The following is an excerpt from “Take a Chance!: 101 Entrepreneurial Lessons for Making It Big” by Larry Gaynor. Gaynor is founder and CEO of TNG Worldwide, a beauty-product supplier with signature brands like ForPro Professional Collection and Ginger Lily Farms.
Lesson: Develop The Best Core Team
Every company, every sports team, and every president has a core team.
If you go to investor relations for any public company, one tab is Corporate Governance. Here you see who is the CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, yadda, yadda, yadda. That is their core team.
The starters on any sports team are the core team.
The POTUS core team is handpicked and made up of top advisers.
Successful companies, sports teams, and presidents all have one thing in common: They have the best core team.
I did not know how lucky I was until the pandemic hit. So many people quit their jobs or were fired. Many were afraid to come to work. Government handouts were aplenty. In 2021, it was all about the Great Resignation. Suddenly, employees who were not happy at work decided to quit. Millions of jobs went unfilled. “Help wanted” signs were hanging in windows, dancing in the wind on street poles, and even appearing on electronic billboards.
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As I mentioned in the previous lesson, the last employee we hired was in 2019. Since the pandemic began, not one employee has left.
The average tenure per employee is over 18 years. These are incredible statistics, and you would never read about these in The Harvard Business Review or Sloan Management Review. The bottom line is that all my 37 employees now make up the core team. It is no longer a specific group of employees like pre-pandemic.
Here is the most amazing statistic of all in regard to having all your employees being part of your core team: 100% of everything done right. 100% customer success? Got it. Ship Amazon orders complete and on time? Got it. Computer issue? Got it. Prep, set up, and tear down company lunch? Got it. Don’t bother Larry because he is writing a book? Got it.
They say ChatGPT is going to be the greatest revolution of all time in technology because, in part, it can answer any question in less than a second. I have to say having the best core team is as good if not better than ChatGPT. Why? No matter what the issue is, the team solves it immediately and without my assistance. That is how tuned in the team is. And let me tell you my loyal reader, ChatGPT will never replace the human experience. Just as nail techs, hairdressers, and massage therapists are allowed to touch people (and people enjoy it), there is nothing better than watching the team enjoy a company lunch and the camaraderie that goes along with it.
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The core team likes to be referred to as the TNG family. I disagree. Forty to 50% of first-time marriages fail and that is between two people who loved each other. And 60–67% of second-time marriages fail. And when was the last family event that went well for you? There is always drama and someone getting on your nerves. The poor baby boomers thought they were free and clear when their kids left home; now they have to take care of their mother and/or father. Sorry, but families have too many issues.
Teams win or lose. I like to refer to our core team as the best winning team. Winning teams make more money, share more high- fives, are the happiest, and, most importantly, shrug off mistakes. No one makes less than $25/hour after bonus. The pay gap between the lowest paid employee and myself is six times. I distribute at least 25% of the company profits each year. However, money is not the motivator that keeps employees loyal to a company. In fact, it ranks fourth.
According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the top-five motivators are as follows:
- Provide meaningful and challenging work
- Improve employees’ lives
- Recognition
- Compensation
- Culture
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The core team is so important to my wife and me that we put them in our will. But who wants to die before giving away money? We have decided to give more money away while we are alive so everyone can enjoy life just a little bit better now. Let me give you an example. You already know about the 10-year and 20-year anniversary trips employees receive. My wife and I decided to do something special for our employees who have been with us 30 years (we have five through 2023): At the last annual meeting during lunch, we made an announcement and brought up each employee one at a time. I then brought out a cashier’s check for $30,000 and BUB gave it to the employee. The shock and tears in the dining room were immense. The appreciation from each employee was priceless. Moreover, since we gifted them the money, it was 100% tax-free. This my loyal reader is one of the benefits of being a successful entrepreneur. What are you waiting for?
LIFE LESSON TIP: When you start out, make sure the first hire is someone that you would hire forever. That is the most important hire you will ever make. If you are an established entrepreneur, then realize who your core team is and develop them to the best of your ability.
This excerpt from “Take a Chance!: 101 Entrepreneurial Lessons for Making It Big” by Larry Gaynor is reprinted with permission from Advantage Media Group.
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