Business Lunch

Are you getting in the way of your company growing, scaling, and becoming all it can be? Maybe it’s time to hand over the reins and step away. 

In today’s episode, host Roland Frasier sits down with Cody Bjugan, Founder of VestRight, a company that transforms lives through real estate. Specifically, they teach people how to put together raw land deals in the real estate space. Cody recently handed the company over to a CEO and stepped into a founder/visionary role.

Listen in as he shares his entrepreneurial journey, mistakes he made along the way, and the challenges of handing over your business so it can continue to grow.

An Early Start to the Entrepreneurial Journey

When Cody was 12 years old, he loved to collect sports cards. He grew up in the small town of Damascus, Oregon with its solitary streetlight, and he’d go to the flea market on the weekends. He’d set up a booth and buy, sell, and trade sports cards. 

Cody’s grandfather was a homebuilder and land developer. He passed away when Cody was 15, but Cody still pulls inspiration from his life and accomplishments. His father had the spirit but didn’t have the mindset to be successful as an entrepreneur. He got injured and never got back to self-employment after that. Cody says he programmed himself not to give up like his father had done when he was met with failure.

When Cody turned 15, he bought his first car for $800. Throughout high school, he bought and sold cars, put lipstick on them, and turned them. He had plans to go to college, but his girlfriend got pregnant, and he got married two months after high school instead. He entered the workforce in the floor and counter industry in the union to get health benefits to pay for his unborn child. 

His coworkers told him he was so lucky to be starting at 19, because he could retire when he was 40. But all he could think was, “I’m miserable. Why would I want to be miserable for my most prime 20 years?” As soon as he got health insurance, and the baby was born, he bailed, and got a job in a private business in the same industry. 

Unfortunately, he says, he failed his family, hobbies, health, and spirit by becoming a workaholic. He took this company that was doing $70k a month and turned it into a business doing $1M a month. He was making really good money in his early 20s, but it came at a high cost. 

He had gotten to know a lot of homebuilders and land developers as clients. One thing led to another, he networked, and in 2002, he faced his fears and jumped off the cliff into the land development space. It’s been a journey, he says. Entrepreneurship isn’t easy.

The Importance of Mentorship

Cody made a phone call recently. He reached out to the guy who gave him that first job after he left the union and thanked him. He says, looking back, that man was his first mentor. 

He admits that he never put much value in mentorship until three years ago. He would always say he was an introvert and wouldn’t put himself out there. He would fly under the radar, hide under rocks. It was just an excuse, he says. He didn’t want to be uncomfortable.

He has joined a few masterminds where he seeks mentorship from groups of individuals. “I’ve grown more in the last three years than I did the previous 18 years of my career,” he says. “I’ve allowed people to speak into my life and help me see things in a different way.” He says he went into these relationships with two important perspectives:

1. If I don’t go in there being real and transparent and vulnerable, these guys won’t get to know the real me and be able to touch me like they could. 
2. I’m here to also give and pour into their...

If you’re thinking about acquiring a business, pass it through this set of filters first. 

Roland Frasier has bought—and sold—a lot of businesses over the course of his career. He knows what to look for, and what to stay away from, and he shares his expertise in this snackable episode.

Listen in for 9 things to consider when looking to acquire a business. 

#1: Buy a profitable business. 

Don’t buy one that’s in trouble and needs a turnaround. That’s a whole different skill set and a lot of extra work. There are plenty of profitable businesses out there that you can acquire.

#2: Know if you want to work in, on, or above the business.

There are three places you can work when it comes to a business. You can work in it where you’re doing all the work. You can work on it where you’re more of a CEO/manager. Or you can work above it—Roland’s choice—where you’re thinking more of the business as a product or an investment. Where do you want to fit in the hierarchy? 

If you want to be above, then you need to look for a business that’s not owner-operated. But owner-operated businesses are more affordable and readily available. If you do decide to buy one, you look first at the owner who’s selling. Maybe they don’t want to leave the business entirely. Maybe they still want to work there; they just don’t want to own it and have all the responsibilities. 

If the owner wants to leave, and you don’t want to be the operator, there’s a good chance that there’s someone in a managing role in the business (the CFO, CMO, COO, or CRO) who would like to run it. That’s a good person to think about interviewing, because they already have the experience.

If not them, then maybe a key employee who has been there 15-20 years would love to step up into the role. Even if they’re not qualified to do everything, you can hire someone to support them.

If not them, look at consultants or contractors the company has hired in the past for key roles. They have a long history and knowledge of the company. 

The next level is to query your network, to ask around. If that doesn’t work, you can hire a recruiting company. 

#3: Stay away from industries with a lot of regulations.

If you want simplicity, steer clear away from these. If it’s in the health space, and you don’t have experience/credentials in the industry, stay away from it. 

#4: Think about industries where you already have experience.

This will be very helpful and will give you a head start in growing your business.

#5: Consider an industry where you already have contacts or connections.

Do you have people who could advise or consult with you or connect you with people who could help?

#6: Find a business in an industry that’s growing.

One of the best ways to grow a business is to find one in an industry that’s already on a growth trajectory. A rising tide raises all ships.

#7: Find a business that’s likely to last. 

Don’t buy a business that’s just a fad, like a Y2K business. That’s a very ephemeral industry. It’s fleeting. It’s not going to last long.

#8: Find a business you love.

If you’re passionate about it, it will be way easier. Just make sure all the other qualifications apply too (no regulations, in a growing industry, likely to last, etc.).

#9: Find a business that doesn’t require a lot of capital investment to keep it going.

An audio/visual business, for example, has a lot of technical equipment that has to be constantly updated. You’ll spend a lot of money on things that depreciate quickly. If you can find a business that’s simpler, and doesn’t require...

Martha Stewart headlined at T&C 2021 and gave attendees an up close and personal look at her empire, her passions, and her life.

In this episode, host Roland Frasier sits down with Martha and a long list of questions (something he’s famous for and Martha compliments him on). They talk about everything from CBD gummies to peacocks to Snoop crashing her daughter’s tea party and a whole bunch more.

Listen in for an entertaining conversation with one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs of our time. 

What do we need to make a good cocktail?

You shouldn’t skimp on the quality of the booze you buy, Martha says. Your bar should be elegant. If you’re going to drink, you might as well drink the really good stuff. Her liquor of choice is Casa Dragones tequila. She has a new wine coming out, but the details are hush hush. She’s pretty excited about the name. Stay tuned. 

Tell us about some of the new things you’re doing now.

They just soft-launched Martha.com, where you can buy all of Martha’s products plus other people’s products that she’s curated. She has two words that help her choose the products: Need & Want. There are a lot of things that look great, but do you need it and want it? If you live by those two words, you won’t waste money. You’ll save money. You won’t clutter your home, and you’ll have good things. 

What did you mean when you said “it’s a good idea to re-pot yourself every 10 years?” 

I think change is good, Martha says. When you’re through changing, you’re through. Change often enough that you surprise people and keep them on their toes. Make sure you stay out there, not back here. Look to the future. It can get very boring doing the same thing over and over again. Branch out, try new things, look ahead, adapt and adopt. 

What’s your favorite Snoop story?

Snoop called one day and asked Martha if he could come over. Her daughter and her friends and kids were over at the farm. Snoop said he was bringing three people, then showed up in his Mercedes bus with a group of eight. They were all sitting on the terrace of her farmhouse and Snoop asked, “what’s that building down there?” (It was Martha’s stable.) “I’m going to go down there and look for some grass,” he said. Every adult followed him.

Tell us about creating this category of entertaining that didn’t exist before. 

I looked for the void, Martha says. At that time, she wanted a magazine that taught people how to run a home, go to work, take care of the kids, be a well-rounded woman, homemaker, business woman. She was making all these painstakingly handmade Christmas decorations and realized that a lot of women would love them for their homes but didn’t have the time to make them. “Let’s make it for them,” she said. That’s how the product line started. 

What is Canopy?

Canopy is one of the largest cannabis companies in the world, and the founder told her, at the behest of Snoop, that she should be getting involved. She’s in the CBD world; Snoop is in the THC world. Her gummies are the #1 gummies in America right now, and she has new products coming out for the holidays. She tried hard to emulate the French confection that you get at the end of a dinner in a restaurant in France.

You’re on the board of AppHarvest. Tell us about that.

Martha says she’s very concerned about feeding the world. She wants everybody to have good food. She visited acres of greenhouses in Russia where everything is grown because the climate is so cold. AppHarvest is doing the same thing in Appalachia (Kentucky). It’s a very central location so that people can eat fresh tomatoes instead of shipping them from far away. It’s sustainable agriculture using a fraction of the water. 

You were one of the first people to realize...

You know what they say about the word “assume,” right? Well, it’s true.

Welcome to another snackable episode with Roland Frasier, where he shares bite-sized actionable strategies to help you take your business and life to the next level. 

Two separate events happened to him recently that had one important thing in common: someone made an assumption, and things did not go well. Listen in as Roland tells both stories and what he learned from them.

Assumption Tale #1:

Roland just finished their newest event, Scalable Impact Live, in Austin. He had invited a family member to the event who was there when Roland got off the plane. Apparently he was eight feet away from Roland, but Roland didn’t see him because he was texting/calling his team, trying to get a VIP guest checked in. 

He texted the family member the next morning, “I’m at breakfast. Want to join me?” He ended up sending 5-6 texts with no response. Finally Roland texted, “Are you okay? I’m worried about you.”

They responded. “I’m upset with you. I waved at you when you got in, then we were standing a couple people behind you in line, and you turned around and looked, but you didn’t say hi. So we went home the next day.”

He thought Roland was blowing him off, but he wasn’t. He just wasn’t focused on looking for him. He didn’t walk in thinking he would be there. He said Steve Wozniak made him aware of the fact that he has this inability to recognize faces out of context. Between that and actually looking for someone else, he accidentally blew off a member of his family. 

They patched it up, but whew. What a mess.

Assumption Tale #2:

The second episode happened earlier, but Roland just found out about it last weekend. At Traffic & Conversion Summit, there’s a private room set up for Roland, Ryan Deiss, and Richard Lindner where they meet with celebrities before they go on stage. It’s called the Founders’ Room. They also have a Mastermind called the Founders’ Board. You’ll see where the confusion comes in.

Roland walked into the Founders’ Room with Chip Wilson, the founder of lululemon, and there were some people in there who weren’t supposed to be in there. He asked if he could help them, and they said, “No, we’re just having a meeting.” He said, “Well, you can’t. This is a private room, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” They were very upset with him. 

Roland got a text from one of those people this past weekend and he said he was upset. The guy had asked the event team, “Hey, do you have a place where I can do a meeting?” They asked if he was a founder, and he said yes (because he’s part of the Founders’ Board), and they pointed him to that room.

This room is super private, because celebrities have it in their contract that they get a room where no one can bother them while they get ready to go on. But this guy didn’t know that. He was told by the team working the show that he could go in the room. Then Roland came in and kicked him out. He didn’t understand why there would be a lounge for people in the Mastermind, and then he’d get thrown out of it. It didn’t make any sense. 

Thankfully that one got straightened as well.

Don’t Make Assumptions

It comes back to one thing. And it’s one of the

Over the next few podcast episodes, we’ll walk through the 7 Levels of Scale—everything you need to know to grow and scale your business.

Co-hosts Roland Frasier and Ryan Deiss just wrapped up their newest event, Scalable Impact Live, where they had their first opportunity to roll out a new framework they call the 7 Levels of Scale. People are always asking them, “Where do I start?” The 7 Levels of Scale answers that question.

It took a long time to develop the framework. They had all the pieces, but they needed to tie it together in a simplified way that was transferable and repeatable. In this episode, they unpack the first two levels, but here are all seven:

• Level #1: Sell and serve 10 customers.
• Level #2: Build a growth flywheel.
• Level #3: Build an upgraded scalable operating system.
• Level #4: Double your take-home pay.
• Level #5: Build your board.
• Level #6: Complete an acquisition for expansion.
• Level #7: Hit your number.

Two things to keep in mind as you work through these levels one by one. #1: Sequence matters. This is the absolute order of operations. And #2: You can’t skip a step. If you do, it won’t work.

Level #1: Sell and Serve 10 Customers

If you have not sold and served 10 unaffiliated customers, that’s the only thing you should be thinking about. Before you get business cards and a logo designed—and that’s just busy work that won’t make you money—you have to prove that people actually want what you’re selling. They want it, and they’ll buy it. And these are 10 people who aren’t your friends and family. 

Nothing else matters until something is sold. But there are two phases to it. Sell and serve. Let’s say you sell 10, but you can’t deliver. Or you sell 10 people, but none of them are happy; they’re not getting what they want. You don’t have any business scaling until you’ve sold and served 10. No automation until you’ve sold and served 10. Sell and serve 10, then make a list. Congrats, high five. You’ve ascended beyond Level 1 to Level 2. Now you can think about automation.

Level #2: Build a Growth FlyWheel

Now you want to make things predictable and build a system around that. There’s a three step process for doing this: 1.) Map. 2.) Measure. 3.) Plan to improve the measurement.

Step 1: Map your growth engine. How are you going to initiate general awareness? Maybe there are multiple awareness channels. What are the biggest 2-3? Do some basic business process mapping to show the flow. At DigitalMarketer (Scalable’s sister company), they do customer value journey mapping. It’s simply mapping/documenting how customers happen from point of awareness to engagement to subscription to that initial point of conversion to ascension and delight.

Having a visual map of the journey is the first part. Step 2 is having a scorecard to show you how something is performing. Not random metrics in no particular order. No vanity metrics. Let’s say you’re buying ads on Facebook and Instagram. How do you know it’s working? Let’s track our average cost per click. Let’s track the click-through rate. And let’s track our ROAS. The scorecard shows poor, acceptable, good, awesome. 

It’s color-coded, and a human goes in there each week and says, for this metric, here’s what it was and updates the status to red, yellow, or green. Doing it manually changes your perspective. When people are accountable to a metric and have to...

Roland Frasier is on a mission to help entrepreneurs become rich and happy. One of the best ways to do that is to build businesses you can sell at a profit.

Today’s episode is bite-sized and snackable, designed to give you five minutes’ worth of valuable tips that will take your life and business to the next level.

Here are some things to think about when you’re looking to sell your business, things to have together before you go to market, tips for creating a business that has high appeal to someone looking to acquire.

#1: Make sure you’re in an industry that’s trending up. 

You don’t want to sell if your industry is out of favor right now. That’s a terrible time to sell. 

#2: Make sure you have a depth of management team in place. 

You need to have enough people to take over and run it if you, or any of your key people, leave.

#3: Have SOPs in place. 

The more standard operating procedures you have, the easier it is for someone else to come in and run the business.

#4: Identify acquisition targets that your company could buy or be a part of. 

A lot of private equity firms are looking for a platform company that can then be built by acquiring other companies. 

#5: Make sure you’re in the top 5 in your niche.

Obviously, the more competitors you’re beating out, the better. 

#6: Be mindful of the sector growth prospects for your industry.

#7: Elevate the stability and quality of your revenue.

#8: Ensure that your business model is a proven one. 

#9: Grow your customer base. 

#10: Make sure you’ve got an online footprint.

#11: Work on your brand recognition. 

#12: Give back and do good in the world.

Pay attention to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and ESG (how sensitive to the environment is your company?).

#13: Know the barriers to entry.

#14: Make sure your business isn’t highly dependent on equipment that will wear out or need to be upgraded.

#15: Make sure you have reliable supply chains. 

Selling a business that meets all these requirements will take you down the path to being rich and happy.

RESOURCES:

• ethicallyprofit.com
• getepicchallenge.com
• Scalable.Co
• The Ready to Lead podcast
• DigitalMarketer Podcast
• Perpetual Traffic podcast

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• Get a free proposal from Conversion Fanatics
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Mentioned in this episode:

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Over 3 days, network and collaborate with fellow entrepreneurs and CEOs to build a ‘recession proof’ plan to scale your company to 8-figures and beyond, and…leave knowing 2023 is going to be your best year...

Lululemon founder Chip Wilson shares his hard-earned wisdom about all things business.

Host Roland Frasier sat down with Chip at Traffic & Conversion Summit 2021 to pick his brain about anything and everything that has made him successful in life—above and beyond lululemon. From his philosophy on goal-setting to reading 100 books a year to inventing barbecue shorts and dog walker pants, Chip always has plenty of opinions, both popular and unpopular.

Listen in to their brilliant rapid-fire conversation.

Why does Chip have a thing for the number 43?

Chip says everyone gets glasses at 43. When people get glasses, they think, “Oh my god, I’m getting old.” Couples look at each other. Their kids are teenagers and don’t need their parents anymore. “Who are we together?” they ask. “Am I married to the right person? Do I live in the right city?” Chip thinks everyone should change their name at age 43. Unless they have a really cool name like Chip.

What is Chip’s philosophy on personal development and goals?

Chip says people tell you “a smart goal is achievable.” But he wonders if maybe we should fail at about 50% of our goals, as part of a training program to learn how to fail in life. When he first started setting goals, it was all about him. Life now is nearly perfect for him in every way. So, in order to stimulate himself, it has to be about other people winning. He moved from everything being about him to giving with no expectation of return. The Law of Attraction kicked in, and he started attracting people who were in it for something bigger than themselves. 

What are Chip’s favorite business books?

When Chip was 19, he was working a construction job and had an opportunity to read the top 100 books. When he was 42, he listened to the top 100 business/health books as audio books and came to the conclusion that there are a handful of books that say it all. His top three are: Good to Great (Jim Collins); 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey); and Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy).

What does Chip mean when he talks about linguistic adaptation? 

Words are always changing meaning, and we have to adapt. As far as culture goes, the term “values” is out, Chip says. “Vision” is out, and “purpose” is in. Chip took 30 terms out of those books he read, and that’s what he runs his companies on. “Conditions and satisfaction.” When he’s discussing a project with somebody, there’s no end to the conversation unless they have conditions and satisfaction and a done-by date. “Integrity.” Integrity means I do what I say I will do when I say I will do it, and if I can’t get it done, I’ll go clean up my mess and reset new conditions and satisfaction. When everybody knows the terms and what they mean, then we’re all on the same page. 

What did Chip do as a lead magnet that was a huge success? 

A lead magnet used to be...

Roland has 6 tips to help you be more productive, and he shares them concisely in this bite-sized episode.

They’re each a little bit outside the normal time-blocking and schedule-setting templates and tips we’re used to, but they work for Roland and just might for you too.

#1: Develop an indifferent attitude about things you can’t change.

Just decide not to care. You can’t change these things. They are what they are. Who cares? Stop letting them bother you so much.

#2: Deprioritize the tasks that are stressing you out.

Especially if there’s really no benefit to focusing on them. How we prioritize tasks in time management is important. And you have to constantly re-evaluate tasks you’ve already prioritized to make sure they still make the cut.

#3: If you’re burnt out, take time to recharge.

If you find yourself unable to focus, unhappy, or dreading something in particular, take some time off to relax and do something you enjoy. This will seem like it’s making you less productive, because it’s taking time away from things you need to get done, but you’ll come back more focused and able to get things done more quickly and easily.

#4: Forgive yourself and others.

Forgiveness is important. First, forgive yourself for things not going the way you want. Instead of putting a label on yourself (“I’m not good at this.”), forgive yourself for mistakes and failures. Failure is really the only way we learn how to be successful. If we do something right and succeed, that could have just been luck. 

Studies show that, in a culture where people are punished for failure, they’re typically 230% less productive than people in a culture that accepts failure. Forgive yourself and others around you when you/they don’t achieve the exact results you wanted.

#5: Use the scientific method to find your most productive working habits.

Scientists have a control (the way things have always been done) and an experiment to see if it can be done better. Introduce new habits that might make you more productive. Test those out for 30 days and keep the ones that work best.

#6: Create hard boundaries around unproductive distractions.

Set limits for social media and emails. How many times will you be on a Zoom call? Have a schedule so you spend time where you want to spend it instead of letting the world do it for you. Schedule time for yourself (read, relax, watch TV), time with your friends and family, and time for work. If you’ve got all three of these things in your schedule and block those hours out, then you’ll get more accomplished than any other way.

You also need to talk to yourself and review all of this every Sunday evening, and make sure it’s all scheduled how you want it. Then talk to your family or your significant other, and ask if there’s anything on your template you should tweak. Then, on Monday morning, ask your boss or your team if they have any changes to your work schedule.

And there you have it—six not-so-obvious tips to help you be more productive.

RESOURCES:

• ethicallyprofit.com
• getepicchallenge.com
• Scalable.Co
• The Ready to Lead podcast
• DigitalMarketer Podcast
• Perpetual Traffic podcast

OUR PARTNERS:

Roland has 7 rules he follows when it comes to money, and he shares them succinctly in this bite-sized episode.

#1: Invest in quality over quantity.

If you’re buying a stock, if you’re investing in a company, if you’re trying to buy a suit, if you’re buying anything in life, if you invest in quality over quantity, you’re going to be happy. Quality lasts. Quality gives you greater utility. Quality generally gives you greater happiness and way fewer problems. 

#2: Invest in yourself.

The investment that will pay the biggest dividend is always the investment in yourself. Whether that’s having a great coach, joining a Mastermind of successful people, educating yourself through books/courses/trainings, investing in yourself will generate the greatest returns. You are a renewable resource. You are able to take your skill anywhere. The more skills you have, the smarter you’ll be about making choices, and the more options and choices you’ll have. Always invest in yourself.

#3: Use a barbell investing philosophy.

The bulk of your investments—90% of the things you’re investing—should be conservative. Roland has a lot of money in cash so he can take advantage of opportunities when they come up. Invest that remaining 10% in things that could pay off in big ways. Preserve 90% of your cash, have 10% at risk, and know that a few of those risky investments could pay off huge.

#4: Think in buckets.

You should have a bucket for cash, a bucket for philanthropy and doing good for the world, a bucket for doing things with/for your family, a bucket for travel/entertainment, and a bucket for savings. Then, every month you allocate a certain percentage of your money into each bucket. This way you’ll always have money for the things you need. It’s a great way to manage your money.

#5: Your business should always work for you, not the other way around.

Roland sees so many people who get into a business and stick with it no matter what, because they don’t want to fail. That’s a terrible mistake. Give a business a certain amount of runway and capital, and if it’s not performing, you don’t keep feeding it. Let it go. If it’s not working for you in the time period you’ve allocated to make it go, stop investing in it. It will change your life when you stop working in businesses that really shouldn’t exist. 

#6: Buy back your time first.

Whatever it is that you’re doing right now—from walking the dog to mowing the grass to doing your laundry to cooking meals—if you don’t enjoy doing them, use your money to hire someone to do them for you. If they’re worth less than what you could be earning doing something else with that time, then pay someone else to do them. That buys back your time so you can spend your time doing more valuable things. 

#7: Money serves to buy you freedom and options.

This one is more of a mindset principle. Money is nothing more than a store of value, so you can do things in the future. It gives you options to do whatever you want to do. It gives you the freedom to spend less time making money. If the pursuit of money is costing you your freedom, or it’s limiting your options in a negative way, then don’t do it. Use that as a guideline. It should govern everything you do. Money should provide you with freedom and options. Don’t sacrifice freedom and options to get money.

RESOURCES:

• ethicallyprofit.com
• getepicchallenge.com
• Scalable.Co
• The Ready to Lead podcast

What makes a good business partner, and how do you know if you are good business partner material? 

In today’s episode, co-hosts Roland Frasier and Ryan Deiss, who happen to be longtime friends and business partners, talk about what it means to be a “partner person.” If you’re not a “partner person,” can you become one? And what does that involve? Related: how do you go about finding another “partner person” to partner with?

Before they dive into all that, they take a quick detour into where to get your funding when you’re getting ready to start a business.

How To Fund Your Business

Roland does a decent amount of consulting for high-quality people who are looking at new business opportunities. He talks them through where their funding will come from—bootstrapping vs. raising capital—and how to figure out what it will cost. What are the resources they’ll need to make this new thing go?

You’ve always got to start with your budget. Don’t dive in without knowing that. How much money will you need, and where’s the best place to get it? Will you self-fund? Let the company fund itself? Or go out and get funding from an outside source, like angel investors or venture capitalists? There’s also franchising and licensing. Pick a path, decide how much you need, and state upfront at what point you’ll fold if things aren’t going well. 

When you’re looking to start a new business, the first rule of thumb has always been to find a need and fill it. And figure out ahead of time if people will pay for your end result. Do people want what we’re offering? Dry test it to make sure. Don’t take people’s money and then not deliver. And how do you decide if you need/want a partner? And how do you pick the right one?

How to Be a Good Partner

Ryan attended a recent Mastermind where they talked about people who make good business partners and people who don’t play well with others. Partner people and not-partner people. What does it mean to be a partner person? How can you tell if you’re one or not? If you know you’re not, can you become one?

When Roland was practicing law, he got to see a lot of people forming partnerships, many of which didn’t end well (hence the need for bringing the law into the picture). He always tells people they should do a partnership agreement, because partnership expectations are hard to agree on if you don’t write them down. 

A history of successful partnerships is a good indicator that someone is a partner person. If you’ve been in litigation with people you were in business with, that’s a bad sign. If they’ve sued or been sued by everyone they’ve been in business with, that’s a problem. If they talk crap about former partners, also not a good sign.

Good partner people own their stuff when a partnership goes bad. They don’t blame everything on the other person. Honest communication is really important. You need people who are aware of their own faults and tell you what challenges you might have with them as a partner. Solid self-awareness and ownership and the willingness to change are all important. 

When you go in, you have to believe that together you’ll be better than you were separately. The sum has to be bigger than the parts. You also need to complement each other. Ryan had a partner once who was too much like him; their skill sets were too similar. They couldn’t stay partners. You need to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. 

The other piece is that you need to see value in other people’s strengths. Non-partner people tend to devalue the strengths that other people have. They think the thing they’re really great at is the only thing. You need to see the other person’s skill set as being equally valuable. You can’t treat your partner like an employee. It’s frustrating when you’re in a partnership and the person is me me me all the time. You want to hear “we” and “us.”

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