When I started the Working Podcast back in April ’05, I was psyched to jump on the podcasting train as an early adopter. Now in ’07, podcasts are a dime a dozen. That means I have to work twice as hard to produce a product that is superior to our "competitors."
In order to continue to deliver quality content and market it, I realized that I could no longer go at it alone. I did not have the time or energy to do all the things that need to be done to make the podcast a success.
Enter, Eric: great friend and now an excellent business partner.
So far, the partnership we’ve formed has been awesome. I’m not a fool, there might be some rocky road ahead, but that’s life, no? And don’t get we wrong, we’re hardly making millions – but I figured, while fresh in my mind, I’ll throw out the reasons why our partnership is working:
Same Values. Different Skills. You want someone with similar moral convictions, but someone who can bring things to the table you can’t. The idea is cut the work in half. If you both do the same thing, this won’t happen.
Be Fluid. While we each have our own role, it is not set in stone. Things change, and we roll with the punches, shifting tasks/duties when necessary.
Share everything. Fear keeps us from sharing our visions and dreams – and that’s a hurdle to hope. Eric and I have a common goal – in order to achieve it – we know that we must be up front about business and personal matters. There’s an obvious limit. But he did tell me he slept with his wife five times last week.
Write it down. We’ve chronicled out "business dealings" in Writely. This way, we not only have "legal" documentation, but we can clearly see our shared vision.
Disagree. Your partner needs to keep you in check. For example, if one partner is concentrating on elements they can’t control, the other must reign ’em in to stay focused. When I want to spend hundreds of dollars on advertising, Eric reminds me of all the mouths we have to feed. He then whips me to write a "compelling" blog entry. Once again, I’ve failed. 😉
Publicize your partnership. Tell all of your friends, family and associates about your new partnership. This is a great way to sell yourself and reconnect with lost contacts BEFORE you need them for something. It sounds transparent but I can;t even begin to tell you how many e-mails I go on Jan. 2 from "strangers."
Teach Each Other. We all know that the best way to learn is to teach. Teach your partner the stuff you know and you’ll become better at what you do.
There’s so much more but my hands are getting tired from typing, and quite honestly, I think Eric should do the rest. This is a partnership, right? Seriously, we’d love to know what has or hasn’t worked for you. Leave your comments below and subscribe to this blog to keep up with our partnership. And if you think you can add something to Jobacle.com, let us know!
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