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.

Lynne Intintoli

I’ve been in business for 15+ years. As many small business owners, I did it all and without any help – designing, creating, emails, marketing, customer service, wholesale outreach. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my second child that I had to take a step back and look at my business as a whole. For me to continue to grow, I needed help because I quickly discovered that I could no longer do it all. And you know what? Asking for help is HARD! This wasn’t an easy decision to come to because I thought of my business as my third child. Read more>>

Nicole Miller

When Inopened Miller Massage in 2017, i never imagined it would grow to where it had today. I started as a solo practitioner in a 10×10 salon suite. I was not only the massage therapist but the manager, marketing department, interior decorator, receptionist, laundry service, book keeper and so much more! Read more>>

Kim Goldstein

I bought an existing business seven years that I have worked at since 2006. Over the years I’ve had many independent contractors, but decided to hire employees to support our travel agency’s reservations. I hired a recruiter to help identify the applicant pool, especially since this was during Covid & it was very challenging to find people who wanted to work. The recruiter did the first round of interviews and I did the final interview. Read more>>

Desiree Rich

We were blessed as we had a whole team from day one. When we transferred ownership to us, we managed to keep the whole team with us. As the years went by, we had to recruit new team members as some of our artists graduated from college or moved. The recruiting process has always felt (knock on wood) easier than it should be as there is always a new artist looking to join the team. Our interview process is extensive as we want to make sure we bring the best and brightest people to our team. Our introduction session is done by our senior artist who has been working at Pinot’s Palette for over 11 years. We are so grateful for having such a wonderful team. We couldn’t do it without them! Read more>>

Cory and Tiffany` Unsworth

In the beginning, it was just us. Tiffany at the phone and Cory on the trail. And one day, we found we couldn’t do it alone. After a year in business, Tiffany was diagnosed with cancer, and that’s when we really needed to reach for talent outside ourselves. The first help who came our way was in the form of “Gentle Ben”, as we referred to him. He was a sweet grandpa who loved showing guests the beauties of the land he had come to love. Then Larry came on board and is now our longest-serving employee, having been with us through the highs and lows of running a business. We opened a little gift shop, which brought to us some of our sweet staff who answer phones and make us shine. Over time, our guides and staff have come to us through incredible means. Our interview process is pretty simple: If they feel like a friend immediately, they’ll fit in (and trust us, we haven’t always followed this formula, at times to our detriment). Together, we make a somewhat rugged band: people who don’t mind getting dirty and sweating, if it means getting to see something beautiful together. Read more>>

Dr Rob Harter

When I first arrived at my current organization, we had 8 employees. Now, just over 12 years later, we have 72 staff and are still growing. I would say three key things have led to growing our team. First, having a clear mission that you are recruiting people to. A clear and compelling mission is so critical for growing an effective organization or business. I’m a nonprofit leader and in the nonprofit sector this is absolutely critical. Second, living out the mission with passion as the CEO or manager both inspires others to join your cause and motivates them to want to make a difference too. Finally, recognizing and honoring your team for their accomplishments on a regular and intentional basis will help keep your team happy and more committed. Read more>>

Veronica Peterson

We have a small and extremely powerful team and we have from day one. My husband and I co-founded Bodied together. I have been teaching group fitness for around 13 years and he has been along for the ride for every second of it. His background is in food & beverage and his hospitality is unmatched which he has implemented in the way we connect with our community. The coolest part about doing this together is that he doesn’t just support me + Bodied – he actually sees this vision with me. We have a group of 4 founding instructors (including myself) and a studio manager that were all hand picked because of their ability to connect with people in and out of class. You don’t always remember the things that people say, but you do remember the way they made you feel. When I was putting this team together, it was important to me that the people who work at Bodied make everyone else feel like they belong here. These people are some of the most genuine, caring, uplifting, vibrant and magnetic people I have ever met. The thing that was crazy and hard about this process is that they all technically joined our team about 9 months ago when we thought we’d be opening much earlier than we did due to construction delays. Their dedication and willingness to pivot along the way is something that I will forever be grateful for and is a part of what makes this so special. Our entire team believes in this wholeheartedly and is committed to creating and building this from the ground up. I’ve never witnessed a team work together the way this one has to get us to this point. Read more>>

Lauren Kunijo

I initially began as ‘Lauren Kunijo LLC’ and ran my own salon of one for a few years before becoming Kenna Kunijo. I met Kenna about a year into owning my own salon and really felt like we were like-minded in regard to business and also morals. For me, I wanted each and every client to feel special, heard, and leave feeling their best selves. Hair is terribly personal and it’s about more than just doing great hair. I also have a heart for giving back and aiding the community and finding someone who also valued that and was willing to put in that work was/is such a rarity. We then grew the idea of Kenna Kunijo. We knew it wouldn’t be just the two of us forever. So we began interviewing and hiring stylists/assistants once we had the space for our salon. For us, it was not simply a matter of talent. We knew we could teach anyone how to do hair. What you cannot teach is character. Read more>>

Y. Elaine Rasmussen

While this is not my first go at entrepreneurship, in my previous ventures I was what they call an accidental entrepreneur. However, this time I was becoming an entrepreneur by choice. I was choosing to grow a company versus being a solopreneur with a few part-time support staff. So about six months into launching Social Impact Now, it was very clear that I needed help. but I wasn’t sure how to go about that knowing that I had a very limited amount of capital and I was still a new upstart with an unpredictable cashflow. I attended some event and had a light bulb moment, I needed to get clear on what I needed. So I went home and began to think about what jobs would give me exponentially more time in my day. I came up with three jobs: Project Manager for my client work, a part-time social media person to do all my postings, and a part-time producer for my then podcast (Social Impact Now). Then I had to think long and hard about if I hired these people, what would do? What would a typical day look like? What would they be accountable for? And, what could I pay them? By this time, I knew I needed to write job descriptions. So, I took the next week to write three very specific job descriptions and I figured out how much I could pay someone and for how long. Read more>>

Jason Fournier

I have been self-employed my whole life. Primarily a flooring contractor, I have had years with up to 10 contractors doing work for me down to just one. My work evolved from flooring to to adding some trim work and other remodeling things at customers request. The next thing I knew we were a complete home and commercial remodeling company. This became possible when I spoke with my middle son Robby, I asked him if he would like to partner up with me and form a general contractor company together. That is where Fournier Contracting started. He was the best decision to have as a partner. Read more>>

Vee Weir

When I began Weir Digital Marketing (and Vee Frugal Fox), I was a team of one. I quickly realized that building a trusting and resourceful community was priceless, as was surrounding myself with a knowledgable and dedicated team. What we do cannot be done in a vacuum. Social media marketing is inherently social. Read more>>