Questions

Do you need any kind of 'backing' as an entrepreneur? Be it in the form of emotional/financial/legal help? Who are your best friends as an entrepreneur? Other fellow entrepreneurs in different industries?

I'm feeling excited to see this question and have an opportunity to answer it. I'm a reformed "go-it-aloner" and strongly believe that no entrepreneur can be successful and happy without support from others.

While entrepreneurs usually exhibit a strong tendency toward independence, none of us can possibly know it all and building a support team doesn't mean sacrificing our independence.

We all have different strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing your internal strengths, being mindful of your weaknesses, then finding a team to round out your talents, particularly related to your weaknesses, can be a very powerful approach.

Support takes the form of the "hard" skills, like technology, sales, marketing, finance, legal and admin. I personally find that support in the "softer" areas, like dealing with the emotional roller coaster most entrepreneurs experience, to be at least as important and probably more important that the "hard" support.

In my case, I'm pretty strong operationally and weak in sales and marketing. As a result, I look for partners who are strong in sales and marketing.

My emotional support team includes my wife, therapist and cycling coach. Because I believe that emotional strength needs to be supported by a strong foundation of holistic wellbeing, I'm also fortunate to work with the aforementioned cycling coach, yoga instructor and natural medicine doctor.

Finally, don't underestimate the power of being connected with groups of like-minded people. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely road and being connected to online or in-person communities of people with shared experiences can be a huge help in pushing through when the going gets tough.

Hope that's helpful and always happy to discuss further on a call! Feel free to drop me a line through Clarity or my blog, http://justrollingwith.it/contact and I'd be glad to share my code with you for a free 15 minute call.

Either way, best of luck to you :)


Answered 8 years ago

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