Ellyn Davidson, the CEO of Brogan & Partners, discusses the pros and cons of entrepreneurship. When you own a business, there are both really great days and really bad days. A major con for Ellyn as a business owner is when her employees aren’t getting along. Ideally, she wants her employees to be able to work well together and get along like a family, but she understands that’s nearly impossible.

Two of the 8 critical mistakes that I discuss in Entrepreneurial Leap center around your employees. Avoid both hiring the wrong people and not spending enough time with your people to help you build a successful team. Let’s break these down further.

Hiring the Wrong People

When hiring anyone, you must confirm that they have your company’s core values. Hire slowly. If, unfortunately, you hire the wrong person, you have to be willing to fire quickly. Whenever you hire, always think long term. Don’t hire to solve a short-term problem.

Not Spending Time with Your People

It’s critical that you stay in sync with your people. This means meeting with them weekly, quarterly, and annually. Keep them in the loop about everything that’s going on. Give them feedback on how they’re doing, and make sure they know they can give you feedback on how you’re doing as well. Solve interpersonal issues quickly so everyone is rowing in the same direction.

Knowing what these mistakes are in advance will help you head them off at the pass, which will enable you to build your business faster.

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