4 Reasons You Should Get a Business Partner

In today’s world where flight booking and food delivery can be as easy as 1-2-3, you can start your own online business, right at your fingertips. Everything — account set-up, company registration, visual identity design, inventory and product creation — can be done online!

No need to sign a massive amount of paperwork, no need for a brick-and-mortar presence and no need to work for “the man”. Being an “online entrepreneur” is the name of the game. And everybody wants a slice of this sweet, profitable pie.

Because it’s so simple to start an online business, here’s our problem: now, it’s become much harder to get attention and build traction for your start-up business.

Skeptical? Just check out Shopify’s data which says that the average lifespan of a new merchant is 14-15 months only. Starting your own business is absurdly easy. Getting your first sale so you can build towards sustainability is the absurdly back-breaking part.

And based from my own 12-year experience as an online entrepreneur, one way you can increase your business’s chance of success is by getting a business partner. I’ve done both (sole founder and with partners) and in this week’s video, we’ll talk about the four reasons why you should get one:

[youtube=https://youtu.be/p-xACjv8iAU&feature=youtu.be&h=360]

Turn your “me, me, me!” into “we, we, we!” and get into a mutually beneficial business partnership with a company that you have shared values with because of these four reasons:

1. Combining your resources = double everything can increase your potential for success

A partnership allows you to share everything, so you double your time, your capital, your knowledge and overall experience.

Yes, doubling your resources may not necessarily mean that success is guaranteed, but you have to remember that for you to beat the odds, you need to increase to increase your resources – collaborating with your business partner can help do this. As long as there’s alignment and synergy within your combined resources, you increase your likelihood of achieving success.

2. Complementary skills can help you reach your goals more efficiently

You may have the ability to wear multiple hats: you have the same inclination towards business & operations, programming, and product creation & development – but there will always be something that you’d need help with.

Find out the gap: which skill are you better off entrusting to someone else? Are you great with customer service but not so great at marketing? What if you’re amazing at accounting but you need help with product creation? Or you can be a whiz at solving business-related problems but your programming skills are basic level only?

Get a business partner who has shared values with you, and make sure they’re better at you in the specific skill that you’re lacking.

3. Compassionate and empathetic companion who truly understands what you’re going through.

Sure, talking about issues with your business with your significant other, with your friends or families can be a nice way of releasing steam for a little while. They understand more of what you’re going through since they can put themselves in your shoes.

However, since they don’t have the same vested interest in the business as you do, you’ll probably hear replies of “Oh, that sucks, man…” or “Ouch, have you tried…?” or “You need to fail at some point before succeeding…”

Simply put, nothing beats sharing both the ups and downs with your business partner who knows exactly how you feel. After all, you’re wearing exactly the same pair of shoes, aren’t you?

4. Capability to actually take some time off since you have an equally competent partner to take care of your business

You’ll get cleansing of your thoughts and a more rejuvenated ambition. Plus, a week or so of total relaxation also helps you reach one of the healthiest points in your life so you can become the best entrepreneur and leader version of yourself.

I hope these four reasons are compelling enough to encourage you to consider having a business partner. I’m massively passionate about this topic, so let’s talk more about it in the comments below. Tell me: what do you find most challenging in having a business partner?

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