Who’s in Your Pit Crew? Building Your Business Support Team

Who’s in Your Pit Crew?

By Victoria Buckenham from VB Associates

The most successful Formula One drivers in the world are never doing it alone.

When the car pulls into the pit lane, an entire ecosystem springs into action. Engineers. Strategists. Nutritionists. Trainers. Analysts. Mechanics. Every person has a role to play in helping the driver perform at their very best.
And yet, as business owners, many of us still try to do everything ourselves.

We become the strategist, salesperson, finance lead, marketer, operations manager and emotional support system – all before lunchtime!
But growth rarely happens in isolation. Sustainable growth certainly doesn’t. The businesses that scale well are often built around intentionally curated support systems, what I call your ‘pit crew’. They help the owner think better, recover faster, stay resilient and keep moving forward.

Your business can only grow as sustainably as your energy

When we think about building a team, we often jump straight to operational support. Who can help with admin? Sales? Marketing? Delivery?
But the reality is that your own performance as a business owner matters just as much.

In Formula One, the driver’s resilience and performance are treated as strategic priorities. Sleep, nutrition, fitness, mental focus and recovery are all part of the system. Business ownership is no different. If you are constantly exhausted, overwhelmed or operating in survival mode, your business will eventually feel it too. So perhaps one of the most important questions is:

Who is helping you stay at your best?

That could include:
• people who help protect your energy and wellbeing
• individuals who challenge and stretch your thinking
• peers who remind you that you’re not building alone
• coaches, mentors or development professionals who help you step back, reflect and grow

For us here at VB&A, resilience is not just about ‘pushing through’, it’s about creating the conditions that allow you to perform consistently over time.

The four types of people every business owner needs

Over the years, I’ve noticed that the strongest professional networks often contain four distinct types of people.

1. Teachers
These are the people you learn from.
They expand your thinking, expose you to new ideas and help you stay curious. They might be industry experts, authors, speakers, podcasters or people in your wider network whose perspective makes you think differently.
Good businesses are built on learning.

2. Mentors
These are the people you trust deeply.
The ones you can have honest, confidential conversations with. People who help you untangle complexity, challenge your blind spots and give perspective when things feel noisy.
Often, they’re people whose careers or leadership styles you genuinely admire.
Every business owner needs somewhere safe to think out loud.

3. Scouts
I often call these your ‘job scouts’, but in reality when it comes to being a business owner, they’re ‘opportunity scouts’.
These are the people who see something and immediately think of you. An introduction. A client opportunity. A collaboration. A role. A conversation.
They advocate for you even when you’re not in the room.
And importantly, these relationships are rarely transactional. They’re built through genuine connection over time.

4. Connectors
These are the people who simply know people. We all know one or two of these!!
They broaden your horizons, open doors and help you access networks, ideas and opportunities you may never have found alone.
They are often generous, curious people who genuinely enjoy bringing others together.
Communities like Cotswold Networking are full of connectors, which is exactly why spaces like this matter (and I personally love being part of it).

Sometimes the missing piece isn’t capability, it’s perspective

One of the biggest shifts I see when working with leaders and business owners is not necessarily a change in capability. It’s a change in perspective.
The ability to pause.
To think strategically again.
To reconnect with what matters.
To stop firefighting and start leading with intention.
That’s often why coaching, development conversations and strong networks become so powerful. They create space to think differently, something many business owners rarely give themselves permission to do.

A question worth asking yourself

If your business is your Formula One car…who’s currently in your pit crew?
And perhaps more importantly: Where are the gaps?
Because behind almost every high-performing business owner is a carefully built ecosystem of people helping them stay energised, focused, resilient and connected. None of us build brilliant businesses entirely alone.

This month, take 20 minutes to map out your own ‘pit crew’

Ask yourself:
• Who helps me learn?
• Who helps me think?
• Who opens doors for me?
• Who genuinely energises me?
• And where might I need more support?

If you want to chat about what you discover, please reach out to me – . I’d genuinely love to help you build and fortify your crew, and ultimately your business.

Sometimes the next stage of growth doesn’t come from working harder. It comes from building a stronger team around you.

Victoria Buckenham, VB&A Founder