Hello everybody !
Imagine most of us here on una.io are entrepreneurs, innovators or whatever your reason, we have to work as a team to do great things. So I have a question to which I would like the participation of all those who think they have a more practical answer.
How to build the best possible team and what kind of compromise to make when you don't have a big budget to offer a good salary?
Comments
Hi hans , that’s a good question, within most bootstrapped startups cash is not plentiful, but at the same time you can’t afford to compromise on quality - we all want the best.
I’ve had the good fortune of working with a lot of startups built on UNA, a few of which are now busy successful businesses that are making proper revenue. I‘ve also been involved directly in a few small biz startups - including UNA - so I know fairly well the journey from zero to hero.
As the number 1 requirement I’d say that it takes a strong vision & strong leadership - just because you don’t have the ability to pay professional level salaries, don’t compromise on professionalism. Be organised, have a business plan, have a budget, set clear goals & meet them.
Good people are inspired by money, great people are inspired by vision. If you have a strong vision & a solid product, you might be amazed the quality of candidate that you can attract.
Whilst asking people to work for less wages is I think acceptable, personally I never ask anyone to work for free, I think in a startup, no one should be getting rich, but everyone should get paid something.
Offering employee equity arrangements is fairly standard practice amongst startups, amd provides a sound incentive for your employees to stay around for the long haul.
T
Well, I would say, the answer to your question is right here, before your eyes, Hans. Communities are strong platforms for finding people with the same values, attitudes and goals. So, why not build your own community and filter out who those people, commited to the same vision you have, really are. They will have different skills and experience you might need to reach your business goals. And they might be willing to support your first business steps by earning just small money, because they might start as part-time contributers. When your business grows, you could employ key staff on full-time basis or give them a share of your financial success.
I think, Mark made just a few good points on how to filter out those engaged people. Give them a vision and a plan, how you intend to reach your goals. Or better, let them contribute to the plan. And they will be keen on working with you in order to succeed together. Money is not as a strong motivator as high esteem of a community you feel comfortable with.
Great from Mark Purser :"Good people are inspired by money, great people are inspired by vision. " and agree also with thomlin words.
I would mention also the importance of unity and personal appreciation of the work of your entire team. Create a sense of team and unity. Involve them in the project, grant some creative freedom, and value initiative. Value the effort and work of your team, not only in the budget limits that you can compensate them, but also making them feel part of what the united team is creating.
Sometimes, in my opinion, it is not the money in the startup phase, it is the feelings and shared energy that are most valued by the most interesting profiles.
Thank you Mark Purser , this is excellent. this is good advice, we try to do what we can with the means at our disposal
You are right thomlin , money is not such a good motivator, great people are the vision of things that motivate them more
Besides, this is the hard part, finding the right people who can really connect with others. even if money is hard to come by, it's not really a reason to give up. with good feelings, I also think that we can do great things Jaduho
Mark Purser said:
"Offering employee equity arrangements is fairly standard practice amongst startups, and provides a sound incentive for your employees to stay around for the long haul."
That's right. Harmoney with Vision and Passion are HUGELY important, but talent needs to be paid somehow!
Offering a modest or even very small salary AND a percent ownership is the usual method to engage first hires.
I personally don't take on this kind of work often, but here is an example: In a current project, I am working to help a tech startup get funded and create a Minimally Viable Product. I get a few hundred dollars a month, AND 10% ownership of the company (2% vested each quarter until my ownership reaches 10% - which keeps me around for at least 5 quarters :)