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Show Notes:

We're talking about building your team today. Have you experienced a nightmare with hiring or managing a team member? Or are you imagining a future nightmare because of what you've heard from your peers? Are you confused about what role you should be hiring for? Or whether it's time to hire?

Our guest, Tara McMullin, leads 2 successful companies, and she's about to share her experiences building and managing both of those teams.

A bonus treat for me is that she's an introvert, like me, so we get to lean into some particular challenges and solutions for introverted bosses.

If you want to hear an earlier episode with Tara from 2 years ago, head to episode 102, which I'll link in the show notes.

Tara McMullin is a business strategist, podcaster, writer, and producer. She's the founder & host of What Works, a platform for small business owners building stronger businesses. She's also the co-founder of YellowHouse.Media, a podcast production agency that helps small business owners produce standout podcasts to grow their businesses.

Here's some of what we talked about:

How she has found her team members without the traditional pathways
Why Tara and I agree that you probably shouldn't use a VA agency
Finding low-energy and effective ways to introduce your new hire to your company
Documenting your processes will help you with onboarding team members
Why we should think about operations within our business and products as having huge overlap
The liberation Tara experienced when she started hiring employees instead of contractors
How the responsibility of running a team helps Tara show up in her business the way she wants to
Strategies Tara uses to take time away from her team to do deep work
Why you should create an organizational chart even if you're a company of one right now
How Tara thinks about whether it's time for you to hire someone or simplify your business
Why you might want to hire an extrovert if you're an introvert!

Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me:

Takeaway #1:

The team member you are looking for is probably already in your orbit. Tara has found her team members by looking to people she already knew or who were in her network.

Takeaway #2:

Document everything repeatable that you do in your company so that you can easily share it with a team member. We talked about using the platforms Notion, Clickup, and Google Docs, and most of all, using video through a platform like loom.

Takeaway #3:

Switching from hiring contractors to hiring employees made a big difference in Tara's experience within her company. She noticed an unexpected level of liberation and feeling supported by her team.

Takeaway #4:

Even if you're a company of one now, Tara recommends making an organizational chart. That will help you see that you are actually doing many jobs, and it will help you to organize your time, respect your energy limits, and get ready to hire your next team member.

Those are 4 of my takeaways.

What stood out to you?

Did this conversation help you avoid a hiring mistake? Are you thinking differently about your business? Are you surprised by how many jobs you're actually doing?

Send me an email at info@coachingwithannie.com. Even better, include a voice memo so I can share your voice on the pod.