Entrepreneurs: should you partner up or go it alone?
This is compiled from the book: BEYOND the NUMBERS: 5 Key Factors that Impact an Entrepreneur’s Success.
It’s the first of the 5 Factors that have little to do with the numbers, but can have just as great an impact on the success of a business; Factor #1 – Know your entrepreneurial personality.
The online free dictionary describes personality as “the sum total of all the behavioral and mental characteristics by means of which an individual is recognized as being unique.”
In this article context, think of your entrepreneurial personality as the “sum total” of your strengths and weaknesses. Or, another way to describe it is your aptitudes (skills) and attitudes (behavior). These characteristics are key to determining whether you would be better off as a sole owner or partnering with other owners, even family members.
The person best suited to being a sole owner, I refer to as The Lone Stranger. The Family Gatherer is someone who may have success in a family business. The Painless Partner thrives best with others (non-family) to complement his or her skills and to share the ownership risks. Each of these personalities require certain skills, aptitudes, and attitudes to be most effective in starting and running a business.
The Lone Stranger needs more natural skills than the other two types, simply because the others will have partners to complement their abilities. Yes, The Lone Stranger can hire sales or marketing help if that’s not his or her strength. But when it comes to ownership responsibilities of financial and strategy decisions, planning, etc., that’s all on the sole proprietor’s shoulders. The Lone Stranger must be able to cope with higher levels of responsibility, be a better manager of time, and a whiz at multi-tasking.
The Painless Partner or The Family Gatherer has others to share ownership responsibilities, but their roles still require unique skill sets. First and foremost, any partnership, family or otherwise, requires individuals capable of putting egos aside when making crucial decisions. Defining responsibilities between partners, based on experience for example, is relatively easy. But what happens when the partner in charge of sales and marketing chooses an ad campaign other partners find objectionable?
What if the one in charge of financial matters insists the marketing owner cut back on the ad budget? The decision process must be explicitly defined and carefully orchestrated such that tough issues are reasonably resolved and supported by all partners, even when there isn’t unanimity. This is a daunting challenge even for the most amenable personalities. Those with overactive egos may not make good partners. The family partnership offers its own unique challenges. Relationship concerns carry far more weight than they would when non-family business associates are involved.
In the next blog, I’ll go through a step-by-step process for finding the right partner match. The process also helps to eliminate people who would not make a good match for you.
Enjoy the entrepreneurial journey!