Your Startup Needs to Think about Workforce

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If you build it they will come. That is the hope for an entrepreneurial start up. How do you get there? The way to make it happen is to empower your employees to be brand managers, to be evangelical, to care about the business. Any efforts supporting this direction will be returned to you ten-fold.

BRAND MANAGERS
Every employee, from the mail clerk to the CEO, should feel ownership in the company and should fully understand the mission and the brand that it supports. Every action, whether in personal or public life, should reflect this understanding and cohesion to the brand. Brand management does not end at 5 o’clock. Whether it’s at the grocery, at the mall, or at a party, the brand and the company are to be evangelized at all times.

EVANGELISM
When this is the case, and when a person truly believes in both the company and the brand, it becomes easy to be evangelical wherever you go. At church during coffee, a person mentions they need an X and you know your company works hard to have the best X, so why wouldn’t you go out of your way to share the information? After all, half of marketing is just that: informing the people who need the product about the product.

CARING ABOUT THE BUSINESS
Working for a start-up intrinsically means that you care about the business. If you didn’t, why did you sign on? You must give 110% of everything you have and put it into the success of the business. Being a brand manager and an evangelist, you must first care about the business. Did you read the business plan? Did you give your input on how to better a product or a process? We only get better by either seeing our reflection in a mirror or another person. Give your input. At a start-up, everything and everyone matters.

EMPOWERING YOUR EMPLOYEES
And so, if you are managing a workforce at a start-up, please remember these points and know that you must empower your team to these ends. Your people are your greatest asset for the long-run. Give them the power to own your brand and evangelize it. Care about them and they will care about your business. Share the mission. Share the business plan. Share the vision. These things will create a sense of ownership and loyalty that you cannot pay for or buy.

CONCLUSION
what does this mean for the hiring practice in a start-up? In the case of a start-up, it’s suggested that you don’t go for the best and brightest. What does that possibly mean? Harvard does not teach you to be hungry. Harvard is a great education to have, but the type of person that does well in a start-up would be someone who’s hungry and who does whatever it takes to achieve success for your business. You need to find someone who believes in your vision, your business plan and your mission.

photo credit: laughing stock co. via photopin (license)

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