Okay I know it hurts already because everybody has it out for downtime. I'll make this as simple as possible.
Level 7 PC with +1 charisma. No leadership feat. That makes his effective leadership 8
Obviously he can buy a group of soldiers. 5 level 1 guys.
If he wants to recruit a group of elite soldiers (5 level 3 guys) do they count as 3 points, and thus he can, or do they count as 15 points, and thus he can't.
Oh darn almost forgot. Relavent text
You can only recruit a team if the character levels of its individual members are equal to or lower than your Leadership score. Even if you don't have the Leadership feat, calculate your Leadership score as your character level + your Charisma modifier.
I'm pretty sure it means that each team member's level (rather than the combined levels of the team) must be equal to or lower than your Leadership score, because I can't quite believe that you need a Leadership of 12 before you can hire a team of Craftspeople.