One of the biggest questions many small business operators ask is when is the right time to start building a team?

After all, a lot of small businesses start out as sole operators or partnerships who perform all the tasks associated with running a business – from customer service to quoting, invoicing, marketing, accounts reconciliation and more.

But as your business enjoys success, chances are you will need to take on additional staff in order to grow.

But where should you start when it comes to building a team?

Step 1: The jobs you are not good at

Creating a great business team starts with outsourcing or employing staff to handle the jobs you are not good at.

Often these will be the non-dollar productive tasks behind the scenes such as book keeping, but the aim of the game is to bring on staff members who allow you to complete a higher volume of tasks that make your business more profitable.

Step 2: Staff who increase the number of clients you service

After you have outsourced or delegated the jobs you are not good at or that take up too much of your time, the next stage of building the business team involves hiring people who increase your productivity.

After all, chances are there will come a point when you as an individual are at capacity, so you need more people who can do the same job as you under your direction.

That might be an apprentice or an associate who has the ability to serve your customers and provide services or products to a greater number of people.

At this stage you have the makings of a core team. There is support for the tasks that you are not good at and additional staff servicing your customers.

Step 3: Staff to increase workflow

The next stage of building a team is all about maintaining workflow so you and your apprentice/s or associates can reach as many potential clients as possible.

That might mean you bring in or outsource to a marketing expert, or you employ a customer service staff member/prospector to make appointments on your behalf.

This member of the team is designed to ensure efficiency and productivity, eliminating further unnecessary tasks so key people in the business can concentrate on providing service and products.

Step 4: Maintaining culture

As your team grows, attention needs to turn to culture and the dynamics of the business. You need to ensure that the people you bring in complement those who already work there and properly represent the vision and mission of the business.

And culture often requires a careful balance, where big personalities need to be balanced by more reserved types within the team environment.

It’s about having the right people with the right personality traits in the right seats of your business with the ultimate goal being a successful team.

Step 5: Introducing managers

Chances are your business will work through a series of growth spurts where you add more members of your team to handle back of house tasks, complete the same jobs you do and increase your reach.

This process will continue for a period until it becomes evident each sector of the business is now so large, managers for different departments are required.

This marks a major turning point for a business, where you, the business operator, begin to take an overarching position with a team of individuals reporting to department managers who then report to you.

If you’re seeking to grow your business and bring on staff, I am available to help with goal setting, business planning, and the systems and procedures that need to be put in place.

You can reach out to me and schedule a discovery session here.