As a business coach, I am often consulted by wannabe women entrepreneurs and asked, "Should I ask 'so-and-so' to be my partner?" I am never surprised by the question as I know how scary it is to launch a business all alone. Women, more often than men, wonder if having a sidekick will make the journey less frightening. Is it because women are brought up to believe that we need a partner in life and therefore in our business?
First, let me say that there is a big difference between having a business partner and a life partner. Although, even as I write this, I realize that more and more today the two are often indistinguishable. As an entrepreneur married for more than 42 years, I know that what I need in a mate in no way resembles what I might look for in a business partner. For instance, as I have told my husband many times, when I am ranting about business, "I don't want your opinion, I just want you to listen!" The first lesson in business partnership is to respect what each of you bring to the business and be prepared to act on the opinion of the partner best able to handle the situation. Successful partnerships are all about balancing the skills of the partners. For example, if you want to launch a retail business and your expertise is merchandising you probably don't need a partner to handle the details of accounting, real estate, legal or marketing. These are all positions that you can easily contract out and hold on to 100% ownership of the company. However, you may think you want to bring on a partner because of a financial opportunity. I suggest you think long and hard before making that decision. The consequences could be difficult.
