Many successful entrepreneurs won’t admit this secret.

But I’ll let you in on it.

There is no such thing as a solo entrepreneur.

Nobody who’s ever scaled a business from the ground up did it alone.

In fact, left to themselves, they wouldn’t have a business.

I recently read a book about legendary businessman and investor Warren Buffett.

Buffett spent years trying to convince his longtime friend, Charlie Munger, to be his business partner.

He never went looking elsewhere.

He never settled for anybody else.

He knew Charlie was the man, and he did everything to get him on board.

Reading this story just solidified what I already knew.

The people you choose to work with have the ability to make or break your business.

If you look at research on why startups don’t make it, the wrong team is among the top reasons.

It is imperative that you are selective and strategic about your team.

If you’re just starting a business, this is likely something that you’ve thought about.

I know because I get this question a lot:

“How do I choose the right team members for my startup?”

In this article, I will give you my best advice for building a team that will carry your startup all the way to the top.

Best of all, I’ll let you in on some actionable strategies for ensuring that your team is fire-proof.

Nothing will kill your startup faster than having to put out fires every step of the way.

Still with me? Good, let’s get to it.

1. Start with you

At the risk of sounding cliche, I’ll say this:

Self-awareness is the foundation of everything good.

A formidable team begins with you.

The reality is, you won’t have every single skill that it takes to scale a startup.

First, objectively evaluate your skill set.

What are you great at?

What do you lack?

And it’s not just about hard skills.

The soft qualities come into play as well. As many as 77% of employers agree that soft skills are just as important.

Your personality, your values, and your beliefs are all things that you need to take into consideration.

After you’ve got a solid grasp of what you bring to the table, you can start thinking about your team.

Do what you’re great at.

Find competent people to handle the rest.

It’s as simple as that.

2. Hire action-takers who can get the job done

No business has ever taken off based on an idea.

It is execution that transforms an idea into a legitimate, revenue-generating business.

You want to build a team that’s capable of accomplishing things instead of just spouting off ideas.

Before you think about anything else, consider candidates for the hard skills that they possess.

Why the emphasis on core competencies?

Startups are grueling.

Things move at a rapid pace.

Challenges get thrown at you at every turn.

Perhaps that why there’s been a significant decline in startups over the years.

 

It is imperative that you have team members with the agility to deal with problems quickly and efficiently.

With the competitive nature of business, you also need people who are resourceful.

The ability to innovate and to come up with creative solutions is a critical asset.

Many entrepreneurs wait until things go wrong, then scramble to get people to fix it.

Think about the potential challenges from the outset, and build a team that can handle whatever comes their way.

3. Don’t build a team for a startup

Isn’t that what this entire article is about?

Yes, but let me explain.

The startup phase is temporary.

While it’s true that many businesses don’t make it past that initial phase, that’s not what you want your trajectory to be.

Here are the failure rates for small businesses across several years:

 

Don’t let this discourage you.

You can have a business that remains viable for years to come.

But, it’s important that you build a team for the long term.

What exactly does this mean?

Build your team with the entire organization’s structure in mind.

Consider the long-term vision for your business.

Write down all the different departments that you will need to bring that vision to reality.

Here are some examples.

• Marketing and sales
• Product design and development
• Accounting and finance
• Research and development