The Accidental Entrepreneur, The Survivor Edition

11The power of team

People make or break your business, so this subject gets its own headline, because if you get this wrong, then your business will be one of the four of five businesses that fail in the first five years.

In my early years of business, my tips and lessons were all about hard work and dedication, and hiring the right people. But over time and after speaking to so many young entrepreneurs and highly successful people, my number one lesson has changed to this: simply marry well or choose the right partner. Do not get me wrong, if you are single or have married a dud, it does not mean you will not succeed. But I have come across so many people who have not had the support of their partners and it made the journey either so much harder or it simply failed. I look at my own journey and the support I had from my husband to be the best I could be. When I doubted myself, he was there to reassure me. When I came home stressed out of my mind, he was there to put it all in perspective. When we sold our family home, he was there to say we would make it work. He has always been there, supporting me and helping make me the best I could be. Without this support, we could not have achieved what we have. To have Jeff’s honest feedback helps create the businesswoman that I am today.

But imagine the reverse: a partner who puts you down and says that it cannot be done; who says you’re not capable because you have no proof that you can do it; who leaves you living in fear of losing ...