Challenge
- Author:
- Chris Quickfall
- Business:
- Invate
- Published:
- 10/11/2008 11:14:00
It was a real shock to go from student straight to employer. I don’t think I’ve quite got my head around that fact yet. First of all I was responsible for a business, and over time I was responsible for a lot of staff. It was a bit of a case of flying by the seat of our pants, which I’ve heard you do quite a lot in business.
Finding the right staff is the number one thing you’ve got to get right when you’re running a business. I’ve got a few mentors who all run successful businesses and they all said to me the most important thing is to get the right people, right from the start.
The first three people we hired we knew as friends beforehand. But when they came on board, we didn’t have any systems in place for staff. When our first employee turned up we didn’t have a PC, a desk or a chair. It was a bit like, I’ve got a meeting, you can use my computer.
People who we bring on board need to fit in with the culture of the business. I want to create a fun company; I enjoy going to work, and I want my staff to enjoy coming to work for us as well. People also need to fit in with other people, as well as with the company itself.