Entrepreneurial Team

Being a lone entrepreneur has its advantages. You have sole ownership of the business. You get all the profits. You wield all the power. But along with this is the disadvantage of inheriting all the expenses and problems. Establishing an entrepreneurial team that is comprised of at least three members simplifies and makes running a business more affordable.

Entrepreneurial teams are the current trend among start-up entrepreneurs who want to penetrate a demanding market. With more capital to hand out and larger operations to manage, entrepreneurs find that they can be more effective as a group. Collaborative decision-making by teams has proven to be more advantageous as biases are counteracted when making business decisions.

But then, building a strong and successful entrepreneurial team can be tricky. Some entrepreneurs have less luck finding the right partners and end up discouraged. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur looking to recruit associates, have no fear. Like most endeavors, there are ways to do it to get the best results.

1. Recognize what talent/skill you need. The skill will lead you to the right person.
In business, you shouldn’t pair up with someone just because they’re your family or your friends. This will give you little benefit and even loyalty is not assured. Know what your needs are for the business you would like to establish and base your partnership criteria on them. For example, if you want to set up a restaurant, you’ll need someone to cook, someone who knows how to manage hotels and restaurants, and someone who can keep track of finances. If you are the one who is familiar with accounting, then you should partner with a chef and with an HRM graduate who has accumulated extensive experience in his field. This is basic and should always be the first thing you consider for the partnership.

2. Evaluate commitment.
Once you’ve found the right person, find out how committed they are to the business. There are working partners and absent partners; I guess I don’t have to explain which one is more preferable to work with as a team. Ultimately, building teams requires people to work together to achieve a goal. If a member of the group does not participate, and is not willing to participate, then there is no use having them as part of it.

3. Define responsibilities and utilities.
As partners, all of you will share the responsibilities towards the business. To avoid overextending or overloading, it is best to establish what responsibilities is assumed by whom and which partner will assume in the absence of the person in charge. This will make your team more dynamic and productive, as well as less vulnerable to power struggles. Also, determine the shares that each team member gets from the revenue before the start of the business.

These are just the beginnings of building an entrepreneurial team. The rest of the steps are discovered along the way. Certain flexibilities and sacrifices may be necessary as the team matures. But if it is based on these three, it is difficult for the team to break.