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.

Leah Hernandez

Before we were “Young Authors Publishing,” I started a company called Purposeful Millenials that later morphed into the Young Authors Program. Originally, I guess you could say it was just me at the start, but so many others had a hand in helping me create the company I have now. Even before I had team members, I had multiple mentors in my corner that were guiding me in this industry. I’ve said so many times that publishing fell into my lap, and I feel like my team members did as well. Read more>>

Aden Dunne

When I first took over Classic Pools & Spas from my father, he had one employee helping service half of the accounts weekly, while he serviced the other half as well as handled all client communication and billing. While they were able to make it work, and the pools were always kept clean and maintained, the day to day operations were all over the place, there was no organization on the administrative side of things, and billing was a total mess. Read more>>

Melanie Ginsburg

Currently, I co-lead a team of over 100 Realtors. When I first started my real estate business, it was just me and my soon-to-be-husband. We both love helping clients buy investment properties or sell for the best price, but we quickly realized that the roller coaster of chasing the next commission was not for us. Plus, with over a decade of combined marketing experience, we knew that we could help so many other Realtors grow and scale their businesses, so we decided to start our team – the Royal Circle. Read more>>

Tyler Valencia

Instructors are the lifeline of Time 2 Train Fitness. Without instructors that are willing to learn and adapt, Time 2 Train Fitness would still be trying to do what we did in 2020. When we first started back in September 2020, the idea was to create a gym experience at-home. Fastfoward to today and we know from experience and listening to content creators that have been doing it for longer, that online workouts are very different from in-person classes. Read more>>

Ced Wynez

I’ve been in the music business for over 15 years. I’ve always wanted to either work for a major label or eventually start my own record label. It has been a dream of mines since I can remember. With a few bumps and road blocks along the way, I did start my own record label 80 Grand Music. Along side Kirvin Santiago my business a partner. Our team is small. Operated by 3 individuals. Including myself and our head A&R Jay Pitt. We have 2 artists we partnered with and signed. Read more>>

Steve Edwards

The process of hiring is constantly evolving at Coney Island. We spend hours upon hours looking into ways that we can attract employees. I have learned that our best success comes from recruiting from current employees and hiring great supervisors. We want to make this a great job for all of our employees and we believe their good experiences will travel. I believe that if an employee likes their job they will recruit their friends and other people they know. Read more>>

Undergroundjax

Originally the team started with 15 members then quickly grew to 30. For about 2 years we cycled through at-least 60 other associates until we settled on a solid 11 that make up the team now! Recruiting was definitely the easy part. That process consisted of conducting several interest meetings in which we discuss what everyone brings to the table. Read more>>

Marianela Collado

In regard to building a team, we have a team of talented, passionate, and genuine colleagues that have joined the firm through our recent fast growth. We had five employees in 2015 and have grown to over 18 today! As the firm grows, it becomes more difficult to maintain the culture of a personalized touch with our clients, but I think we do a great job at that because we hire people for culture fit, people whose values are aligned to ours as a firm, and those who have the right attitude and personality. As CEO, I take great pride in our team’s values and our ability to grow while still maintaining the small team feel. Read more>>

Kiera Malowitz

When I first started this business, it was just me. I wanted to do something part-time that I love that helped people while working around my 3 young children’s schedules; and I LOVE to declutter and organize. Less than a year into this business, I was standing in a garage on a cold January day thinking, I need a helper so that I can organize this faster and save the client money (more people = less expensive!). Within the month I found someone through a realtor in the area that had a friend looking for part-time work after raising her 3 children. Read more>>