You cannot build a business alone. A business is the orchestration of people serving a common goal. Establishing the success ecosystem of people around your business – those who will advise, direct, recommend and implement your ideas – means carefully choosing people who have experience, integrity, loyalty and honesty.
The most significant part your people ecosystem at this stage of building your company are business mentors. You will have more than one mentor but start with a financial mentor who will talk straight and provide you examples. This mentor is NOT a bookkeeper, but an experienced Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
CPAs have examples of both very good and very bad companies and they focus on the numbers (the language of business). This mentor can show you exactly where the turning points and trends of business are.
Accountants are not advisors - they are historians. Let's repeat that for impact - do not listen or take advice from an accountant on the strategic direction of your company.
Key Point: The language of business is accounting. Everything you do will take longer, cost more and require more people than you expect at the outset.
