In our ongoing series about the creative process of building a studio, we've covered when and how to hire a team. But what happens when a hire isn't the right fit?

I'm pulling back the curtain on a lesson that cost me months of energy and a piece of my confidence as a leader. You'll often know by week three or four when a new hire isn't going to make it, and waiting six months to act isn't just costly, it's a failure of leadership. I share the difference between a coachable skill gap and a fundamental values misalignment. Discover the two questions that immediately clarify your next move and the three clear, documented conversations you must have before making the final decision. This episode provides a clear, direct process to protect your creative work and act with grace and clarity, because your vision is worth protecting.

00:00 - An Expensive Lesson in Waiting: Why I Didn't Act for Six Months

01:30 - The Six-Month Rule: Knowing When It's Time to Make a Clear Decision

02:40 - Coaching vs. Cutting Loose: When to Invest in Skill vs. Values

04:05 - Making It Better or Just Different: The Two Defining Questions

04:55 - The Three Clear Conversations Before You Let Someone Go

07:05 - How to Have the Firing Conversation: Clarity is Kindness

08:45 - The Cost of Waiting and Why Acting Fast is Great Leadership

10:40 - Am I Coaching Because I Believe or Because I'm Afraid?

Website: https://www.martineseverin.com/

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/ | https://www.instagram.com/thisishowwecreate_

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.martineseverin.substack.com/

This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Daniel Espinosa.

You've made the hire and the contract is signed. Yay. Now we can begin the real work. In this final installment of our mini-series on hiring your first assistant, I'm pulling back the curtain on the first crucial 90 days and the art of proper onboarding. I'll be sharing the systems and intentional frameworks, honed from years of building teams in my photography business and overseeing a 120-person team in a co-owned company, that help a new hire fully absorb your vision, not just your tasks.

I'll walk you through the 30-60-90 framework for ensuring your new team member is set up for success. Learn why the first 30 days are purely for learning, when to flip the script on task ownership, and what to watch for by day 60 to prevent costly misalignments. This episode will provide you with the blueprint for creating an operating document, using tools for clear process transfer, and course-correcting early to ensure your future self (and your entire creative business) is amplified, not diluted.

00:00 - Introduction and Series Recap

02:23 - The Crucial 90 Days: Onboarding vs. Orientation

04:44 - Breaking Down the 30-60-90 Framework

07:04 - Why You Must Encourage "Dumb" Questions

09:16 - Honesty Check: Are You Micromanaging?

11:37 - A Concrete Example: Onboarding for Client Communication

14:02 - Creating Your Operating Document and Role-Playing Scenarios

16:21 - The Week Eight Check-in and the Importance of Documentation

18:48 - Setting People Up for Success: Coaching Versus Cutting Loose

Website: https://www.martineseverin.com/

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/ | https://www.instagram.com/thisishowwecreate_

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.martineseverin.substack.com/

This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Daniel Espinosa.

Hiring your first helper is exciting, but it can also be terrifying. After keeping the wrong person on my team for far too long, I realized I had been focusing on all the wrong things. Skills on a resume are table stakes, but you cannot teach someone to care about the details the way you do.

In this episode (Part 2 of our hiring series), I am pulling back the curtain on the screening process that saved me from making that mistake again. I share the specific, behavioral questions I now ask to uncover a candidate's true values, the red flags that signal a poor fit, and the single most important step I take before making any commitment: the paid trial project. This is the guide I wish I had when I started building my team.

00:00 Welcome Back & The Hiring Journey

00:45 The Mistake I Made With My First Hire

02:05 Looking Beyond the Resume: Skills vs. Values

03:00 Why "Culture Fit" Is Everything for a Small Creative Business

04:00 The Pre-Screening Trick for Attention to Detail

05:50 How to Ask About Past Work (The "Prioritization" Question)

07:45 Asking About Mistakes and Listening for Ownership

09:30 How Do They Handle Critical Feedback?

10:30 The Importance of a (Paid) Trial Project

11:50 The Truth Revealed in the Trial

12:20 Red Flags: Badmouthing and Vague Answers

13:00 Why the Questions They Ask Matter

13:30 The One Question I Wish I Had Asked

14:00 Final Thoughts: Aligned, Not Perfect

Website: https://www.martineseverin.com/

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martine.severin/ | https://www.instagram.com/thisishowwecreate_

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.martineseverin.substack.com/

This is How We Create is produced by Martine Severin. This episode was edited by Daniel Espinosa.