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90 graphics-pro.com S T A R T H E R E 2 0 2 1 By Dana Curtis I t's a common misconception about ridiculously successful people — Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett, Sam Walton — achieved financial success in the world of business by sheer force of will. John D. Rockefeller began what would become Standard Oil with a partner, then multiple, starting in 1859. He eventually bought them all out — but he didn't do it alone! Even in the classic "Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by his partner Jacob Marley. "They do it all, and they bootstrapped their own success." This. Is. False. Solopreneur Relax, nobody does it alone Dana Curtis is the founder and CEO of Biztools, a strategic consulting firm that helps small businesses multiply revenue through improved customer expe- rience and pivot to new markets. Visit his website at www.biztools.coach/graphicspro or contact him via phone at 602-529-4562; or email at biztools. biz@gmail.com. SOLOPRENEUR THE MYTH OF THE The Classic Model The doer and the thinker. More appropriately, the business guy and the creator. The one who worries about the books and the one doing the making of the thing. It doesn't need to be simplistic, but it should be realistic. Division of responsibility allows for focus – which is what any small business needs to survive. Most artists hate accounting, and they think marketing is a gimmick. Most businesspeople are great at sales and numbers but aren't very creative. It's a match made in heaven. 3 Things Form The Foundation A successful business, no matter how you define success, is a group effort. You need three things: an idea, capital, and labor. Sometimes all three of these things come from you, but eventu- ally, you need to scale this business beyond a hobby, and that will require bringing on extra help. A business requires specialization. Humans are specialized, whether we choose to admit this fact or not. We are good at different things as a function of our evolu- tion. We think differently – culturally, logically, emotionally … The DiSC assessment, astrology, and Myers-Briggs models remain in practice today because we recognize individuality in each other and ourselves. That person just thinks differently than I do. That is a strength for your business. One person cannot do everything successfully. You can be the idea/capital person or the idea/labor person. You can certainly partner or hire a capital/ labor person. Bottom line: you need all three. That means more than one person. Idea This is the business. Sometimes called the core competency. The idea is the product or service, and somebody needs to dedicate themselves to it. Let's be clear: the idea is not necessarily the CEO's problem. For every Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Elon Musk, there are a bunch of successful business stories where the person at the top wasn't responsible for the product: For Apple, it was Steve Wozniak, not Steve Jobs. For Microsoft, it was Paul Allen, not Bill Gates. For Berkshire Hathaway, it was Charlie Munger, not Warren Buffett.