Just starting out on your own? Don’t do it alone. Plan to have these 7 people with you on your small business journey to ensure your maximum chance for success and enjoyment.
- Attorney. In spite of the many lawyer jokes out there, an attorney is someone who can help us succeed, most often by protecting us. Lawyers help to create agreements and contracts that keep all parties in the agreement happy (and ultimately keep us from getting sued). Although we want to enter our business with a great degree of optimism, we want someone who can navigate the complicated field of law to make sure that we stay within the law and that others do so to.
- Accountant. The field of law is complicated and so is the field of finances. It’s no wonder they give out certifications in this field, there is so much to know. Many people try to do their accounting themselves but usually only manage the most basic levels of accounting; otherwise, it can be so time consuming that you spend all your time accounting and very little of your time on serving customers.
- Investment advisor or banker. In some cases, you might consider having separate professionals for these roles. Your banker is likely the one to manage the money you bring in and the expenses that go out. Sometimes your accountant might take of some of this, but you may have interaction with a banker on your own. But an investment advisor should be included as well. Because your business is an investment – and because you may not have a “day job” through which insurance is available – an investment advisor might be able to help balance your overall financial portfolio by taking into account the risk factor of your business and they may be able to provide you with the insurance coverage you need, too.
- Entrepreneurial peer. There’s nothing like having someone you can bounce ideas off of and your entrepreneurial peer could be just that person. This should be someone who is at a similar stage of business as you are. Not only can the two of you work through similar problems at the same time, you also have a built in potential partnership in some projects or marketing efforts.
- Mentor. A mentor is someone you look up to. This resource was overlooked in the business world for many years but is gaining popularity today. A mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be an entrepreneur themselves, but they should have a good business sense and have the time to spend with you to guild you as you build your business. In the trades, the journeyman/apprentice relationship is very similar and something that is sadly absent outside of the trades unless you actively find a business mentor yourself.
- Government source. Depending on how involved your business is, you may want to turn to the government for help. Their small business support is great, on local, state, and federal levels and having someone who you consider an ally in business development can make suggestions or recommendations to you.
- Employees. It may seem odd, at first, that we have included employees on this list. But it makes perfect sense when you look at the list as a whole. Successful people do not operate in a vacuum; they surround themselves with people who can help them be successful. When you hire employees, hire ones that you feel could some day easily take over the company and who complement (not compliment!) your abilities AND weaknesses with skills of their own.
