Creating a Support System
These days, I listened to a podcast where they mentioned the importance of having a co-founder—having someone running the business with you, who can support you in the bad times and celebrate the achievements.
Investors are more prone to put their money in startups with two founders, as predictability of stableness and probability of lasting longer.
The reasoning is that when one has a low and is questioning the whole thing, wanting to give up (as many moments like this arise during the process), the other will be in a high, encouraging them to go forward. The roles will probably interchange, sometimes one feeling low when the other is up and vice versa. Helping each other, not letting the ball drop. I remember observing this when working at my last employer - a startup at the beginning of their journey. And having two creating the business was pivotal.
When you are on a sole proprietorship journey, with no co-founder in sight, that direct option is inexistent, though. But it doesn’t mean you’re entirely alone either. You can create a support system in other ways. I am lucky enough to have a strong network of always present people, despite the physical distance.
One of my sisters, for example, @bykaju, also a sole entrepreneur, somehow became a right arm. Someone to reach out to when everything seems to be going down a hole (from an emotional perspective).
Like the explanation with the co-founder above, I also see that when I’m in a down, she has the strength to show me the light, show me the way around, and change perspectives. When she’s in a low, our roles switch when she reaches out, and I can spread the high energy back. There are days where both of us are down, but then we share our sorrows, and there are days where both are energetic, giggling and sharing discoveries—all of this on a pretty constant basis. We always joke that if we don’t talk for a few days in a row, it somehow feels weird. (This is, of course, not to mention my parents, my other sister, my coach and a handful of individuals who also play a pivotal role in the support and incentive system).
Back in June, I met a guy from Martinique who was on a solo journey himself. He left everything he knew behind to pursue his way. Sitting by the lake, having a homemade failed Pizza (it ended up becoming more of a Calzone than an actual Pizza) and exchanging experiences. He, too, mentioned his right arm—a friend from the old days, living now in the UK. The one and only person with whom he could constantly exchange, receive new insights and get the strength to keep going. As we both realised, it is hard to imagine how everything would flow without at least one person to share all bits and pieces of the process; someone that might be going through similar struggles and knows you from the old days, but where no judgement exists. A safe place to be vulnerable, be your most authentic self, share thoughts and understand certain things that others might not comprehend.
I feel lucky to have such a robust support system. Even being on a somewhat lonely path it makes all easier.
Have you ever stopped to think about the roles of the individuals around you?