growing into a team of ten has been quite the journey. You realize recruiting is more than just employees filling a role or space, but this is about aligning with like-minded individuals who may be at a different place in their dream’s journey so they’re willing to help you build yours. Read more>>

Aaron Cohrs

It is difficult to figure out how to start a business. My first instinct was to look for someone to start the business with. At the time I got advice that it is better to start a business on your own. That having a business partner can complicate things and run into issues down the road. In hindsight it was probably one of my best decisions. While there are plus side to working alone I would recommend to anyone starting a new business to look into finding someone that you can trust and work well with. For me having a business partner has stopped me from having the option to make bad, impulsive or lazy decisions about the business. Read more>>

Kevitta ‘KJ’ Jackson

In the beginning, we started with two part-time employees, my partner and me. There were times that we were challenging as far as time and resources are concerned. We had to become extremely disciplined. On top of that, the realization set in that we had momentarily exchanged “good times” to focus on the hopes for a brighter future. We knew that the journey we chose to embark upon would be well worth the sacrifices. Read more>>

Sydney Santos

My business Millennium Hippie is a partnership. We currently have no employees. We contract work if we need it, but we are a new company so we haven’t gotten to a point where we can hire employees yet. Our team came together through the creator of our company. He pulled together people in his life that he knew would be a great asset to the business, from our president, to our graphic artist. Knowing what we know now, I think we would have figured out and solidified our roles earlier than we did. Read more>>