Starting a Small Business? How Having an Accountability Partner Can Help

There is a lot involved in starting your own business, and it can seem like it all needs to happen more or less simultaneously. Creating your website, forming your business entity, and getting business insurance are just some of the things you will have to juggle in the dizzying array of tasks you will need to complete in order to start your own business. Managing all of this can feel like you are trying to find your way out of a dense rainforest jungle, with no navigational tools or markers guiding your path.

Fortunately, you don't have to be alone on this journey, and there are people that can negotiate this unfamiliar and difficult terrain with you. There are other people that are also trying to find their way through these obstacles, and by joining forces, you can overcome these challenges more easily. These people are accountability partners, and here we will discuss how finding one will help ease the difficulties of starting and running a successful small business.

What Is an Accountability Partner?

An accountability partner is someone you meet with that helps you stay committed to achieving your specified goals. The relationship is mutually beneficial as you will also help your accountability partner reach their goals. You both hold each other accountable in taking consistent action towards meeting your desired objectives.

In each meeting you have with your accountability partner, you will both set out a list of goals that you would like to accomplish before the next meeting. These goals can be smaller tasks that need to be completed in order to achieve larger goals. Your larger medium and long-term goals can be stated at the beginning of the relationship and written out as a document. Then each meeting can be focused on determining the individual things and small tasks that need to happen in order to make it to the next step in the process, bringing you closer to your long-term goals.

In between meetings, you will work to complete the different tasks you set out to finish. You can check in with your accountability partner along the way to report on your progress and see how well they are doing in meeting their goals, offering each other support and ideas along the way. Meetings can be held once or twice a week, bi-weekly, or monthly and can be held in person or through a video conferencing app like Zoom.

What Happens If You Don't Complete Your Goals?

If you don't meet the short-term goals you set out to complete between meetings, you won't be lectured or punished by your accountability partner. Instead, during your next meeting, you both can brainstorm as to how you can find a way to meet these goals. The idea behind having an accountability partner is to motivate one another and provide support to help both partners reach their desired goals.

Why Is Having an Accountability Partner Effective?

Having an accountability partner can be effective because, as social creatures, we don't want to let each other down. As individuals, it can be easy for us to come up with reasons and justifications as to why we can't do this or didn't do that. We can have the tendency to procrastinate and put things off, simply because we have the option and agency to do so. But, if we have a responsibility to others, it makes it much easier for us to push through and get things done because we don't want to let each other down.

By having an accountability partner, we can use this inherent social motivation to help us reach our individual goals. This social motivation can help us gain some initial momentum to overcome obstacles we may have been stuck on in the past. Once we see ourselves and our accountability partners beginning to become more productive and accomplishing more of our goals, it can create an air of excitement and enthusiasm that begins to stir. This enthusiasm can increase our motivation and drive and set into motion a self-perpetuating feedback loop that sees us accomplishing more and more of the tasks in front of us as our engagement increases while we make more progress toward our long-term goals.

Having an accountability partner also allows us to bounce ideas off one another. We can share tools, techniques, and contacts that have worked for us with our accountability partners and vice versa. If one partner is having a problem in a certain area, the other may have previously navigated that area and can offer good advice as to how to solve the issue. Accountability partners that operate in the same industry or field can help each other on a deeper level, offering insights to each other that can help both partners grow their businesses. Your accountability partner doesn't have to be in the same industry as you or even be business related, but it can be very beneficial for entrepreneurs to have accountability partners that align with their business-related goals.

Where Can You Find an Accountability Partner?

You can find accountability partners in your immediate circle of friends, family, classmates, or coworkers if they have goals they also want to work toward and think they could benefit from the relationship. You could also find accountability partners through online forums, Facebook groups, blogs, or websites that are related to your industry. You can also attend any relevant local events or meet-ups and make connections there. Additionally, there are apps and websites that are specifically designed to meet accountability partners.

Are You Starting Your Own Business?

Are you in the process of starting a business? If so, InCorp can help with our entity formation and registered agent services. We can help you form the appropriate business entity for your particular business, such as an LLC or corporation. Our registered agent services can ensure you will receive all of your important legal notices and keep you in compliance with the state. Business owners can also use our entity management system and iOS app to help keep on top of all of their important business matters.