No entrepreneur can operate in a vacuum. Chances are you started your business because you have a particular area of expertise and have cornered the market on a niche at which you’re extremely skilled.
When you take a step back though, do you do all of the work yourself? Even tasks that you’re not good at like bookkeeping or marketing or sales? If you try to do it all, without relying on the strength of trusted partners, you will spread yourself too thin and your focus will be drawn away from your core competency.
What can you do to make certain you’re working toward success? Cultivate partnerships. Here are my suggestions:
- Understand what you need in a business partnership and what skills that partner can bring to the table. As mentioned above: bookkeeping, tax preparation, marketing, etc.
- Get to know your potential partner and talk with other clients with whom he or she works. You need to trust your business partner to have your best interest in mind when you collaborate so that you can concentrate on your business rather than second guessing and checking up on the partner you’re working with.
- Communication is key. If you don’t have open lines of communication and aren’t setting up regular phone calls or texts or other types of check-ins, items could slide and you may not be aware of it until it’s too late. Make “communication with business partners” part of your weekly to-do list.
What can you do to enhance partnerships as a way to grow your business?