AN entrepreneur’s journey should not always be travelled alone.
Christo Botes told SunMoney that while entrepreneurship is an individual choice, it is possible the entrepreneur will need some form of professional or financial partnership.
Botes, spokesman for the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year competition sponsored by Sanlam and Business/Partners, said the idea of starting and running a business solo had obvious appeal.
“Deciding to go it alone will, for starters, allow an entrepreneur to have full control over her or his business, and require no input from anyone else along the way. This level of control, of course, also means the business owner can claim profits, as well as credit, for any successes achieved by the business’ operations.”
But starting and running a business solo isn’t for everyone.
“Just as working alone allows one person to reap all the rewards, it also means that the risk of failure and full liability falls squarely on that one person’s shoulders. Having a partner will spread the risk.”
Chanette Goosen, co-owner of Rush Extreme Sports and 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, said in addition to financial support, a partner could also bring mental support to what can be a very overwhelming experience.
“There comes a point when a business grows beyond what you can handle and at this point, you need to acknowledge that two brains are better than one – so long as there is a shared passion and a common goal.”
For Goosen, going into business with a partner – her husband – was not something she had planned.
“We come from two very different backgrounds and once we started building our future together, we realised our passions for life flowed as one, and our journey of finding of out-if-the-ordinary-things and servicing what people need became our driving goal.”
Botes said while the best method of deciding depends on the type, size and stage of the business, it largely came down to personal preference and needs.
