You are ready to start your team but you are terrified you’re going to mess it up! As a matter of fact, this feeling has likely caused you to put off this decision for far too long. When you venture into something completely new, it can seem overwhelming and terrifying. Trust us, we know because we have been there! We have lived what you are living now, we have made some mistakes, and we have learned from them. And now? We are successfully hitting our goals! As your friends in the biz who have been there and have helped tons of people just like you, we want to share the advice you need to start your team! Here’s the 5 most common mistakes when starting your team and how to avoid them so that you can start your team with confidence! 

Mistake #1: Fear

Ah fear. There really isn’t anything good we can say about fear when it comes to starting your team. Fear is a major liar that is determined to get in your way. It tells you that you can’t do it, it tells you that nobody will want to apply, it tells you that employees will ruin your brand, it tells you that you won’t be able to afford it or that paychecks won’t be administered on time, and so much more. Sound familiar? All of those “what ifs” you have are fear. You aren’t alone! It is completely natural to feel these things but the mistake we most commonly see is when people let it get in the way. 

Letting fear get in the way can lead to disaster. It can kill the idea of a team before it even starts and it can crush it once it’s in motion; causing you to micromanage or become reactive. 

Our advice? Kick fear to the side. Don’t let it stand in your way! Take action even though you have some fear. (There’s no law that says you can only take action if you have no fear.) You’ll be shocked how that action reduces the fear and starts building your confidence.

Mistake #2

The second most common mistake we see is the misclassification of a team member. Hiring contractors is such a common theme in the wedding industry, but where the issue lies is when they’re treated more like employees. Most people classify (or call) team members contractors simply because they think it is the easiest thing to do. Yet, they treat them like employees. Hence, the mismatch, or misclassification. This can be a huge problem because, if they were to go the state and express this, you could be faced with legal penalties. It can be a big learning curve to unpack the difference between the two but knowing the difference is critical. 

Our advice? Know your roles, classify them correctly, and seek legal advice if you aren’t sure! Another pro tip…be sure to have a contract with independent contractors– this can clear up any misclassification issues! 

Mistake #3

Too often, we see leaders not setting clear expectations. Many of us don’t have experience being leaders or managers, so we aren’t good at setting expectations. We, as business owners, want to hire people to do ALL of the things that we 1) aren’t good at, 2) don’t like, or 3) don’t have time for. We want to just ‘give it to them’ and believe (or atleast hope) that the work will get done well enough to ‘check it off the list’. But who says we found people who can actually do all those things and do them in the way we expect? Are they doing them well? We need to take the time to set them up for success and this includes clear expectation setting. 

The idea here is asking what it is that you want them to do and how would you measure that. What does success look like? How will you know when they have met a goal or have completed the task? A lot of the time, we bring people on to sell, for example, without telling them the results we’re looking for. If your team members know the goals you have for them, you are sure to be set up for higher success rates.

Our advice? Set clear expectations. Be sure your goals are reasonable, measurable, and communicated upfront with your team members. Make yourself available for questions and don’t hesitate to check-in! 

Mistake #4

This leads us to mistake #4 as you start your team: Not holding team members accountable. This one usually ties into setting expectations because it’s also about creating accountabilities– setting up frequent check-ins to see how things are going, talking about them after they’re done, making sure they were done correctly, etc. So it’s important that you’re holding people accountable to those expectations.

It is worth noting that great team members like being held accountable. It gives them something to measure themselves against as they are working. If a team member doesn’t like being held accountable– let that be a red flag to you! You’ve worked hard for this business and it deserves to have work completed with accountability. 

Our advice? Host regular check-in meetings to make yourself available for questions while holding your team members to the goals and expectations you have set.

Mistake #5

Believing you’re either born a good leader or you’re not. To put it simply, leadership is influence. Leadership is not a position, title, or personality. No one is born a good leader. Read that one again! Rather, leadership is a skillset that is learned and crafted over time. However, don’t develop through trial and error; rather pour into professional development. If you are looking for a place to start, read our blog on 17 minutes a day!

Our advice? Pour into yourself and develop yourself as a strong leader for your team. Don’t act on the basis that you are ‘already good at it’ or that you can figure it out as you go. Take intentional steps towards growth. 

Wrapping it Up

During our years of building teams for our businesses, we’ve picked up on 5 common mistakes that we see getting made time and time again. These mistakes lead to time being traded for money, and we hope that by sharing, you’re able to avoid them when starting your team! 

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

We know that there is a lot to sift through when determining what is best as you are building your team! If you are finding yourself with more questions than answers, please reach out to The Abundance Group! You can find us on Instagram @theabundancegroup.