Are You Missing These Key Team Members?

Being an entrepreneur is an amazing journey. At some point in this journey, you’re going to need a team. Your industry, size of business and future goals will determine what kind of key players you need on your team.

Now when I say team, I don’t mean a dozen full-time staff members or subcontractors. I mean key people you can use when you need them…team members you trust.

While many opt for hiring a VA who does it all, keep in mind that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It’s best to hire different people based on their key strengths, or hire a VA, like me, who has a team of key players with different strengths.

Having a team can be challenging, but very rewarding. Finding the right key players is a slow process. Ask trust friends and colleagues for recommendations. Be prepared to spend some time in your search. Get clear on your needs and wants.

Think about characteristics of who you’d want to work with. Get clear on what kind of tasks they can help out with. Things such as email management, newsletters, social media, shopping carts, etc.

Here are the key players every entrepreneur should have on their team.

1. Virtual Assistant – You need a strong VA who has experience in marketing, technology and admin. They should be organized, detail oriented and able to think for themselves without needing a lot of hand holding. A good VA can have a wide variety of talents, such as graphic design, web design, marketing skills and organization. They should be able to get work done quickly, efficiently and on time.

2. Web designer – While a VA should be able to create blog posts and web pages, it doesn’t hurt to have a good web designer on standby for major changes to your website, or if you need super fancy web pages built.

3. Graphic designer – As you grow and market, you’re going to need graphics made for products, teleseminars, marketing ads, etc. Be sure to check out samples of their work and make sure you find one that resonates with what you are trying to accomplish.

4. Online Business Manager – Once you hit high 5-figures and above, it’s time to turn the reigns of running your company over to an experienced online business manager (or OBM). This person will manage team members, projects, launches etc. They should know all the moving pieces to how launches work, have some marketing knowledge, and know how to stay on top of team members to be sure work is getting done.

5. Business Coach or Mentor – If you truly want to succeed, you need to have a coach to help guide you along the way. Just as in sports, coaches are there to give you the helping hand and insight you need to meet your goals. They are there to push you and keep you going when the going gets tough. Look for a coach or mentor who has already achieved success. They’ve been there, done that and know how to get to where you want to go.

In part two, we’ll go into the Top 5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Hiring Team Members.