Many entrepreneurs talk about wanting a great team, but very few are willing to do the inner and practical work required to actually build one.

In this episode of the 30 Day Year podcast, Dave interviews the CEO of Conway Mentorship, his wife and business partner, Jacqueline, for a deep dive on uncovering team-building secrets. Jacq has spent her entire career on small, passionate teams, and this is an amazing opportunity to gain access to her expertise and insights on this vitally important topic.

From defining values and expectations to running through her exact hiring processes, Jacq breaks down the art and science of building a team that can support $100K months and beyond.

If you’ve ever felt burned by staff, frustrated with turnover, or overwhelmed by hiring, this conversation will gently but firmly point the spotlight back where it belongs: on leadership, clarity, and the standards you set for the people who carry your brand.

Key Takeaways

Why Great Leaders Start By Loving People (2:26)
It takes great leadership to build a great team. And great leaders start by loving people. Jacq genuinely loves people. She sees every person as a story, a set of skills, and untapped potential. Her approach to leadership starts with curiosity: get to know who they are, discover their strengths, and then nurture those strengths into meaningful responsibility. A strong team is built, not found, and it begins with a leader who genuinely likes people.
The Framework: Values, Vision, Mission, and Expectations (04:59)
Team building is not just about finding talent, it is about building capacity over time. Jacq explains how she and Dave sat down in 2021 to define Conway Mentorship’s core values, then layered on vision, mission, beliefs, and finally clear expectations for how the team shows up. That framework gives new hires context, repels people who are not a fit, and helps the right people mentally prepare for the environment they are joining.
Founder Accountability: Most Team Problems Are Leadership Problems (09:57)
When entrepreneurs complain about staff, they usually look in the wrong direction. Jacq estimates that about 90 percent of failures with team members are actually on the founder or leader, not the hire. When values, vision, and expectations are fuzzy, people cannot win. It takes soul searching, trial and error, and real ownership from the founder to provide the clarity that high performers crave. This is so important and often overlooked.
Brand Equity And The NOYZ Perfume Story (11:26)
Your team is your brand. Jacq explains how to understand the emotional experience of a brand from the customer’s point of view. Jacq tells the story about how she (and her sister) were at a women’s conference in Los Angeles, and they walked up to a chic perfume “truck” expecting something like an elevated drugstore brand. In ten minutes, the experience completely changed her perception. The stylish team members were kind, knowledgeable, and deeply bought in to the founder’s vision. Their product knowledge, storytelling, and conviction turned a simple roll-on fragrance into a Chanel-level purchase in Jacq’s mind. This is an amazing story of brand equity in action, and how it lives or dies in the hands of your team.
A Simple Hiring Process That Filters 130 Applicants Down To One (17:59)
When Jacq recently hired a new team member, she started with about 130 applications and narrowed them to 15. She then sent those 15 a small “skill test” challenge: take a podcast episode and turn it into another asset. Only five completed the assignment. From there, she chose one, interviewed her three times, checked references, and filtered everything through the company values and culture fit. The lesson is clear: hire slow, test for real skill and interest, then commit.

Final Insight

Your team does not “represent” your brand; your team is your brand.

The way they speak to clients, the patience they show, the conviction they carry, and the level of care they bring to their work will either raise your brand in the eyes of your market or quietly erode it.

One wrong hire can damage brand equity and trust that has taken years to build in mere moments. And rebuilding that trust can take a really long time, if you can get it back at all. Which is why Jacq keeps returning to founder responsibility. The standards, the systems, the values, the expectations, and the hiring process are all leadership decisions.

You do not need a massive organization to reach big financial goals. You need the right people, in the right seats, aligned with the right values, led by someone who is willing to own the entire picture. Start leading at the level you want your brand to be known for, and watch the right people rise to meet you.

Ready to learn more about building a world-class team? Then this is the episode for you!