Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

18.2. Forming Partnerships to Fill the Gaps

Whenever you want to pursue a new business venture and do not have the skills, talents, time, money, or resources required, you have several options:

• Acquire them yourself. If you don't have the knowledge or skills required to perform a certain task, for example, you can take classes, read books, or do some online research to learn what you need to know. Many businesspeople who never took accounting, for example, teach themselves to manage the books and even do payroll for their businesses. Likewise, if you need money, you can borrow it. If you need special equipment, you can buy it or rent it.

• Hire the knowledge, skills, talent, and personnel you need. If you don't have the time, knowledge, skills, or talents required, hire someone with the requisite skills to plug the gaps. Sure, you will need to pay your staff, but if you manage your business well, the people you hire should generate more than enough revenue for you to pay them.

• Partner with someone who has what you need. I recently read a story about the band Van Halen. According to the account I read, David Lee Roth tried out to become the band's lead singer and didn't make the cut. The band didn't have its own PA system, so it rented one from Roth for $50 a night. Eventually, Eddie Van Halen became frustrated trying to sing lead vocals while playing guitar and was tired of paying the $50 per night rental fee, so he let Roth join the band. This is just one example of how a business ...