People will ask me what the #1 skill that an agency owner should have (or develop) is in order to build a million-dollar agency that can run without them…

Lots of people assume that I’ll say it’s…

… Sales

… Marketing

… Finance/pricing/package strategy

… Niche

It’s none of those things.  So what is it?

TEAM.

Let’s face it.  If you’re going to reach $1MM in revenue in your agency, you’re probably not going to be doing it by yourself.

(I’m sure there are exceptions, but I don’t know anyone that has reached that size of business on their own AND been a happy person to be around.)

There are plenty of skills that an agency owner needs to have in order to build a strong business, but none of those things are as important to me compared to the ability to build (and keep) a team.

So what do you need to know about building a team?  Here’s my list:

1. Understand that even if you are a team of one, you already have a team

Even if you’re working by yourself, understand that your company already has many different roles, it just so happens that YOU fill all of them.  For me, it was mind-blowing when I realized that my company had a designer, coder, server manager, salesman, digital ads expert, accountant, and janitor.  It was just that I held all of those roles.  Viewing your agency this way will help you identify when it’s time to put somebody else’s name under that role.

2. Know when it’s time to start building one

Agency owners get trapped by the success of their business.  Things go so well and there are so many clients that you can become trapped by that success.  You’re too busy with client fulfillment that you stop selling.

If this sounds familiar to you, then it’s probably past time to consider your first hire.  The most valuable role that an agency owner can play (especially early on in their business) is to be responsible for bringing in new clients.  

Bringing in someone to help with the management of client projects will free up your time to focus on sales.  If the idea of handing off client projects to someone else seems crazy, then there is something you can do about it.  

3. Hire skills you know how to do (not ones you’re trying to obtain)

It can be tempting to hire someone to do a job you don’t know how to do (or don’t like to do.)  That was my story.  I wanted so badly to find someone to do the sales for me because I was more comfortable with building websites.  After all, that’s why I got into the business.

But it would have been a huge mistake to hire for a role that I didn’t know how to manage.  The thing is, I knew I could hire, train and manage another person who could build websites and manage client projects because I knew that stuff so well.  If I would have hired someone to do sales, I wouldn’t have known the first thing about how to manage them to succeed.  All I knew about sales was that I knew how to do it, but managing someone else would have been a different story.

4. Make training & coaching one of your passions

If you want a business that can run without you, you need to make training and coaching your passion.  You need to get good at helping them learn how to be good at their job.

When you’re making your first hire, you’re probably not going to start by hiring a highly paid A-level rock star.  (Truth is I never think you should, but that’s a story for another time.)

The benefit of hiring a solid team member that isn’t already super qualified and experienced is that you get to craft and mold them into the perfect person for the job.  What you save in wages, you’ll pay for training and coaching them.  But it’s worth it.  

5. Be willing to have uncomfortable conversations

Tim Ferris says, “A person’s success in life can be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”

Building a team can be messy.  You’re dealing with human emotions, after all.  We’re not robots.  

Being willing to help your team have the perspective they need to improve for themselves (and your company) is a critical skill.  This is something that keeps agencies from hiring a team in the first place.  Know that when you give your team feedback (sometimes in the form of an uncomfortable conversation) that you’re doing right by your company.

These are the lessons I wish I would have understood going into growing my team.  In a lot of ways, I feel like these are lessons I’m learning (and re-learning) all the time.

If you want an agency that can run without you.  If you want an agency that will scale to big numbers in order to create the time and financial freedom that comes along with it, then growing your skills in building a team is where you want to focus.

If you want to learn more about how to build a strong team in your agency, then apply for a call with our director of coaching. We help agency owners just like you build rock star teams in their businesses.