Entrepreneur Spotlight - TeamTrainers Consulting

Since 2000, TeamTrainers Consulting has helped business teams and their managers implement the best practices that separate high-performance business teams from regular teams. Team Coach Jim Morgan can convert regular teams into high performers, solve teamwork issues, or provide engaging on-site teamwork classes. Our approach, called The SuddenTeams® Program, is based on extensive research into "The Science of Teams" and tested in the real world of business, government, and nonprofit organizations. We're so confident in our method, we offer a no-net-cost guarantee on our full teamwork training and coaching services.

Q&A

Q. Why did you start your business and what niche does it fill?
A. There are a lot of myths about teamwork repeated by managers, presenters, and some self-proclaimed “team builders.” Having created successful teams within a large organization, I decided to use my old journalistic skills to find out what science says really works. TeamTrainers provides the practical teamwork training most management schools and consulting companies do not, and fills the need for real solutions to teamwork issues rather than abstract exercises. “Quick fixes” can’t solve problems that developed over hundreds or thousands of labor hours.

Q. How did you finance your business?
A. Credit cards.

Q. Who are your customers?
A. Since small-group psychology applies to all humans, with customization my services can help improve any group of four or more, at any level, in any industry. Although I have worked with clients as large as Hewlett-Packard, my marketing focus is on small- to mid-sized companies or nonprofits organized in (or organizing into) teams.

Q. What are the most critical things you have done to grow your business?
A. I invested the time to become an expert in my field, literally thousands of hours researching and writing. Then I worked to learn the skills I did not have as a business person, especially marketing and sales. Most of all, I make myself go out and do things that have worked for others in my industry, even if I do not enjoy doing them.

Q. How have you used social media tools like LinkedIn to grow your business?
A. I am trying to establish myself as a “go-to” person on topics related to team leadership by answering questions. I also build relationships by touching base with my connections when they put out news or when I come across information I think will help their businesses.

Q. What are three pieces of advise you would offer entrepreneurs starting out today?
A. Pick something you love, because you’re going to be living and breathing it. Take the long-term view, because the majority of businesses don’t become profitable as quickly as the entrepreneurs think they will. And seek out education in the areas in which you are weakest, because there is a big difference between being good at a skill and being good at the business of delivering that skill.

Q. How does your business "give back" to the community or to society?
A. I provide my services free to my favorite nonprofits. For example, I provided my full team development program to a local religious community, and deliver one of my courses to new volunteers at Hospice of Wake County most months.

Q. How and why was it important to base your business in the Triangle area?
A. In my case I had no choice: I moved here last year to help an aging parent. That said, I looked at the possibility of getting a regular job or contract work instead of restarting TeamTrainers locally, but finally decided our underlying economic strength and robust mix of industries made it worth the effort to establish myself in this market.

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