You have so many ideas, visions and plans but you have no team. When does it make sense to start building your own team?
When you are starting out, it’s tough to even think about building a team until you get your online business rolling, but you do want to give it some consideration.
We have used contractors in our business before we even launched our first product and continue to build a team that allows us to develop different parts to our business.
In general, your team will help you in 3 different areas…
Where you are missing a skill
Where you are short on time
Where you need to augment your expertise
Here are some guidealines you can use when considering building up a team…
EXPERTISE GAP
My rule of thumb is that when something is critical in my business right now and it will take me significantly longer to master that task than it would cost to pay someone else to do it, then I outsource.
For example, I like to design graphics, but because it’s not something I do each day (or week), it may take me 3-hours to create one graphic whereas I can hire someone for $5-$50 to do a expert job exactly the way I want it.
One consideration that’s important when you start your business is to understand how much your own time costs.
To do this, pick a target income level – let’s say $200,000 – and divide that by 230 days (5-day work week less a few weeks for vacation and holidays, which gives you your total for each day.
Further divide that by 7-hours (or whatever time you have to spend on your business) giving you $125/hour.
Obviously this goes up the more your target income increases.
What this tells you is that spending each hour on a project is equivilant to hiring someone for $125.
If you can outsource a project that would take you 2-hours to an expert for $50, that is a smart move for your business.
PLAN TO OUTSOURCE
Even though you may not have the money to outsource immediately to a contractor or part-time/full-time employee, you want to start highlighting areas where outsourcing would make more sense.
The purpose here is to make sure you document the process you would want an employee or contractor to follow when you will be able to afford to bring them on…a system that will make transitioning them into your online business much faster and easier.
Finally, look at building your team as a way to duplicate your efforts…a way to leverage what you do best and bring added value to the market earning you greater profits. Having this outlook will help you reach those goals faster.
