I had the opportunity to be interview for a telesummit whose target audience was mompreneurs. The interviewer asked me “What is the #1 lesson you learned when it came to building and growing your business?” My answer was simply “The knowledge that I can’t do it alone.”

If you have a desire to build a business, it is going to require that you leverage. Simply put…you want to start to build a team. Not just any team but a world-class team and yes, technology has made it possible to do it virtually.

However, as wonderful as this may sound, building a world-class virtual team requires a critical component. It starts with preparation and patience you want to adapt the philosophy of hiring slow and firing fast.

Here are some simple steps to start your process to building a team that will help you company to grow:

1. Write the job description. You would be surprise how many entrepreneurs and small business owners don’t take the time to create the job description. Include the following, qualities and skills and essential functions of the job. You also want to decide on salary and hours required.
2. Decide where you will find this team member. You may want to look internally as you grow. However, when you are starting out I would recommend asking your community, family, business partners and vendors for a referral. (Side note: You never want to hire anyone that you would have a problem firing). You also want to leverage services such as Odesk, Elance, Craigslists, Fiverr, and other online resources. It is important for you to determine if you want to hire an employee or independent contractor. This decision should be based on short-term goals, long-term goals and your budget.
3. Decide on your interview process. This includes questions you will ask tests the interviewees will be required to take, assessments and process for letting applicants know if they were hired.
4. Hiring and Training. “You’re Hired” is just the beginning to build a world class team you must have time set aside to train the new hire in your culture and organization. It is also critical that you have a 90-day probationary period. This gives you a built in timeline to have a conversation on the team members’ performance.
5. Make sure you have the systems in place to pay your new team member. Will they be required to report their time or will they be responsible to invoice you for payment? Also what is the tax ramification? Will they receive a W-2 or 1099?

These are some simple steps to start you on your way to building you world class virtual team. Remember, to take the time to hire the right fit, you will be so glad you did.