Page 39 - The UnCaptive Agent

12 THE UNCAPTIVE AGENT

better, well-rounded agency from a product and service
perspective than would be possible independently. There
are many advantages to considering a partner whose
Unique Abilities® compliment your own.
There are also some very practical disadvantages to
starting your business with a partner. In the first place,
when you have a partner you must agree before you can
do almost anything. And if you don’t view the prob-
lems and opportunities that you encounter in the same
way, then disagreements will either slow you down or
prevent you from moving forward. Disagreement with
a partner may, in its worst manifestations, prevent you
from achieving the “why” that was important to you in
starting the business in the first place.
Another disadvantage of a partnership is that, if
the partner’s performance does not equal your own,
you will inevitably become resentful. That resentment
can slow or kill your progress as an agency. It can even
destroy the business. It’s important to be mindful of the
pitfalls that bringing a partner into your planning can
present. If you understand what those are you can talk
about them honestly and openly before you begin your
business and even to build an agreement to circumvent
future issues.
Another way to bring the skills that you don’t have
into your business is with employees. The question that
you must ask yourself first is, Can I afford to begin my
business with one or more employees? If you can’t do that,
can you hire a part-time employee for some or all of
the things that you either don’t know how to do or are
not very good at?
A third option for backstopping your capabilities
is outsourcing the functions in your business that you
need help with. Tim Ferris, in his book The 4-Hour Work
Week, describes how to build virtually an entire business