Written by: Dr. Hanan El Basha, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Approximately ten years ago as we were walking out of a productive pitch meeting for our newly established business, my ex-business partner (and ex-best friend) turned towards me and laughed as she said “That’s why we work well together; I’m the burger and you’re the fries 😊”
We laughed about it as we headed out to the car and back to the office.
Somehow, though, my gut didn’t feel that was funny. It felt quite demeaning.
Needless to say, I shushed my gut and carried on for another 1.5-2 years before the business partnership, the friendship, and alongside my mental and physical health, fell through. The downfall was a result of discordance.
I am not sure what made me remember this statement now.
Possibly because I have been working on uncovering my blocks lately.
This could have been one of those defining moments; one of those ‘I’m not worthy by myself’ imprints. And I’ve come to the realization that the more I tried to bury, hide & ignore these imprinting moments, the more they took control and power over my present and consciousness.
Another reason why this could have popped up for me is because I just gave a webinar on traps that could hinder the success and/or growth of startups, one of them is partnering with friends and/or relatives under the misdirecting notion of: “We’ve known each other for forever.” This statement in itself blocks the aspiring entrepreneurs from doing the fundamental critical analysis of each other’s core competencies and setting a clear and solid foundation of the responsibilities and the expectations that each person brings to the business. The ‘familiarness’ fallacy is one that lets business partners overlook mistakes that could cost them the business. It is also one that blocks them from having the needed, albeit uncomfortable, conversations about the strategy, the business model, and the anticipated resource (time, money, energy, and knowledge) allocations.
Looking back, and looking at the present, I now KNOW that I am not just a ‘side of complementing fries.’ I am a full meal. A full five-course meal for that matter. Independently. 😉
And, I know that I could also complement other potential business partners in the best of ways. Empowering ways built on a solid foundation of clarity, communication, accountability and responsibility. And that by coming together to form alliances, we are not coming from a place of individual incompleteness. Rather from one of added-value. One of lifting each other up, bringing forth an alternate worldview lens. Else, the union could indeed become a disempowering one.
I am whole.
I am also a part of a coherent entity of wholes. A Universe of empowering wholes.
How are you honoring your wholeness today?
Dr. Hanan El Basha, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Hanan El Basha, Founder of The Business Doctor, is an Empowering Business Strategist supporting high-achieving women reduce the overwhelm and explore their entrepreneurial spirit through practical actions and strategies to build a service-based business. She has 23+ years of professional experience, most of which spent within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and approximately 10 co-founding and running startups herself. Over the past four years, she has integrated her startups’ advising and business strategy services, with mindset coaching primarily serving women to live their life to the fullest potential. Inspired from her own healing journey, she is also passionate and dedicated to the topic of health and wellness built on learnings from her certification as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and a Metabolic Balance Coach. She is also the founder and host of 'Empowered to Grow' podcast.
