Page 157 - Midas Touch

Be careful when choosing partners. As they say, “Falling in love is easy.
Staying in love is hard.” The problems begin once the honeymoon is over.
If you cannot solve problems together, the problems only pile up. In
marriage and in business, it is easy to hate the people you once loved.

So start with a buy-sell before becoming partners. We all have good sides

and bad sides. Simply discussing a buy-sell may allow you to see your
potential partner’s real side, and your own.

Only dreamers think relationships are always happy. All relationships have
disagreements. If you have good partners, your disagreements can be
productive. Many times, better ideas come out of heated discussions.
However, if there are only arguments, fights, disagreements, and no better

ideas that come from it all, the partnership is a bad partnership. When
Larry Page and Sergey Brin first met, they disagreed on almost everything.
Then they agreed on Google.

How to Be a Good Partner
You may notice on The Apprentice that Donald listens, watches, and asks
questions more than he talks or bestows advice. This is what good leaders

do. Our creator gave us two eyes, two ears, and only one mouth. The
message is: Listen more, observe more, and talk less. If people are only
talking and no one is listening, the business has very big problems.
Leaders who talk, but fail to listen, are not good leaders.

When asking an investor for money, it is best to speak less and listen
more. You will learn a lot about business by knowing what investors think
is important.

Working with Advisors
Investors want to know who your advisors are. All public companies are
required to have a board of directors. Even if you are not planning to take
your business public, you should have a board of advisors. For example, if

you are planning on starting a restaurant, you should have advisors who
have successfully started and operated a restaurant. You also need good
legal and accounting advisors. Take your time choosing your advisors. Not
all advisors are good advisors. Your advisory board can save you a lot of