The show begins.
You’ve decided to create your business, your company, your enterprise, your empire.
COME ON, LET’S GO!
It's a great sensation, even though you don’t have any idea at all about what’s coming next. I can perfectly remember today that I didn’t even know what a promissory note, a frequent payment method in Spain, was. But that doesn’t matter. You’re starting to smell that marvelous sense of freedom.
Uncertainty, unknown, and questions appear in your mind.
One of the first ones is: should I have a business partner? If it is so, how many? Just another one? Maybe two? Three? Wait, wait, wait, better being alone, and don’t start losing my freedom. I want to make whatever I want to. That’s one of the main reasons why I’ve decided to make this giant leap in my life!
Yes, all that is running through your brain, and even your veins! Hot blood.
STOP!
It’s time to apply some basic rules I learned by committing lots of mistakes (BIG FORMULA: failure or mistake = energy loss = waste of time = losing money), throughout my 20 years of entrepreneurship:
- Let the hot blood disappears before making a decision.
- Try to simplify everything as much as possible.
So, calm down, and let’s think together.
Now our blood is almost cold because life can never be a freezer. We’re not robots, and, as humans, we always need that “little touch” of feeling, of emotion, to move forward and create great things.
Let’s simplify, and I’m going to share my point of view.
I created my first company with a business partner. A wrong decision in that case. We didn’t fit together, and it was a failure. Always remember the BIG FORMULA: failure or mistake = energy loss = waste of time = losing money.
Is that enough to decide to go for other options? Obviously, that mistake would have never existed if I create my company on my own. What could have happened if I have had two or more business partners? Who knows…
A year later, I met another person who became my business partner. We’ve been together since 2003. We’ve reached huge goals. Could I have done all this on my own? No way!
Lesson learned: if you have a business partner who you both don’t fit each other, it’ll be a mistake, but if you have a business partner who becomes your second brain, you’ll succeed much more than you were on your own.
But we were simplifying and still have all options open: 0, 1, 2, 3…
I don’t believe in three or more people in a business. That’s too many people giving their opinion. Period.
So we reduce our options to two:
- Option 1. Having no partners at all.
- Option 2. Having a partner.
Based on my experience, it’s better assuming risks having a business partner that being on your own. The point is having the right partner, but that’s another story.
Having the right partner will make your business grow much better, safer, and faster.
Here I’m telling you why I consider having the right partner is critical when creating and growing a business, and it’s better than being on your own.
1. TWO are never alone. ONE is.
Solitude is terrible for human beings.
Being an entrepreneur is something tough. Never forget that. Nobody will understand your needs as your business partner.
In life, you have to experience things first-hand to understand them truly.
Your wife, your husband, your father, your mother, your brother or sister, your friends won’t understand your situation, your feelings, what’s going on in your head, body, or soul.
Your business partner will.
Just because he’s having the same feelings, the same situations, with all the details you need to really understand what the story is about.
Entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs, and, when you’re inside a deep down (and you’ll be), you’ll need support, comprehension, help, sharing… It’s much harder to overcome those situations on your own. Believe me.
I talk to lots of entrepreneurs who are on their own. They tell me that feeling and how fortunate I am for having the right business partner. I was a solopreneur for a year. Take my word of it.
If you need motivation, nobody as your business partner to give it to you.
One can be sad. Two, at the same time, is less likely.
2. TWO are always better than ONE
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.
Bernie Taupin and Elton John.
Paul Allen and Bill Gates.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
It’s more likely to create a unique project being TWO. Don’t take for granted “the second” doesn’t contribute to the project. That’s why they’re in the first position on my list above.
“Nobody is perfect, but a team can be” — Meredith Belbin.
If you already are or you are thinking of being an entrepreneur, I’m pretty sure you’re a perfectionist, someone who seeks excellence, who wants to become your best self. Being TWO (you don’t need more people to be a team) is the way.
3. TWO solve problems and make decisions better than ONE
Solving problems and making decisions will be your daily situation when becoming an entrepreneur.
There’s no better way to decrease failure probability than having more than one perspective to a problem.
We usually forget that we think the reality is how we perceive it. And that’s true. Each of us has a different reality. Ours.
Having two different ways of thinking, two brains analyzing a situation will take you to better solutions. Be sure of that.
Making better decisions is the fastest way to:
- improve a business,
- to move forward,
- to grow,
- to make it profitable,
- to save time, money, and energy.
4. TWO always have more money than ONE
We usually don’t think about money when creating a business. I’ll explain it.
We focus on seed money to create our company, but we don’t think about money and finances in the future (which is closer than you think).
There are two main points talking about money in a company:
- Investment
- Avoiding risks
1. INVESTMENT
Shortly, you will need to make higher investments to grow your company, improve it, and keep it moving forward. It’s nonsense to make such significant efforts to launch a project and not having enough fuel when you need it to keep on running.
At that point, being two is excellent, and something you will always be grateful to have.
Each of the business partners will suffer less, and the investment will be higher to achieve higher goals.
2. AVOIDING RISKS
We don’t think about risks when we are creating our business because, at that time, we manage it as we manage our personal finances. We think about dozens or hundreds magnitudes, but never in thousands or millions…
If your business works well, and I’m sure it will, you’ll head to money magnitudes that begin to be dangerous to cope with on your own.
Having a business partner:
- Will increase the probability of accessing credits. Banks are more confident when they see TWO on a boat than ONE.
- If something goes wrong, dividing the losses by TWO is less bloody.
So, here you are.
This is why I recommend everyone to look for the right partner.
Don’t be afraid to assume risks if he’s not the right one. Measure your risks when deciding to become a partner to someone, and don’t be scared to fail. People fail. Even the great ones.
It’s not easy, but entrepreneurship isn’t easy. Nothing’s easy in life.
Sooner or later, you’ll find your better half. I’m sure of that.
That will be a big step in your career. You will:
- be accompanied,
- be safer,
- be and become better,
- make better decisions,
- have more financing capacity,
- have fewer risks,
- … and the list keeps on growing.
It’s worth it!
Go for it!
Photo at the top courtesy of Daniele Franchi on Unsplash.