Supporting Teams Your Business Needs to Succeed

Teamwork is critical to building a successful contracting business. Successful entrepreneurs engage a brain trust of employees, hire advisors who coach them, and they develop strategic partnerships with individuals and businesses.

Nearly all of the successful contractors I have met met built a brain trust and strategic partnerships, even if they were operating a solo company. If they were growing a larger business, they also built a team of full-time partners.

Building your brain trust

The larger your brain trust, the more successful you’ll be in your business. So how do you find these people? I’ve put together a simple process from the hundreds of contractors I’ve worked with over the years.

Step 1:

Complete a detailed inventory of the critical skills needed in your business. For example, some contracting businesses are very la­bor intensive, while others are sales intensive.  Some require licensed teams, such as the trades; plumbing, electrical, HVAC.   Some require marketing and social media to bring awareness about your company.

Step 2:

Conduct an honest evaluation of your own skills relative to the critical skills needed in your business. In other words, what are your strengths and weaknesses relative to your profile of required skills? Knowing this will help reveal the gaps you need to fill with advisors and team members.

Step 3:

Select one or two primary mentors who know you well or your industry. These are often friends, family members, or colleagues who are willing to take your calls and meet with you regularly. It’s best if they understand business, have a large pool of contacts, and are passionate about what you are doing.

Building your core team

My husband and I ran our business — a design build firm — by ourselves until we landed our first custom home contract. Although we had two great carpenters, it was clear we’d eventually need more coverage in the field and in the office than we could provide. So we sat down and discussed the characteristics of a great project manager. This person had to “get” carpenters, enjoy working with them, be firm but fair, and be a great teacher and motivator. It sounded like we were looking for a school teacher. 

So, we turned to the Career and Technology program in our county.  We worked with counselors and found several carpenters, Phil in particular, who were honest, intelligent, hard-working.  A year later, we landed another custom home, nearly ten thousand square feet. I needed an office manager now more than ever.  Amy learned the business quickly,  helped take our company to an office outside of our home, and we both understood and supported each other’s work life balance raising young kids.   The business expanded to a full service design build firm, with an in house architect and interior remodeling.  Our staff were phenomenal partners.  Young families like we were.  We were all growing together.

Just like our experience with Phil and Amy, the contractors I have worked with chose team members primarily based on character. Since many of them run smaller companies, they can’t afford to have toxic people in their company. They tend to look for decent people first and skills second. When you only have five or six people in your company, you can’t bury a difficult person deep in a corporate structure. So quality of character has to be a major emphasis when finding team members.

Most important, your team members should be passionate about your purpose, share your values, and fit the culture you’re trying to create. Nothing is more exciting than like-minded people enjoying the entrepreneurial experience together. And a highly motivated team with a common purpose will always go farther and faster than any individual working alone. So the best hiring strategy for an exciting company is purpose first, character second, and finally, skills third.

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