Not everyone starts out their journey with the best team. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of start-ups fail in the first year, 50% fail in five, and 70% don’t make it past ten. One of the ways that you can combat becoming a statistic is to have the best team possible behind you. The right team can overcome anything. Here are some things to keep in mind when building your team.

Find your shortcomings, then find those who excel at them

You can’t be expected to run everything in your company. Even though you’re only one person, oftentimes, small business owners are expected to do everything in their company and do it perfectly. The different operational roles in the company being juggled by an exhausted small business owner can lead to catastrophic results, silly overlooks, and terrible mistakes. The last thing that you want to do is overlook an important objective and let it fall through the cracks. 

One of the strongest things that you can do as a leader is to realize that you’re not going to be able to do everything alone. Recognize both your strengths and your weaknesses so that you can pinpoint what exactly you’re looking for in a business partner. By learning what your weaknesses are, you can hire people that will only lead you to achieve success.

Do your research

The last thing you need for your business is a person on your team that isn’t who they say they are. You already did the hard work by pinpointing where your weaknesses are, but here’s where the real work begins. You have to check to see if the people you’re interviewing are telling the truth. Researching your interviewees is doing your due diligence to see if they are who they say they are. 

The person who you want to be on your team should have different ideas than you– they’ve lived a different life and are at a different point in their life than you are. Their viewpoints, perspectives, and skills can become invaluable to you. However, it’s essential that they match your viewpoint for the company. They should share the same vision and spirit that you have for your company, along with the skills that they possess. One without the other just won’t do. You owe it to yourself to hire the best people possible.

If you take these things into consideration when hiring new employees, you should be just fine.