The people you need in your start up!

So you decided it is time to go out on your own.  The dream of all dreams is to start your own business.  It doesn’t matter if it is online or in a store front or in your basement or in your garage, these are the people you are going to need to be a success.

The Moral Coach:  This is the most important person you can add to your startup.  Hopefully it is you, if not find the person who always wants to do the right thing and keep close.  I am not talking about a person who pays lips service with a wink and a nod; I am talking about the person who refuses to take the easy way out when it comes to ethical decisions.  Set the highest possible standards and do it for the principal of it all.  The first person to add to your start-up is the Moral Coach.

The person who is doing it for the love:  This is the second most important person and they should walk hand in hand with the Moral Coach.  This is the person who loves what they are doing enough to make you want to leave the comfort of your full-time job to go into business with them.  It could be you.  It could be the person who inspires you or amazes you.  There will be good times and bad times, breakthroughs and setbacks.  Every start-up needs someone to turn to in crunch time who truly loves doing the work.

The person who is doing it for the money:  If you want to start a business and stay in business, you need someone who will make sure the bottom line adds up.  Now doing it only for the money is a dangerous thing; that is why it is important not to go after the money person first; but it is also dangerous to get too far down the road and not know if there is any money to be made.  Find a good accountant who wants a bigger piece of the action down the road, and not just getting paid up-front.  This might be you, it might not be you, but you need this person in your startup.

The Morale Coach:  Ever know someone who can seeming walk through hell while singing show tunes?  You know the person who can make anything seem like fun?  I am not talking about someone who says, “Let’s do some team building!” because they read it in a book.  I am talking about the person who gets their work done and everyone still wants to be around them.  This person actually likes making other people enjoy themselves without tearing down others or creating unsafe environments.  The Morale Coach knows how to have pure and innocent fun and knows when everyone else needs to take a break.  Great Morale Coaches can use a light touch to lighten the mood, but still make sure you reach your goals.

The Moral Coach, The For the Love Guy, The Money Guy, The Morale Coach; these are people you need to be in your start-up.  The last person you need is the person who can transfer the vision.  The person who can tie it all together so everyone stays on target.  They will have a sense of balance so that you can work hard, make the hard choices, make money and still have fun without taking advantage of others or taking shortcuts or burning people out.  Now if you are starting your own business, you need to be one of these people; and you also need to bring these other people to that table.  Keep a good balance and you will be successful, lose your balance and your start-up up may come crashing down.

How do I know this?  I have seen others start their own business and be successful.  I have seen others try and fail.  I have tried and been successful for short periods of time.  I have tried and failed.  So I have tried to learn and I am trying again.  I am convinced these are the people you need to surround yourself with, the people who coach others at the things that come naturally to them.  These are the people you need in your start-up!