Should I start on my own or with partners?
According to several studies, 50% of marriages end or will end in divorce. And this statistic has been increasing in recent years. The causes are well known and are not the subject of this article, but they underline the extreme complexity of human relationships.
And this complexity, of course, also exists in companies. And it is not the fault of the company, but of the interests that each partner may have in the company.
At first, the illusion of starting your own business is at its peak, but soon after, problems arise. And if you are lucky and there are no problems, there will at least be disagreements for one reason or another. There are always conflicts.
We often start out with other people because of fear, lack of knowledge, or lack of capital. And also because we think it will be fun to start a new adventure with a friend. According to our point of view, none of these reasons should justify starting a business with someone, just like you wouldn't get married for any of these reasons, right?
Should I start a business on my own then?
One should not be so categorical. Finding a partner to accompany you is a wonderful thing, but you have to understand that it is extremely complicated and that even if it is a positive thing at the beginning, it can change in the future.
Imagine the following situation.
Laure and Lucie are two entrepreneurs who decided to create their own business. They have been inseparable friends since they were 6 years old.
Laure is single, lives in a rural area, and has savings from an inheritance she received.
Lucie is married, has 3 children, and her husband has just become unemployed and lives in a large capital city. She has no more savings because she has invested everything in the company.
They have worked hard and their business is showing initial positive results. Laure, who does not need a salary, wants to reinvest everything in marketing campaigns to continue to grow. Lucie, on the other hand, needs an income because she has to pay the rent, school fees, and the children's extracurricular activities...
How to balance these positions?
This scenario may seem extreme, but it's not. It's a situation we see every day in hundreds of businesses. In fact, one of the main causes of business failure is a poor relationship between the founding partners.
Of course, starting a business with someone else also has its advantages. The moral support you will give each other in what could be difficult stages will be fundamental to success. You will be able to move forward more quickly in the beginning because you will have more " manpower" to deal with the problems that arise, you will be able to save on personnel costs and it is always good to have different points of view on a subject so that the final result is more elaborated.
In summary, having a reliable person always by your side, as in a marriage, is a fantastic thing, but we have already seen at the beginning of the article that the chances of finding and keeping this person over time are generally low.
If, for any reason, you decide to create a company with one or more other partners, remember that you must have a partnership agreement in which you define in advance certain scenarios that, if they occur, will have a clear resolution and will allow the one who leaves the company to do so in an orderly manner, thus avoiding that this situation compromises the future of the company.
The advantage of undertaking a franchise model is that you already have a partner. And a stable partner who is going to look after your interests, who is going to maintain this proposition over time, and who is going to help you with whatever you need because their future is tied to yours. Because yes, there are also marriages that work.
