Onely.Org

Cool. Single. CEO. November 19, 2009

Cool. Single. CEO.

That’s the tag line for a great blog, Single Startups, which profiles companies and products created by single people. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this blog–maybe one  of our regular readers or some blog I read regularly flagged it. In that case, many thanks, long-forgotten flagger! 

Here’s how the CEO of Single Startups describes her site: 

Single startups is an interview blog designed to explore the lives and businesses of single entrepreneurs.  Through personal interviews with CEOS, founders, and serial entrepreneurs, I hope to unlock what makes this special group…well, special.

I often get asked why I choose only to interview single entrepreneurs.  A certain intangible quality exists in this determined group and I believe that not every successful business person would be so if they didn’t have a supportive partner waiting in the wings.

Having another person lay out your tie or cook you a hot meal cannot be discounted as being a key factor in start-up success.  Those who have the endurance to survive and thrive despite this support are the people I want to meet, and people from whom we can all learn.

I do question whether simply having a partner  when starting your own business is an automatic bonus, or whether society trains us to see a partner as such. That same person cooking your hot meal might also be insisting you sit down at the table and eat it at 6 pm, which is when your West coast customers are most likely to be at their desks.

Nonetheless, having a (super) supportive partner to pick up life’s logistical slack (car emissions inspections leap to mind; sigh) certainly would free up a lot of time for you to plan your marketing strategy and tax dodges. I agree that single small business owners–sort of like single parents–should be generally admired and learned from.

In particular, we need to find out what legislative gaps or other institutionalized discrimination they face as single CEOs. For example: Singles pay more in taxes. How does this affect single-owned startups?    

And socially, how does being a single businessperson affect interactions with one’s clientele? Do customers look on a single CEO as an independent trailblazer or an unsettled lone wolf? Or neither?  

Specifically, are small businessowners similar to politicians, in that they almost have to be married–ideally with children–in order to hold any significant office or achieve significant success?  (Lest you think I’m exaggerating–me? exaggerate?–I assure you I have a Powerful Personal Anecdote that illustrates just this point, and I will post it later.) 

I would love to see Single Startups pose these questions to the single CEOs profiled in the blog! (Although maybe these issues have been raised and I just haven’t read enough posts to notice.)  

Copious Readers, have you owned or do you own your own business, as a single person? Do you know any single CEOs? How much does having a partner contribute to an entrepreneur’s success? 

–Christina!

P.S. In order to boost my self-esteem and sense of inner verve, from now on I will sign my name with an exclamation point. Let’s see how this goes down at the office (where I am definitely not the CEO).