Are you in the beginning of creating your own Bootstrapping project? Are you feeling powerless for growing and handling it? Do you feel only money could solve your problem to bring others to help you? Do you think your authority is powerless because of having no money? Your solution is giving each one, part of your project? Or you always put equity distribution decision for later?
It was me before and if you are struggling and don’t know how to go through this step, join me to show you the wisdom I’ve received recently for that!
In the beginning of my journey in creating my own game, I did not know how to handle this part. As I did not have money to pay my teammate I feel powerless and I used to give others my right, my part and my project. I was thinking if some one join me and help me to continuing my project, the only way for having them and treating them fairly is to telling them it is our project and they will be the owner of it too. What do you think? Do you feel it is fair to give others yours? Did both of you start from same step? For sure no! It is your idea, your project, and you’ve already worked on growing it maybe for few years. It wont be fair to give it to others.
The first step to clarify this illusion is to figure out whether you are collaborating on creating one project or it is your own project and you are gathering and directing a team for accomplishing it. It is the most important clarification which I’ve missed before. I was thinking whenever someone is joining me, we are collaborating… It is totally wrong! If you’ve already created roots for something and you know the path to accomplish it, you are the owner of the project. Whoever gonna join you are your teammate.
COLLABORATION is for when two or more people gather and each one could direct different aspect of the project alone and they are creating bigger playground together. Collaboration is not for when you have the idea, you know the path and you are directing others through the path.
Let’s see what is the second step now. Imagine you are the owner of the project and you dont have money to pay and hiring teammates. In fact, you are bootstrapping your own project. What should you do? Maybe you say I will share the benefit from the project with others. OK, great! You already understood its ownership is for you and you should share the benefit. You are one step in front of a lot of entrepreneurs. A lot of them are sharing their own project and their own business with their teammates!!! But there is still confusion. How much will be the percentage of each one?
Lots of entrepreneurs just put it for later! One great businessman told me go through this path with kindness and empathy… I believe it is the biggest deception to trap empathic people. How you want to figure out how to do the fair distributions at the end? Ok, imagine you are very wise and can make a fair decision at the end. But still how come others can trust you to give them their true rights later! Little by little as each one invest more with no clear proof to receive it back, more fear will be created in their mind. Any confusion and illusion are sucking lots of everyone precious energy. In fact, you are creating your business on everyone in your team, instead of on the ground. It gonna hurt all of you as it grows and become heavier. You are carrying your business on people and you did not create strong foundation for it on the ground. To do so, you need to have very clear structure, and bring very clear answers for everyone’s doubt, outside you in the real world.
A lot of entrepreneurs share it statically from the beginning. How you can predict how much contribution each one could bring to grow this baby? Everything for this path is dynamic and you’ve built it on a static foundation. Each person’s life has ups and downs. It is a long journey. Maybe after a year one of you can’t contribute same as others anymore. A lot of unpredictable changes will happen and will bring a lot of struggles and unfairness. So your structure should be dynamic.
I look around a lot for the true answer. I’ve asked it from a lot of my entrepreneur friends. Always I’ve found they are not very clear and fair.
Finally, I could find a very clear and dynamic solution for it! But I wont tell you now ;)
I will share it with you in my next article. Before that, I want to hear your solutions, your stories and your wisdoms.
Comment below how you are going through this step in growing your own great business!
