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Things You’ll Learn in this Episode of Doing it Online:
- Which roles I hired first in my biz + why.
- What the main differences have been from a team that got the business to 6-figures, to the team that’s taken us to 7… (who knows where we can go from here!)
- The number one role I recommend starting with outsourcing first… (totally doable.)
One of the most important things when it comes to growing your business?
Your team.
In the last couple of years I’ve had to really focus on building the right team…
I used to be pre-ttyyy stubborn about that idea. A few years ago I was determined I didn’t want a big team + didn’t understand how much of a biz-changer (+ life-changer) it could be to hire the right people, at the right time…
In this episode, I’m giving you a bit of a behind the scenes look at the 6-Figure team vs 7-Figure team. Obviously not in terms of comparing the *people* but the hired roles and what that’s meant for our business.
So, if you’re thinking about adding to your team + not sure what roles to hire or what you need to help you scale, I think you’ll get a lot out of this episode…
Building the right team – the origin story
Me, a few years ago: “PFFFT. I’m not doing an org chart. Hella to the no. What’s the point of putting that on paper? I DON’T WANT A BIG BUSINESS.”
I’m only going to say this once, don’t be like “A-Few-Years-Ago-Kate.” She didn’t know what she was talking about.
It just didn’t make sense to her…she’d come from a big company, she’d hated that, so “A-Few-Years-Ago-Kate” simply rejected the idea of creating a team for her business.
Several years later…
“A-Few-Years-Ago-Kate” no longer exists and has been replaced by “Kate-Who-Gets-It-And-Hires-ALLL-The-People.”
She has a bigger team than she thought she’d ever have…
Why? Well, because in the last couple of years I’ve had to really focus on building the right team. (Yeah, 3rd person was going to get exhausting.)
Since I became a mum, I’ve had to find extra time. And that’s meant I’ve had two options:
A) Pay someone to look after my son. (A TOTALLY ok option.)
B) Pay someone to work in my business. (Also an ok option.)
And for me, personally, the second option felt like the right way to go.
So! I wanted to share with you where I started, from what my 6-figure vs 7-figure team looked like and where I am now. It should give you some inspiration for how that can work for your unique situation + business…
The 6-figure team…
So let’s start with the 6 figure team, in order of how I hired them…
#1 – Customer service and admin VA
My very first hire was my VA, Sarah. She’s been with me about 8 years now, through all 3 iterations of my business. Her primary role was admin work + she eventually took on some extra responsibilities within customer service too.
I think this is a really good starting place for hiring, particularly for an online business. It’s something you can easily train people on and it’s 100% something that can’t be dropped, even if you’re busy, so it’s a good idea to have someone other than just yourself in this role.
#2 – Social media – creation and scheduling
My second hire was for social media. I’m going to be honest with you guys, I don’t LURVE doing social media, but it’s just not something that can fall through the cracks if you want your business to grow. I go into a little more detail in the episode of how that looked in the early stages and how we made that work, so give that a listen.
#3 – OBM – tech set up and launch management
My third hire was an Online Business Manager. I wanted another ‘grown-up’ to be in charge of things, tell me what to do, follow up and make sure things are happening on time.
And the bonus with this OBM is that she is amazing at all things tech too, so she’s able to do a lot of the tech set up as well.
#4 – Contractors.
I also would hire contractors on an ad hoc basis for bookkeeping, graphic design and podcast editing etc…
And that was the team. It was #SQUADGOALS
But now let’s look at…
The 7- figure team…
So! To continue the overview of our 6-figure vs 7-figure team… let’s now look at the team that got us to 7-figures.
#1 – Customer service and admin VA
This role is very much still going strong. And I’m still lucky to have the wonderful Sarah. (She’s gonna be with me forevahhh, she just doesn’t know it yet.)
#2 – 2nd customer service, and community success coordinator
I didn’t love that we only had one person on customer service, because if they were to get sick or go on holidays (as they should!) we’d have a gap and I’d have to fill in for that. So we created a job share here and Kristy came aboard the Hello Funnels bus.
Kristy and Sarah job-share the customer service side of things and Kristy’s secondary role is coordinating everything to do with our students and clients. We have a LOT of calls in eCourse Empire (2-3 a week with experts +/or myself) and they all require coordinating, so Kristy takes care of all that. It’s been an amazing addition to our team to have Kristy, it’s just really upleveled the delivery of the program, to have Kristy there with the students every step of the way.
#3 – Upgraded to a digital content producer who does ALL our content
When we rehired for this role we changed the scope of the position and the responsibilities. So when we brought Keeley on board, the role went from social media content & scheduling to our Digital Content Producer. This means every single piece of content that comes out of our company (and there is A LOT) comes from this role. (So we’re talking: launches, internal communications with our students, all the content leading up to our retreat in August, plus social media and emails…)
This was a game-changing hire for me especially, because it took a lot off my plate that I was doing myself.
#4 – Added extra expert coaches to support our members
When we first started the e-Course empire program, we had 1 call a week, but we’ve been able to upscale that offer to 2-3 guests a week on just about everything. Launch strategy, copywriting, tech, mindset, design- you name it we’ve got an amazing human there.
Not only have the eCourse Empire members found it amazing, but it’s made a huge difference for me, to know that I can go away (on my honeymoon, for example!) and know that my clients are still getting amazing support.
The rest of the 7-Figure team…
I won’t go into all the details here, you can find them in the episode, but we also still have an amazing OBM, Zoe, we’re bringing on a Chief Financial Officer (YAY!) a traffic team and a few extra contractors…
Last thoughts…
So! That’s our 6-figure team vs 7-figure teaml. So far…
I do have my eyes on a few extra roles in the future, as we move our business into multiple 7-figures…
But let me just say, this isn’t about building a big fat empire for your ego, it’s about creating a business you LOVE, that supports your life + runs incredibly well for your clients, giving them the best experience possible.
I’m a firm believer that your business needs to support your life, not the other way around.
And so I hope this has helped you avoid being the “A -Few-Years-Ago-Kate” any longer and inspired you to see the possibilities and what roles could be beneficial in your business..
