Building your First Team
My First Team
Our first dance concept video
Building Your First Team
I can remember furiously scribbling on a piece of paper in the middle of Arts Admin 101 my first business idea…
My teacher could tell a lightbulb had gone off in my head and let me slide into my subconscious dreamland to finish my master plan
After class, the first thing I did was recruit my first team.
I didn’t know it at the time but creating a support structure early on was going to be invaluable later.
We were a motley crew, some of us from the dance crew world while the others were from my college hip hop class. We were a small, but mighty team of four.
One of the dancers even had business expertise which helped me bounce business ideas off of them from the start.
Now why and how can you, the budding dance entrepreneur, build a team right away?
Let’s start with why..
The beginning of your entrepreneurial journey will be filled with a lot of unknowns. From testing your ideas to see if people even like your products (your MVP we’ll talk about that in another blog) , to setting up a website, social media, marketing plans, and getting your company incorporated . You are going to need as much support as you can get with work and with helping you manage your emotions.
That brings us to the question of how?
1. Pick 5 people in your life right now that could provide any of the following:
-emotional support,
-brainstorming advice,
-have real world expertise for instance who are the perfect dancer for your company or any behind the scenes work like filming your first concept video or setting up your website
2. Now write them down with what role they could play.
3. After that immediately contact them and let them know what you are planning and how they can help you.
-Now some of you may hesitate on this step. You may expertise fear or imposter syndrome. That is completely normal. I know I felt it.
-Write down that fear and ask yourself what is the worst-case scenario that can happen from me asking this person to help me. The answer is probably that they will say no. But that isn’t so bad of an ending now, is it? Know that your search for your team doesn’t end with the first five people you contact. There are plenty of candidates out there from people you know to people who you will meet who will champion what you have to offer.
The sooner you ask, the more prepared you’ll be to ask your first customer to buy your product. Since your entrepreneurial journey will be an endless task of asking people to buy into your great idea. Let’s start working on strengthening the muscle with friends and family that already know you and will most likely say yes.
I’ll end this article with how I asked my first team for help for inspiration….
I got out of class and told my best friend my idea. She was my first emotional support, instantly agreeing that this was in fact an awesome idea. That boost of confidence allowed me to go up to dancers I admired either in school or in companies I already was in to ask for help. I got them together in my college commuter lounge and laid out my plan for them. I remember them agreeing with gusto to be a part of my group.
There was a sense of optimism in the air…
We had no idea what we were in for . But the magic lay in the journey and figuring it out.
That sense of awe and magic is what I continue to feel with my current dance company. Even though the faces have changed, that initial sense of magic is still present at every rehearsal which is the fuel for driving us forward in creating a better dance company.
