Emma Grede

It's a huge asset.

That discomfort with standing out, that's the thing that I actually want you to examine.

If you're building a team, you need to create a culture where standing out for being excellent is celebrated.

Never, ever something to feel guilty about.

Here's another old fault for you.

I can't afford great people right now.

And the new fault, you can't afford to keep under-investing in people.

This last one is for the founders especially.

Those who are early in building something and feel like they can't spend the money on talent.

And I hear you because I've been there.

I've been there.

I actually know exactly what it feels like to run a business where the margins are so thin and every hire feels like a gamble.

But I need you to hear me when I say this.

You have to calculate the cost of not doing what you need to do.

It's called the opportunity cost, the cost of staying small.

And if you literally can't find the money to make the hire, you must, must, must go back to the drawing board and re-look at your business because that is a whole separate issue.

and it should be a red flag.

The most expensive thing you will ever do is hire the wrong person or underpay the right one.

But you must, must hire.

And let me tell you what happened to me when I started Good American.