Building Your Team

Hello Change-makers,

In our last newsletter, we discussed bootstrapping and managing with a small budget. Now, let’s tackle something equally important: building your team.

You might be tempted to keep everything within your comfort zone; after all, who else would care more about your project than your family and friends, who are always ready to help, right? Well, let’s talk about why that approach can backfire quickly.

The Importance of Having a Competent Team (Not Just Friends and Family)

As supportive as your family, friends, or cousins who are always ready to help are, let’s face it: you need more than good intentions. Here's why:

• Skills Matter: You can’t build a successful enterprise on good intentions alone. When legal issues arise or financial strategies need to be made, you need people who know their opinions. Whether it’s legal knowledge, financial expertise, or fundraising skills, you need professionals on board.
• Objectivity and Accountability: Friends and family love you (I hope), but sometimes they can’t give you the tough love you need. A solid team will help you see your blind spots and challenge your ideas when necessary. You’ll want people who will look at you and say, “Ogechi, that’s a terrible idea. Here’s a better one.”
• Trust is Key: Yes, trust is essential, but trust doesn’t mean that your cousin can sign contracts or handle money just because you “trust” them. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your organisation is to find someone who knows their stuff, even if they’re not your family. The goal is to surround yourself with people who have the passion to support your mission and the competence to make things happen.

Building Your Core Team and Board

1. Start with Volunteers

Volunteers are essential, especially when you're working on a small budget. However, don’t just ask people to ‘help out’—be clear about roles and responsibilities.

• When you ask for volunteers, specify what they’ll be doing and what you can offer in return, whether it’s experience, a certificate, or a special shout-out on social media. (P.S.: You might have 500 volunteers, but only 5 would turn up when you need their services!).
• Seek volunteers who are aligned with your mission—they should be passionate and capable of handling tasks in line with their skills, whether that’s social media management, fundraising, or research.

2. Your Core Team

As your project grows, you’ll need a few trusted people to help you manage operations. Your executive team doesn’t need to be huge, but it must be competent. Think carefully about the expertise you need:

• Financial Expertise: You need someone who can handle your finances like a pro. The last thing you need is to ask your cousin with no accounting experience, “How much is left in the budget?” and hear, “Ah, I don't know oh."
• Operations Management: You need someone who knows how to keep things running smoothly—someone who can plan, delegate, and make sure everything gets done on time.
• Fundraising: Money doesn't grow on trees (unfortunately!). Having someone on your team who understands how to secure grants, raise funds, and build donor relationships will be crucial. This can be a tricky role to fill as a startup, but until you find someone, keep giving it your all ??.
• Project Management: This person is skilled at coordinating resources and keeping projects on track. They should be comfortable with timelines, milestones, and accountability.
• Marketing and Communications: Being in people's faces and maybe dreams?? should be the top skill of the person handling communications; it will help you with social media, public relations, and outreach.
• Community Engagement: In a community project, this person needs to have strong people skills. They’ll be connecting with the community, listening to their needs, and making sure you’re always aligned with the people you’re serving.

3. The Board

Your board isn’t just a figurehead. These are individuals who can advise, support, and help navigate tough decisions. When you build your board, aim for diversity in skills, experience, and expertise. Make sure to:

• Financial expertise: You need someone who can guide the financial health of your project. They should have experience in accounting, financial planning, or budgeting—they’ll be your go-to for fiscal advice.
• Legal Expertise: Having a lawyer on your board can help you navigate tricky situations and ensure compliance. They will assist in reviewing contracts, policies, and any potential legal issues. If you can't find someone to fully commit, just have the person help out when they can.
• Fundraising: Yes, your executive team might focus on the day-to-day, but your board members should be experienced fundraisers who can open doors and bring in major donors.
• Strategic Planning: You need someone who can look at your vision and help you think long-term. A board member with experience in strategic development will help you move from start-up mode to scaling up.
• Networking and Relationships: Your board should also consist of people with strong networks—individuals who can introduce you to potential donors, partners, and supporters.”.

Practical Tips for Building Your Team

• Be Clear About Roles: Whether it’s a volunteer, board member, or team leader, define the role clearly. Let people know exactly what they’ll be doing and how they can contribute. No one wants to be stuck doing “everything” because the role is unclear.
• Don’t Skip the Vetting Process: Even for volunteers, don’t hesitate to ask for references and look for evidence of skills that match your needs.
• Offer Value in Return: Not everyone can work for free, so think about how you can offer something in return. It might be professional development, networking opportunities, or small stipends. If you can’t offer money, offer experience, visibility, and appreciation—because those go a long way!
• Balance Expertise and Passion: Find people who are not only skilled but passionate about your mission. Passion fuels hard work, and skills fuel results. Remember, without passion, your skills might be as useful as a phone with no battery.

Your Next Steps

• Write down the key skills you need on your team right now.
• Start reaching out to people within your network or even cold outreach to professionals who align with your mission.
• Be transparent about what you can offer and ensure that people are clear on what is expected of them.

Reminder: Don't feel pressured to have a huge team right from the start. A small group of dedicated people can achieve amazing things.

So what do you think—family or no family? Let’s chat in the comments!

Best, Ogechi