From my 10/5/2010 post on YoungEntrepreneur.com
Who you work with is just as important as the work you do. While many young entrepreneurs fly solo, some of us choose to run our businesses with partners. As the Vice President and COO of AKT Enterprises, I have two primary business partners: Alex Tchekmeian, President and CEO, and Kevin Khandjian, CIO. Originally, our working relationships were not partnerships. My business affiliation with Alex began when he hired me as a freelance web designer. After we officially teamed up, we hired Kevin to program web sites on a freelance basis for us and eventually brought him in as a partner.
Regardless of the origins of a partnership, it’s important that you pay close attention to everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. A common misconception among young entrepreneurs is the assumption that equal partner contributions to the company means you all need to do the same amount of the same type of work. In reality, everyone is best suited for specific types of projects and interactions with clients and employees.
Throughout my career, I have started businesses on my own, with others and joined existing businesses. I’ve found that a business partner’s primary purpose can usually be categorized into one of three categories: skill set, connections and experience. The executive team at AKT is a good example of these individual qualities joining together to form solid leadership and management.
1. Skills and Background
AKT’s internal programming department really sets us apart from the competition. We can build systems in-house that would set most companies back hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Kevin’s advanced programming skills and technical background in web-based applications, coupled with my project management experience, help us make very important changes to business processes in many divisions of AKT, including manufacturing, human resources and customer service. These innovations and upgrades to our internal systems not only save money but keep us on the cutting edge of the merchandising and branding industries.
2. Connections and Negotiating
As one of Florida’s most active talent buyers, Alex honed his negotiating skills at the tender age of fourteen. Many of the lifelong contacts he made during this time gave AKT Enterprises the jumpstart it needed when we began to offer design, print and fulfillment services.
I’ve seen businesses with all the money in the world, the perfect image and the most incredible product concepts fail because of poor sales and negotiation strategies. Without a quality salesman (or some dumb luck), your business is most likely dead in the water.
3. Experience and Problem Solving
Those who know me would agree that I’m a pretty negative person—a “glass half empty” sort of guy. It’s in my nature to pick things apart and point out potential flaws and problems. My critical eye, combined with over a decade of marketing experience, has really helped round off the AKT Enterprises executive team by making sure all of our bases are covered.
The many mistakes I have made in my career have taught me to anticipate and address potential problems before they arise. This concept also helps when applied to sales: I can handle a client’s objections before they have a chance to bring them up.
Most successful young entrepreneurs get to where they are by being resourceful, intelligent and clever. My partners and I are no different. Day-to-day business management comes naturally to us, and we take a lot of what we have learned and accomplished for granted. It is important for us to remember that each of our distinct backgrounds make us ideal business partners and allow us to work through many problems as a team. I am very fortunate to have two incredibly compatible business partners–sadly, not everyone is as lucky as I am.
