Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down for a cup of coffee with Scrappy Face Founder and CEO Kate Walling.
As our conversation wandered between starting your own company, the fact that Kate hails from three Southern states (all at once, mind you) and the needs of small businesses, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the more gems I pulled out of our conversation.
You have no idea how good somebody is until you hire them
As Kate told me, until you actually get in the trenches with somebody you’ve hired and seen how great / average / inferior of an employee they can be, nothing else matters.
Recommendations from a friend, the fact that he married your sister or saved the pope from a nuclear missle strike on Vatican City means nothing until you actually work with that person.
Then, and only then, do you have the ability to judge their talents.
Start Ups Should Care About 2 Things: Sales & Customer Feedback
In the twilight years of your company, as you’re wining and dining prospects with Mac ‘n Cheese and box wine, you should only care about two things:
- Sales: How many sales are you driving every week? Every month? Every quarter? What are you doing to increase that number?
- Customer Feedback: You put in all that hard work to close a deal … take the opportunity to ask your customers for feedback. What could be done better, what was done magnificently and / or how did they react to you showing up to the presentation in your birthday suit are all valid questions.
Learn How to Hire & Fire
In the infancy of your company, learning how to hire talented individuals and release underperformers is vital.
Learn how to identify red flags that a new employee is underperforming — and FAST. By fast, Kate recommends being able to spot red flags within their first week of employment. Kindly explain to them the situation (“I just don’t see you enjoying yourself here and you’re not really performing because X, Y & Z”) and remove them from your team before they become a cancer to your new company.
Conversely, identifying the right talent to inject into the workplace is vital to your growth. Find those who truly believe in your mission and are in it for more than the money.
Make Progress Every Single Day
This last one may be more vital to your personal sanity than anything else, but it also helps founders check the pulse of their company on a daily basis.
Ask yourself: “What can I do to feel that I’m making progress every single day?”
Identify ways in which you can take your company one step forward every single day.