Tag Archives: Ownership

4 Things to Consider Before Going into Business With Someone You Know

Guest post in our entrepreneurial series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Business partnerships between people who already know each other can be incredibly fruitful. They involve banding together and sharing capital, expertise, and experience to create a thriving enterprise. Partnering up with a friend or family member may seem like an excellent idea. However, you need to exercise caution when going into business with someone you are close to. Business partnership and friends do not always mix, and incompatibility in business can lead to strained relationships and broken friendships. Here are a few things that you should consider before choosing a business partner.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels

Do You Share a Similar Vision?

If you are considering starting a business, you probably already have some idea about the product or service you would like to provide, the industry you want to be in, and the type of business you want to run. When it comes down to company identity, it is essential that you both share a similar vision for your brand. In order for it to succeed, business partners need to unify to fulfill brand promises, enforce standards and live up to the company beliefs and values.

Have You Worked With Them Before?

Having a strong connection with someone in a personal way does not always mean you will work well together in business. Being comfortable with your business partner and having the ability to be honest and straight with them is important. However, possessing existing experience working with them already will help you gauge their work style and what they will be like as a partner. If you lack this experience, try working together on a smaller project to see how you work together as a team.Continue reading→

The Anti-PMBOKxidant – Courage

kimberlychickencollage.jpg“Hey, has anyone seen my rubber chicken?”  He goes with me everywhere as I travel the world spreading the word about breakthrough leadership and execution excellence.  You might say he’s a “frequent flyer”, or perhaps even a “frequent fryer”.  One thing is for sure, he’s vital to my work, which mainly focuses on helping people overcome the biggest obstacle to their success – their own self-limiting assumptions and beliefs.  When I want to help people learn something from the rubber chicken I just hold him at shoulder height and release him.  “What causes the chicken to fall?”, I ask.  “Gravity?”  That’s not the answer I’d give.  Not if I was determined to be a menace to mediocrity, a person who is committed to creating breakthroughs in their projects and in their life.  No, “gravity” is the victim’s retort.  The real reason the chicken falls is because I released him.Now there is always “gravity” out there on our projects – things we can’t control – but it’s no use rocking back and forth moaning “woe is me” while all hell breaks loose on the project.  When the doo-doo hits the fan a true project leader asks “How did I contribute to this and what do we need to do now to deal with this?”  It seems like a simple enough lesson, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to learn.  It takes courage to accept responsibility for what is happening around us, to avoid blaming circumstances and other people, and to focus on what we can do to make a positive difference.  Winston Churchill said “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”  Continue reading→