Most business ideas begin with an idea, whether it be an innovative product or unique service. A definitive sense of purpose and a defiant hope to change the world are common strong roots of many businesses’ beginnings. However, if you’re hoping to achieve startup success as a one-man or one-woman show, think again. Even businesses with substantial financial backing and community support need a team of professionals to handle the large and small aspects of maintaining and growing a startup to finding startup success.
So, why is a team essential to success in business?
1. As a business owner, you really can’t do it all
Being an entrepreneur denotes having multiple ideas and infinite ways to achieve success with them. However, even with the many superpowers that often come with the title of an entrepreneur or business owner, it’s still impossible to be in two, three, even four or five places at once. The aspects of owning a business may seem simple when things are slow, but when you achieve any milestone of success with your business, it becomes more difficult to juggle all the tasks that fall onto your plate.
Even if you want to, you really can’t do it all.
When business is booming, you’ll likely end up feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, which can cause quick burnout and potentially, lousy performance. With a team at your side, it becomes easier to shift things off your plate and departmentalize small tasks so you can continue to focus on larger objectives and goals.
2. You can’t know everything (and that’s okay)
It’s safe to assume that most entrepreneurs and business owners are not tax experts. They’re also not lawyers, marketing strategists or financial advisors. These are the people essential to your team, whether they work in-house or are hired outside of your business to help you make sound decisions and keep your business afloat. So, why do you need these types of professionals for a successful startup?
First of all, lawyers are one of the best types of professionals to have by your business’s side. A business lawyer should also be one of the first professionals you seek out when starting a business. Lawyers can assist in determining your business’s structure, crafting business plans, writing workplace agreements, drafting contracts and protecting your business, your assets, and yourself. Whether you decide to have a lawyer on retainer, assistance with one-time tasks, or just to provide you with sound legal advice, they are absolutely essential to ensuring your business has the ability to succeed from the very beginning.
Another essential team member businesses must include is a financial professional. Whether this is an accountant, a CPA, bookkeeper or other qualified financial professional to handle your financial reports. Unless you have the capacity to handle bookkeeping, filing taxes, storing records, and tracking your financial success often, hiring a financial professional is crucial to your startup success. Try as they might, business owners can have a hard time proper bookkeeping because it’s most efficient through superior organization. Financial professionals can also help you correctly file your taxes and avoid financial blunders and costly mistakes.
Once your business product, service, or idea has been defined, how will it reach the masses? Do you know who you’re selling to and how to present your business to them in an appealing way? Starting a business in the 21st century means building a website and attracting and audience with digital content is imperative. Startup success in these days is next to impossible without a clear marketing strategy. This is why having a marketing professional with an aptitude for analytics and a passion for attracting audiences to your business is fundamental to startup success.
3. Teams are essential to helping in daily operations
Without essential office members such as an office administrator or office manager, it can often prove difficult to keep up with the tasks involved in daily operations. For example, ordering office supplies, scheduling appointments, and managing expenses are small tasks that often clutter the calendars of busy business owners.
The ability to maintain daily tasks and operations within a business warrant keeping an IT consultant on speed-dial for any technical issues that appear on any given day. They’re also essential to keeping your business’s data secure and protected. Any size of business, from a large corporate to a mom-and-pop shop are liable to be targeted in common small business scams and may result in losing important data if you’re not protected. While you may not need an IT consultant on staff every day, it’s definitely a good idea to keep one on retainer so they can watch over your servers and systems whether you’re in the office or away.
4. A team will challenge your ideas – for the better
Forming an in-office team is just as essential as the team you form from outside sources. An in-office team is beneficial within any industry or environment for brainstorming, cultivating, and executing ideas. Individuals with diverse backgrounds of experience and knowledge can assist business owners to focus on bringing innovative ideas to life. They can also challenge your ideas when necessary and can help modify existing ones to ensure they’re on-focus and on-target with your business. With an office team, departmentalizing tasks becomes easier than ever and leaves business owners with the flexibility to pursue larger projects.
With a professional and knowledgeable team assembled, your startup can quickly cultivate, execute and transform ideas and solutions to achieve long-standing success in any industry. When ideas and plans only take you so far, a focused and driven team can help your business hit the ground running and keep operations running efficiently while you continue to build your business’s big picture. If you are thinking about or in the process of starting a business, feel free to contact me for small business legal counsel and advice.
