Should I have a business partner?

I was asked recently by an entrepreneur, “Should I have a business partner?” She had a young company that was starting to grow, but she was having trouble managing all the moving pieces while still focusing on growth. Her thinking was, maybe a business partner could help alleviate some of the responsibilities and pressure, giving her a better chance to scale the business.

This is a very common question, either for people just starting their company (in which the question becomes, “should I have a co-founder”), or people who are running a fairly young company.

My answer to this question is: It depends on the person asking the question. I know some people that are solo-entrepreneurs that have built amazing businesses, while I also know of partnerships that have done the same (and I’ve always had partners next to me in my businesses.)

Reasons you might want a co-founder or business partner:

• You thrive on having someone next to you, “in the trenches”
• You don’t think you can handle all the pressure alone
• You need additional capital to start your business and believe a partner is the best way to accomplish that
• You have certain skills that are missing and want a partner to bring those to the table

Reasons you might not need a co-founder or partner:

• You’re an experienced entrepreneur and are confident you can do it alone
• You have a terrific group of mentors to help guide you
• Your skills can get the business to a large enough size, allowing you to hire expertise later
• You simply can’t find the right person to be your partner*

What you should NOT do is refrain from having a business partner because you are worried about losing equity. If you think you could really use a partner but are worried about diluting your equity, get the partner. If the company “makes it”, the equity won’t matter because you’ll make a lot of money regardless. And if the company fails, then at least you gave it your best shot by bringing in help. But owning 100% of zero isn’t winning.

* Never settle when it comes to finding a business partner.