Entrepreneurs with a growing business need to outsource. There’s often no way around it. A winning team will always prevail.
Having a winning and loyal team behind you who truly cares about your business can make all the difference in terms of having a successful year. When I started outsourcing things in my business, I realized there are generally two types of people who could help me: people who care and people who don’t care.
People who care will go the extra mile, meet deadlines, and take the initiative to improve their skills and make your life easier. People who don’t care will take short cuts, fail to show attention to detail, and end up costing you a lot of money and time.
I usually have trouble giving up control and don’t mind micromanaging from time to time, but I found out quickly that those traits can be counterproductive for my business so I decided to seek out my winning team instead.
If you are determined to build a loyal team that can contribute to the growth and success of your business, consider these 4 tips.
1. Seek Out Referrals
Whenever you begin your search for hired help whether it’s an assistant, editor, social media manager, etc. reach out to your network first to see if they know anyone they can recommend.
Word-of-mouth referrals are still extremely powerful and merit better results. Generally, if someone takes time out of their day to recommend someone to you, they must be excited about their work and pleased with their performance.
People in your network may also know you better than strangers and have a better idea of what you’re looking for. If you don’t have any referrals and you do come across someone you want to work with, you can always contact their references as well to ask questions about their experience and performance. This extra step may sound tedious, but it’s totally worth it if you want to make sure you’ll have a positive working relationship together.
2. Make Sure Team Members Understand Your ‘Why’
As a freelancer and professional blogger, I juggle between running my own business and working with clients to help their businesses excel as well so I have a pretty good grip on both ends of the spectrum.
As a freelancer, I like to work with clients whose missions I support and understand. It helps big time to know why someone is in a particular line of business and their passion behind it because it can motivate their team as well.
When you onboard team members, make sure they understand your company’s history and background along with why you want to reach certain goals.
3. Don’t Be Afraid To Pay for Quality
Sometimes you get what you pay for. It’s okay to have a budget, but if you try to take the cheaper route and hire someone with less experience, you may be paying the price later down the line.
You have to ask yourself how much you need the help and how much you’re willing to spend to work with an expert with a proven track record. If someone is trustworthy, requires less training, and can make your life easier, they may be worth the higher rate. This is why it’s important to consider your ROI since you should be earning more money than it costs to pay your team. A skilled and efficient team will always help you earn more over a team that you have to constantly correct and guide.
4. Run a Trial
If you want to be absolutely sure you’re adding the right person to your team, you can always do a trial run before you officially hire them. A paid trial will allow you to experience working with the person for a week or a month without being locked into a long-term contract.
You can make note of strengths and weaknesses they have and any issues that may need to be addressed before you discuss moving forward. The person you are considering hiring may also want to know what it’s like to work with you and if they’d be a great fit so this is a win-win option for everyone.
Summary: Choose Your Team Wisely
Your business is only as good as the team behind it. Having a winning team behind you can give you peace-of-mind when you need to take a few days off or shift your focus toward another project. It feels great to know that you can hand a task over to someone and have it done the right way without having to worry or micromanage their work.
If you want to succeed without carrying the burden of having to do everything yourself, make sure use utilize these tips and strategies to find the ideal people to work with.
