How to Build a Dream Team For Your Business
What You Need to Know as a Small Business Owner Wanting the Team of Your Dreams
If I had to pick one activity that the business owners I work with have the least amount of confidence in doing, it would be hiring for their team.
This is one area of running a business where it’s easy to do the wrong thing, even if you have a solid system. Plus, there is so much pressure to build a dream team, and do it right the first time, so you don’t end up having to re-hire again in a few weeks.
While I am a systems person, and I believe a solid system will smooth over the hiring process, there is a little more to it than that when it comes to hiring a team—especially if your goal is to build a dream team.
There are two main things I see happen when it comes to hiring team members that I see business owners miss:
Not having a repeatable system
Not being clear about what they want & need in advance
In this blog post, I’m going to talk about how to build a dream team that supports your business exactly how you want it to.
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What Is a Dream Team?
If you google dream team, you’re gonna get some generic answers like “a team whose members are prominent in a particular field.”
There are also lots of things about sports, which I did not realize this colloquialism came from until I wrote this post.
I don’t like these definitions. First of all, I’m not a sports person and I don’t wanna use that kind of metaphor here, but also, I don’t think a team has to be stuffy and I’ve sure met people who were “prominent” in their field, but didn’t make up part of a dream team.
So, for the purpose of this blog post and building your own dream team, here is how we are going to define “dream team”:
A dream team is a group of people who work alongside you and your business with adaptability, capability, and a willingness to embrace new ideas. While dream teams can take many shapes and forms, what sets them apart is how seamlessly they collaborate with a shared, forward-focused mindset. They’re not just there to check boxes—they’re invested in the growth, impact, and future of the business as a whole.
What Makes a Dream Team?
Just like any other relationship, I believe good teams are built and not found.
And not only are they built, they are continuously nurtured.
If you want to build a dream team, you have to be willing to put in the work. Very few things in this world happen by accident; they happen by intentionally putting the systems and processes in place to support what you’re trying to build.
When it comes down to it, a dream team isn’t just made of people who are good at their jobs. It’s made of people who click—who complement your strengths, challenge your blind spots, and show up with a “we” mindset instead of a “me” mindset. And you don’t get that kind of team by good hiring practices alone. You have to cultivate it.
What Makes Your Dream Team?
If you’ve read any of my other blog posts or been in my world for more than a minute, you probably know that I’m big on making things work for you and your business. If you truly want to create your own dream team, you want to sit down and think about what that means for YOU.
My ideal team is likely to differ from yours, and that’s perfectly fine!
Here are some things to consider:
What is your vision for your team?
What values do you want your team to have?
What do you value in a team member?
When you’re hiring a team, is it more important to you that team members already know how to do the job, or that they fit your culture and vision?
What transferable skills and soft skills do you want your team members to have?
How will your team differ from other teams you have been on?
Are there any teams you’ve been on you would like to emulate?
Are there any teams you’ve been on you would like to be very different from?
I’d like to encourage you to take some time today and think about what you want your dream team to look like and why. This will give you clarity on what your version of a dream team is and how they show up. Make a list of qualities, skills, or ideas your dream team has.
Example of What Might Make a Dream Team
If you’re anything like me, you’re panicking because you don’t even know where to begin in thinking about how to define your dream team.
I get it, I’ve been there.
Here is what I look for in my dream team:
🌟 Shared Values
My values are extremely important to me both on a personal level and a professional level. I want to ensure that everyone on my team shares similar values because when they are outside of my business, they are still representing my business, and anything they say or do reflects on me.
🧠 Adaptability & Problem-Solving
I want a team that’s solutions-oriented and always looking for how to improve things—not just keep things the same because it feels easier to do that.
🤝 Complementary Strengths
What kind of team would we be if we could all do the same thing? A boring and less profitable one! My dream team has different strengths so we can each do what we do best and work together to strengthen the team as a whole.
💬 Open, Honest Communication
My dream team doesn’t tiptoe. They speak up with respect, give and receive feedback, and keep the lines of communication open without fear of hard conversations.
🔄 Trust & Accountability
I need to know I can count on my team and they can count on each other. They need to be able to complete their work with minimal oversight and not only own up when things go wrong, but also when things go right.
🤎🧡💛💚💙💜 Diversity
My dream team comes from different backgrounds; they have had different lived experiences that shape their ideas and beliefs. We each have something to learn from someone else and we bring value from our experiences.
How to Build a Dream Team
The journey to build a dream team is going to start with some reflection (journaling may be a good idea for this if you are open to it). There is a lot of prep work involved in building your dream team and making sure that you are prepared to support them properly once you find them.
You want to start by:
Creating a vision for your team: What do you want your team to look like? What do you want it to feel like? What do you want it to be known for?
Identifying what kind of support you need: Take the time to think about what you need to be successful in your role as CEO. What soft skills do you need? What tech skills? What other skills?
Defining the roles you want to hire for: Make a detailed list of which roles you need in your business to be successful. Be sure to consider this for where you are now AND where you want to be in the next 3 years. Then write a detailed description of each of these roles.
Setting your team up for success: Yes, you want to do this before you hire or things will fall through the cracks. This includes creating clear SOPs, setting expectations for roles, creating a team member onboarding process, and setting communication norms.
Getting clear on how you will build culture: Like I said, dream teams are born, they are built. You need to know now how you plan to keep your team accountable, how you will make them feel supported and involved, and how you will provide feedback.
Once you have these things in place, you’re ready to start hiring.
Hiring Team Members
I’ve seen a lot of business owners make the mistake of hiring based solely on skill or experience and not taking into account if a new hire is aligned with their business, values, and mission.
I’m not saying you should ask applicants to tell what your mission means to them, but I am saying you should do some research into who you are about to hire.
Here are some tips for hiring team members who are aligned with your business.
Look at their social media accounts. Is there anything that you deem unprofessional or you wouldn’t want representing your brand?
Do a Google Search of their name. What comes up? Does it align with your brand or your business?
Ask them questions about things that are important to you and what you want your team to be like. This might include questions about how they collaborate, how they handle feedback, and how they learn best.
When you meet with them, consider how they answer your questions, their body language, how they present themselves, and how they make you feel. Does that align with the team you are trying to build?
Remember, skills can be taught. You’re going to have to train someone on how to do things your way anyway. What’s hard to teach or change? Mannerisms, values, what’s already been put on social media, and attitudes.
Final Thoughts
It’s more than okay if you create your own dream team and it looks a little different in the end than what you thought it would. In order to truly understand what our dream team looks like, we need to take some time to reflect on what is important to us, our brand, our business, and our future.
The perfect team for you may change as your business evolves. The important thing is to remember to always reflect on how your team works together, supports your vision, and represents your business.
Go out and start planning so you can begin to build a dream team for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Do You Create a Dream Team?
You create your dream team by choosing the right people to support and represent you and your business at any given time during your growth. The perfect team doesn’t just appear to you one day; you have to continuously nurture it and create a culture where your team wants to show up every day and live your values.
What is an Example of a Dream Team?
Let’s say we were going to create a Dream Team of tech innovators to consult on a huge, international project. You’d most likely be tempted to include Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs (we’re dreaming, not being realistic), Elon Musk, and Bill Gates.
However, since I do not really agree with their values, my personal tech dream team would look quite different—but this is just an example.
Related Resources & Tips
Here is further reading on how to build a dream team I thought you might be interested in.
