By Javon Frazier, Founder/CEO of Maestro Media†
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It’s humbling to look back at the meteoric rise and success my company has experienced since launching just under two years ago, but with the rapid growth came the dreaded growing pains that I admittedly wasn’t 100% prepared for. Here are five things I’ve learned that have helped my business not only survive, but thrive with our rapid growth. Hopefully they help you too.
Take your team’s workload into account.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without my team, and I want to do everything I can to show my appreciation for them. Just six months after launching the company, we generated more than $11 million in revenue, with very healthy results. Moving from a Stage One company to essentially a Stage Four company in the blink of an eye revealed an glaring problem: we simply didn’t have the manpower to be sustainable. So take into account the workload and stress level of your team.
Take charge and evaluate your growing needs.
I experienced a lack of proper resources, processes and time alongside my team, resulting in internal confusion, frustration and anger. As founder and CEO, my job is to lead the company on the path of success, and I had to step up to the board and do just that. When you start to see your team starting to get thin, it’s time to re-invest in your people and look for new members to add.
Invest in new talent.
As you no doubt already know, having the right people in the right positions is imperative, so make sure you spend enough time finding the best possible talent and recruiting them to your team. To make the cut, they must align with your vision, your mission and your culture. It doesn’t matter if they have a history of multi-million dollar deals – while that’s great and I applaud them for that, if in the end they don’t align with your vision or aren’t compatible with your culture, they won’t make the cut. Find people who share the same passion as you and who want to work for the company for years to come. My best advice in this area is to “enlist slowly, fire quickly” – take the time to find the right people and remove the wrong ones from within if necessary.
Re-invest in your legacy talent.
However, don’t just look outside to further build the foundation of your company; your original team, the ones that were with you when the company was nothing more than an idea, are the original rocks and should also be rewarded and further invested. These are the people who helped shape your culture and make your vision a reality. It would be a huge disservice not to reward them for all their efforts. By reinvesting in your original team (be it financial, educational, professional advancement, etc.), you can be rewarded tenfold with a world-class team committed to helping not only your customers but each other.
Strengthen the foundation of your business.
The leader must be in the driver’s seat, formulating a vision and driving the company toward that vision no matter what. But if it has to be done, it takes not only the growth of your business, but also the growth of the people around you. A weak base can topple any tower, and without a team you believe in 100% and support, you’re going to inevitably bring yourself down. Remember that you are only as strong as the people around you, so it is in your best interest to make sure they are well supported, encouraged and inspired.
