Stay with me. This may sound strange but it does have relevance.

So we all know what a cat does right? They sit and stare at you with an expectation that you will make their lives simple, easy, free of complex decisions and they in return will receive all the rewards you provide to them without every lifting a finger (paw) to assist you. In fact if you look hard enough into the eyes of a cat, staring into those deep dark voids you will eventually come to the realization of one very important thing..... the cat still has no idea how to run a business. He just wants to be scratched fed and for you to pick up his mess when he can needs you to. A very easy position to be in if I say so myself. Why wouldn't you want to come back as a Cat.

Well having the wrong business partners is like having a cat as a partner. If they do not know what they are doing you are sure to get the same response as a cat, a blank stare and complete lack of real business understanding. A cat will rub up against you when its hungry and wants food and may even show you some attention but the moment you feed it and rub it, the cats loyalty will turn to the bowl and the couch and you just become another means to its every growing power dominance over you. See initially a business partner who knows nothing about the industry you are working in is always going to be fraught with danger. Bringing someone in because they can achieve results in one area does not make them eligible to work in other areas just because they act like they understand.

You may have the right intentions at first. The cat or cats are wandering around with no real direction and no real prospects until they see what your doing near a food source and make a vline to you. Your so caught up in their affection you go "Ooohhhh look at the cat, how adorable. They are so nice to me rubbing up against my leg. Maybe I should feed it?" Now if your not a cat lover forget it cause this wont make sense but if you are like I was then this is starting to sink in.

How can you take in a business partner that does not understand the business your in and expect it to work? Just like the cat, these types of partners are really only there for one reason....a free meal and someone to pick up their mess after them. Sure they may try to help make the money by sticking their hand in the bowl every now and then but is this really helping or just something else you have to teach them not to do? You may have all the right intentions at first and you may even feel your trying to help them by offering them a chance to learn and grow, however this is fraught with danger and concern as they still wont have a clue how to put into action anything you teach them. In fact by spending time on teaching them you begin to loose site of your own goals and cracks in the business begin to appear.

Simple questions like "What strategy should we take in this matter?", or "What is the best option from these to sales techniques?" are met with the same blank stare a cat gives you. As cracks appear the cat looks at it with curiosity and interest trying to see whats down their they can eat or play with, not realizing this crack has the potential to destroy their meal ticket. To a seasoned professional these cracks are quickly filled as they keep their eye on the goal. They spot the issue and work to close it up before it becomes a gaping canyon. To someone who is trying to teach a cat how to solve issues like this while at the same time run a business you are most likely in for a rude awakening.

Over time the cats become very complacent and less interested in following you to the kitchen and expect you to bring their rewards to them. They dont care too much anymore how they get it as long as the food keeps coming. Business partners who have not learnt anything over time are the same. They do not see whats happening, the miss the cracks that are opening and only focus on the here and now, oblivious to whats going to happen when the money runs out. They have no idea how to successfully implement a new strategy or do not listen when given advice on how to solve the issue.

You can build a business as best you can but if your partners dont fully understand what and how things work they will not see the bigger picture and miss out on implementing opportunities that keep the business running.

I learnt the hard way, loosing one of my businesses to my cats. In the end when I managed to see the writing on the wall it was too late. The damage done was already evident and so trying to find a way out was like trying to show the cat how close the office up for the night. Novel idea but the practicality was just off the wall. The partners did attempt to make a go of it on their own only to dig an even bigger hole irrespective of what was said to them. their fur-ball was building in their throat so they though the best course of action would be to breath through their nose.

Its not uncommon to try to do the right thing by people especially friends and family, hoping you can make a difference in their lives and YES many will say its negligence and a crazy move but sometimes the cats are just to needy and sucker you in, even though you are being told by everyone around you that you dont need look after the cats. Easier said than done for many cat lovers.

Once the damage is done though the mess is left for you to clean up because the cat still has no idea what has happened and what damage has been done. they see the result of their limited involvement as being another event in their life that now needs to be replaced by another unsuspecting human willing to feed them and pick up their mess.

So what can you learn from this antidote. Glad you asked. here are the top ten things I have learn from my experience with "Asking Cats for Advise".

1. DONT ASK THEM. Its a cat for crying out loud.
2. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. Make sure your partners can talk and understand the basics of business management and can function interdependently.
3. EMPLOY THE RIGHT PEOPLE. Focus on having the right people in the right positions. Don't bring partner in to the business that do not have experience in running a similar operations. Their skills dont have to be in the same industry but they do need some sort of cross over experience or knowledge.
4. USE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN MORE. Live by it and develop it. Take advantage of opportunities as long as they fit inside the strategies and goals you have already set.
5. LISTEN TO ADVICE. When a 25 year veteran financial adviser tells you not to partner with a cat. LISTEN TO THEM. They can see what you are blind to.
6. STAY FOCUSED. Keep clear of traps and obstacles that could jepardise the entire operation even though the short term increase looks promising.
7. GROW TOWARDS YOUR GOALS. There are many routes to your goal so when you grown ask yourself if this is taking you towards your goal or sideways to your target. Sideways is Ok as long as you dont have a cat running the show and have a strategy to attach to the sideways movement.
8. MAKE PLANS. Have exit strategies in place, and always be ready for the unexpected. you can never have to many ideas and plans, just dont try to act on all of them at once. Remain focused.
9. DO NOT LOOSE CONTROL. Don't give away control to quickly. Keep control in your pocket. This way if something does go wrong you can change things as needed.
10. GET A MENTOR. Find someone you can go to for advise, a guide or be mentored by. Don't think you know it all. An outside perspective is a very good tool to use and helps you see through the clouds that build around you.

Ok, you can go now.

I wrote the original article which can be found Here

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