Recently, terbaca satu cerita. Ada sorang business coach ni cerita masa kat uni, dia ada idea gempak tapi tak ada capital. Dia approach roommate dia, dorang partner, and the project made enough to cover his entire second year’s tuition fee.
Dia cakap, kalau dia buat sorang-sorang, confirm scaling lambat, dan tak mungkin dapat replicate results macam tu.
I agree 100%. As someone yang dah lalui banyak partnership—datang dan pergi—saya tahu, the right partner tu bukan sekadar membantu, tapi critical untuk kita capai milestones yang kita dah nampak.
WVA: Where Partnership Pushed the Timeline
Nak dijadikan cerita, firm saya sendiri, Wealth Vantage Advisory (WVA), adalah bukti betapa pentingnya partnership.
Kalau I tak decide untuk go ahead dengan Sam and Idham untuk set up WVA, my own financial planning firm mungkin baru nak up and running tahun 2022. Itu 10 tahun selepas I start dalam financial services.
Kita mungkin takkan ada fact-finding tools, financial plans, CRM systems yang robust macam sekarang. Sebab apa? Lack of resources and time to plan and execute.
Fun Fact: Even the core financial plan yang kita use kat WVA tu actually dibawa masuk oleh seorang partner yang stay setahun je! Dia left sebab difference of opinions on firm strategy, tapi he left his mark. Sometimes, even a temporary alliance can be transformative, as long as the intent is clear.
The Weight of Too Many Cooks
Saya pun ada experience berat bila partnership tak jadi.
Masa start WVA, we had five partners. Honestly, rasa macam every time nak take one step forward, kita take two steps back. Susah sangat nak move!
Ada satu incident pada tahun 2017, dan kami tinggal tiga orang. And then, barulah everything started moving along according to plan.
The wrong partner tu boleh jadi macam sauh yang berat dalam hidup kita.
Kisah Client: Jangan Partner Sebab ‘Family Friend’
One of my clients pernah fall out teruk dengan partners lama. Bila dia nak start new venture, I tolong advise. Tapi, masa I check-in, dia dah ada partner baru.
Saya tanya, “Why that partner?”
Jawapan dia: “She was a family friend, dia ada business experience (tapi tak kena-mengena dengan business yang dorang nak buat), and dia setuju untuk front the capital.”
Mereka split roles: client I manage day-to-day, partner fokus marketing.
Jadinya? Partner tu tak buat pun marketing yang dorang agree, tapi after beberapa bulan start, all she did was tanya mana profit. Tak lama lepastu, memang ke court.
Alhamdulillah, I dapat tolong client I settle kes tu. Since then, business dia telah berkembang pesat. The ex-partner tu now cuma boleh tengok dari luar sambil fikirkan ‘what could have been’…
Pesan Saya (A Gentle Reminder)
Seorang partner yang bagus bukan hanya tentang duit atau muka yang familiar. They must bring aligned values, complementary skills, and a shared vision for the journey ahead.
So, pilihlah dengan bijak. A great partner will multiply your progress; the wrong one can be the most expensive lesson you’ll ever learn.
What’s your biggest lesson about partnership? Share sikit.
