A good entrepreneur is always an optimist by nature. He or she must also be a realist, which is not always a characteristic that comes naturally to us entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of thinking we are without weakness and that we are able to cover all the needs that may arise when forming a startup. However this is never the case.
One of the key first tasks of entrepreneurs starting an online business must be to identify weaknesses and form strategies on how to overcome them.
One of the best ways to plug weaknesses is by bringing in others. To turn an online startup into an internet empire, a great number of things need to go right. Each of these components require an expertise - this could be in engineering, marketing, distribution, leadership, sales, connections, among many others.
I have not met a superhuman who can cover all necessary components. Some of the leaders in business, such as Donald Trump and Richard Branson, put their success down to surrounding themselves with the right people.
Bringing in others is the best way to maximize a startup's chances of success.
How do we do this?
You can bring in others by identifying which of your weaknesses they can plug, and paying them a consultancy fee (usually hourly) to consult your startup.
Alternatively, you can offer these experts some ownership in your startup in exchange for a more lasting consultancy.
My preference is for the latter. While you lose some ownership in your business, you gain a person (or people) with a vested interest in your startup. This means they are more likely to want to see it succeed than if they were a paid consultant giving one-off advice.
Most entrepreneurs I meet as an Internet Business Consultant at KAYWEB and an active Angel Investor aren't trying to build a $10,000 business. They are trying to build multi-million dollar empires.
When playing with sums that large, what pain is there in losing a few per cent of equity if what it brings you is an expertise that may help you reach your desired bottom line?