Are you thinking about starting a business or have you already started a business? If the answer to this question is yes, then you probably know the cardinal rule of business: You cannot do it by yourself. Some of you already know this rule; others of you are in disbelief. The latter of you went into business for yourself so that you could get away from people. You were tricked! Business is all about people. People will be your clients, customers and business partners.

 

Clients and customers are the obvious people factors when we think of business. For our businesses to be successful we must engage with our customers and/or clients. I think that we can all agree on this practice. However, the not-so-obvious factor in this equation we call business is we call business partners.

 

Business partners come in all iterations.

They can be tacit partnerships with family members, friends, your doorman, your dry cleaners or with people we call “connectors.” They can be informal partners where both sides agree – with a gentleman’s handshake – to refer the others services. Finally, they can be formal partners that have signed a written agreements.

 

Tactic Partners. This partnership can be very tenuous. This business partner may not even realize they are your business partner. They are natural connectors and very social people. After you have provided quality service for him/ her or their loved ones, they have a duty to sing your praises to anyone who will listen. Anyone looking for an attorney will be referred will be referred to my office, without question. Another example of this partnership may be with your barber or hairstylist. You do not serve complementary clients, however, you unconsciously refer everyone to her for hair styling and she unconsciously refers everyone to you for your service.

 

Strategic Partners. Strategic partnerships are often made between your company and another company that provide complementary services. For exam, if you are a real estate broker you have a tactic partnership with a local house cleaning service or moving company. The housekeeper may refer the broker to his or her clients and in return the broker may refer the housekeeper to his new customers. There is no formal agreement. Instead there is mutual respect and an understanding of quid pro quo or as Inwould hear growing up – one hand washes the other.

 

Formal Partners. Barring any laws against partnerships, you can make a written agreement with an attorney, accountant, investors, marketing/PR company, social media company, virtual assistant , etc where for a fee you employ their services to improve the overall success of your business. New entrepreneurs often look at the expense as unnecessary. You often feel like, I can do this myself. I can track my finances, research the current business tax laws, Draft my own contracts, create my own marketing campaign, effectively and consistently post on social media and meet the demands of your clients and or customers. I am exhausted just writing all those tasks.

 

As entrepreneurs and business owners we have to learn the value of creating a team of outstanding business partners. Every business will require unique business partners; however, all business should have the following core team: An Attorney; a CPA (Certified Public Accountant); a social media team; a virtual or actual assistant; a marketing/ PR team. These core business partners will not only help you to generate more revenue, they will free up you time to allow you to be excellent at what you do, which will ultimately allow you to generate more revenue! Business partners are essential to a successful business.

 

I will leave you with this gem. There are only 24 hours in a day. No one can create more. However, every business owner has the ability to purchase hours from someone else to free up their time to do the most important task of all business owners: generate revenue.