How I Went From a Solopreneur to Building a Thriving Team!

Hey Friend!

Are you a solopreneur and looking to grow an amazing team? It takes a lot to go from being a solopreneur to becoming an organization with a team. It is a complete shift in your mindset. Today we are talking all about operations and how I have grown my team.

From Solopreneur to Having a Thriving Team: Here’s What I Did

So many questions come up around what it takes to go from solopreneur to having a successful team. Today, I’m taking you through the seven most commonly asked questions from the ladies in my Facebook community. You’re going to learn everything about what it looks like to have a successful team and the operations that I have in place to keep that team running!

1. What does it look like to run a profitable company? What happens during business meetings and what is the most important things to discuss in those meetings?

This is one of the biggest shifts when you go from solopreneur to having a team: meetings. They’re essential for having a profitable company! When you have God as the CEO of your business, it is important to start with prayer and let everyone know the good news in the company. We have several different meetings:

• Monthly growth meetings
  • KPI’s and monthly metrics 
  • Focus goals 

• VI (Visionary-Integrator) meetings
  • As the leadership team, you need to come together with the person who has the vision, the CEO and the person who can execute the plan. The meeting goes through the tasks and the things that need to be accomplished then come out with a very specific to-do list. 
  • These meetings should happen bi-weekly. 
  • The purpose of the meeting is to bring everyone together so that you can be successful.

• Growth meetings
  • There are two reasons we have a company. Impact and income. Are you growing? Are you converting? Through all of that is how you make an impact.

• Quarterly team meetings
  • Get everyone on the team involved
  • Everyone should feel seen, heard, and valued. 

• Intern meetings
  • New interns are on-boarded 
  • Meet monthly to make sure they know the expectations and then provide regular check-ins so they can be guided and feel supported.

• CEO retreat
  • Yearly at the end of every year. 
  • Go through your dreams for the next year!

2. How do you grow a team when you don’t have the funds yet to sustain it?

As a solopreneur, you may not have the consistent money yet to hire a team. You have to be realistic and start where you are. Look at the one thing that is a series of repetitive tasks that you are doing in your business that you don’t like or are not good at. Who can fill that gap? 

Typically, the first person you are going to hire will be a virtual assistant (VA). If you don’t have the funds for that, think outside the box. Trade for a course or coaching that you offer as an internship or scholarship. 

What is the number one thing you want to be outsourced for an hour a week? There are people that you can hire that have services that you can use that may not be as costly as bringing someone on your team.

3. How do you find people to hire who care about your business as much as you do?

You won’t always have people that care about the business as much as you do. The team I have today is not the team that I started with. As you evolve, you grow into the type of leader that you need to become to create a mission. If you want people to care about the company as much as you, your company has to become a mission. 

Let God be your HR director when you are looking at applications and look at hiring from within and cultivating up.

4. How do you know when it is time to hire the first person on your team?

This is the biggest question every solopreneur has. If you still don’t know what you do, it’s not time to hire anyone yet. If you are still getting started and you are not in a net profit position, wait. You want to be in a stable place when you bring someone on. 

If your business is starting to grow and evolve and you don’t have the time freedom you used to have, it may be time to bring someone on. 

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you feeling burnt out?
• Are you frustrated with the things you have to do on a repetitive basis?
• Are you struggling with keeping time balance and priorities in check?

5. How big is the team that helped you get here and what roles did you fill first?

It grows as you find the gaps and places that need to be filled. You can’t just wake up and look at a team of 17 people. It is an evolution of growth. 

These are the positions we currently have filled:

• Operations: HR, hirings, firings, task management, project management, Standard operating procedures

• Legal, bookkeeping, etc are all outsourced.

• Growth leg: blog, Pinterest, SEO and keyword research, spreadsheets, 
• Executive assistant: email inbox, Facebook, students, clients

• Someone In charge of Podcast to Profit and courses, back office, homework, etc.
• Graphic/web designer, branding
• Internships for each area

6. How do you know when it is time to move to the next level like adding courses or staff?

• God usually tells me. Oftentimes I feel the tug well before I execute something. Then I am executing it and what God had been telling me suddenly becomes clear. 
• Numbers will also tell you. You will see where the demand is and what direction you need to go. 

7. How did you become such a great leader and what advice do you have for those wanting to grow their leadership skills?

• Recognize that the people on your team are real people with dreams and passions too 
• Treat people equally 
• Give of your time and resources 
• Be clear with communication and expectations.

Pray. Make sure you are bringing God in, that will help you become the leader you want to be.

Good, Godly leadership is about:

• Pray before you respond
• Think before you speak
• Serve first
• Lead with Holy Spirit promptings

I hope that my experience going from being a solopreneur to becoming a successful leader and building an amazing team helps you to grow your business and build a successful, amazing team as well! Bring God along in the journey and He will guide you in what your next steps should be. 

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

P.S. Also, listen to podcast episode 530 for the full training on Behind the Business – OPERATIONS & TEAM – How I Went from a Solopreneur to 5 Team Members and 15 Interns!

APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE PODCAST

Hey friend! This workshop is for you if you’re ready to build a business God’s way instead of the world’s way. 

If you’re ready to do less each week while having more success, The Podcast for Growth Workshop is for you.

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