When you’re just starting out, the first 5 people you hire will make a huge difference in whether your start-up is successful or not. What’s important is not so much that you find five perfect employees, but that you find the right combination of employees who have the right strengths that can work together to form the perfect team to push your company to where it needs to go.
The Planner
This is a person who is extremely detail-oriented. They can help you create a concrete plan and break it down into manageable steps complete with timeframes. The Planner will help keep everyone on the same page so everybody knows exactly what needs to be done to accomplish goals.
Another job of the Planner is research and information-gathering. If you have to make a decision about what type of software to use for anything, this is the person you want to go to, as they will look at all your options and help provide you with a detailed report on your options so you can make the right choice about software.
The Dreamer
Whether you are building a product or creating a service, you need someone who is creative who will think outside of the box and come up with creative solutions to any problems that come up. The Dreamer sees your company for what it could be, and shares that vision with the rest of the team, driving everyone to strive to be more.
Although they will sometimes need to be kept in check with their wild ideas, the most important role of the Dreamer is problem-solving. They can come up with several solutions to whatever problem is put in front of them, and at least one of them is sure to work. The Dreamer is also an amazing marketer as they can come up with great ideas for marketing products and services.
The Builder
This person is the backbone of the company, as they do most of work on the actual product or service. In the case of a product, they’re the ones that physically build or design it. In the case of a service, they may put together the packages and provide the know-how it takes to get your company from an idea to a real start-up company.
Although you may be tempted to think that you don’t need anyone else, the truth is that the Builder usually only has the skills to produce a product or service. They need the other members of the team to help keep them on task, which is where the last two members of the team come in.
The Manager
Although that might not necessarily be their job title, you need someone who is able to manage the whole process and put into action the plans of the Planner. The Manager usually works to create a system that ensures that the goals are reached when they’re supposed to be reached because they are process-oriented.
One of the most important roles of the Manager is making sure that everybody on the team knows what their role is and what they need to be doing. While the Planner may provide the “what” of what needs to be done, it’s the Manager that lays out the “how.”
The Pusher
If the rest of the team is highly-motivated, you might not need this person, but it certainly helps. This is the person who’s very deadline-oriented and who will push everybody to get everything done on time. If you want to make sure your projects are done on time or early, then you want someone on your team that will get it done.
Once you’ve got your team together, you can start building a successful start-up company!
All of these traits are important for building a cohesive team. The key is to define what you’re looking for in a holistic manner so that your enterprise can maximize its effectiveness to ensure success.
Brittnay Sharman was an HR professional in London before making the move to Dublin. Now she spends her housesitting and exploring the beaches of Dublin. Her love of travel and house sitting is captured on The Travelling House Sitters.