Derived from the German language, ‘doppelganger’ roughly translates to “ghostly double,” or someone who nearly or completely resembles another but has no biological relation. When we choose a business partner, we often look for someone who is just like us – someone with the same ideas, same interests, same skills and so forth.
But that’s just a marketing doppelganger and not the person you want to partner with at all. What’s the point in having two of yourself? There’s no added benefit, yet now you’re splitting the profits.
Instead, partner with your anti-doppelganger, the person who isn’t like you but instead brings complimentary skills and viewpoints to the business.
For example, if you’re really good at creating content but bad at the technical stuff, find someone who’s great at everything technical but isn’t a writer. If you’re great at setting up joint ventures and writing sales copy but you hate creating products, partner with someone who’s a product creating wiz.
If you find the right partner, you can make far more money than you can alone. But you’ve got to partner with someone who fills in your gaps and can do what you can’t.
And having differing opinions isn’t a bad thing, either. Instead of blindly plunging ahead when you assume you’re right, you’ll now have to justify your plan to your partner. It’s during this process that you’re far more likely to find the holes and prevent the mistakes. Plus you’ve got a second head to problem solve and to look for opportunities.
Do you see how powerful it can be to find the right person as your partner? And not only do you each fill in the gaps of the other, but there are added benefits as well.
For one, courage. When you’re going it alone, it can be scary to launch a new product. Is this the right time? Did you get everything set up correctly? Will it work? Will it SELL? But when there are two of you to succeed or fail, you know you’re not in it alone.
Another reason: Two heads are better than one, and also more available than one. You have an emergency and have to take a day off – who’s going to cover for you? Your partner. And when you have a problem or need a new idea, it’s guaranteed the 2 of you can generate 3 times as many ideas as either one of you alone.
Yet another reason: You’ll stretch yourself to keep up with your partner. He has a lot of experience in building software solutions and you don’t so what happens? You’re in the software business with a capable partner. You know how to create online events that bring thousands of people and she doesn’t? She’s learning a new skill just by being your partner.
So do you have to partner on everything? Of course not. You can have your own business, your partner can have her own business and then you create a third, separate business in which the two of you share equally in the work and in the profits.
This way you’ve got the best of both worlds: Doing your own thing in your own business and blazing new trails with a trusted partner.
One last thing – your partner does not have to be in your hometown. Plenty of online partnerships have enjoyed success across the country and across the world. In fact, there is an advantage to having a partner on the other side of the world and it’s this: They’re available to put out any fires while you’re asleep, and vice-a-versa. Not to mention your company will have much more of a world perspective when it comes to creating and marketing new products, which is always an advantage.
Keep your eyes open – your future business partner might be someone you already know, or it could be the person you’re about to meet. You never can tell when opportunity will knock.
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