Letter 02
Before You Choose a Business Partner
Building something that matters requires more than a good idea.
It requires clarity about what you are building.
Dear Builder,
There will be a point when what you are building meets resistance.
Someone may question your idea. Someone may tell you it will not work. Someone may misunderstand what you are trying to do.
Sometimes the opposition will even come from people you expected to support you.
Nehemiah knew this.
When he decided to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, opposition came quickly. But he did not allow the noise around him to make him forget the work in front of him.
I have learned that building something that matters requires more than a good idea.
It requires clarity about what you are building.
If you don’t have clarity, adding another person may not reduce the confusion. It may multiply it.
I have also learned that traction matters.
Talk to customers. Test your ideas. Make mistakes. Learn. Make sales. Keep improving. You don’t need to have a perfect business before looking for partners.
But you should have enough evidence to know what you are building. And then there is discipline.
A partner cannot give you commitment.
They can strengthen it.
So before you ask, “Who should I build this with?”
Perhaps ask:
“What am I building, and have I done the work to understand it?”
Build the foundation first.
Then choose your partners from a position of clarity, not desperation.
With grace, Betty
