One of the best ways to be successful in business is to work with a partner whose skills complement your own. Wealth Dragons co-founder Vincent Wong believes his relationship with John Lee has defined his career.

“I couldn’t have done it without him,” Vincent says. “It’s really important to recognise your shortcomings and work with people whose strengths can fill in your gaps so that you have a complete skill set within your team.”

It’s Impossible To Be Good At Everything

Vincent vividly remembers what it was like when he was running a business alone. “It was very lonely and isolated,” he recalls. “I tended to be doing everything on my own.”

When he started out in business, Vincent quickly identified his strengths and weaknesses. “I had a lot of skill gaps that were necessary to take my business to the next level,” he recalls. “I was very good at putting my ideas together and very good at sales, but I wasn’t very good at networking and I really hated mingling with people. It’s just my personality that I don’t like mingling with strangers in a strange environment. It’s not that I can’t do it, it’s just not something I particularly enjoy.”

He continues, “What I was good at was how to operate a business. I started to take on employees and grow my business and operations. I was good at managing people and putting solid operational plans in place.

“However, while I had to do marketing, it wasn’t particularly my strength, so I just felt that it was a bit of a struggle and I wasn’t that creative with it.”

It Works Brilliantly If Your Partner Has Different Strengths

During his time in the property business, Vincent met John Lee at a networking event. They were fast friends, and it soon became clear that John was the ideal business partner because he possessed skills and traits that Vincent did not have.

“Meeting John Lee completely changed the game for me,” Vincent recalls. “John is an ideas person. He used to be an actor, so he is naturally charismatic. He liked going out to network, so he became the face of the company.”

“He is also very good at marketing. He has got 2.9 million followers on Instagram, 2.2 million followers on Facebook and more than 500 connections on LinkedIn.”

John is also weak where Vincent is strong, so he appreciates his partner’s skills. “He is not so good at dealing with staff and their needs,” Vincent explains. “And he’s not a finisher. He doesn’t see the process in a logical manner.”

He continues, “By working together, we fill each other’s gaps. And that completely changed our fortunes. We took a very ordinary business made up of John and I and a couple of staff and turned it into a multi-million-pound company listed on the stock exchange.”

Persistence Is Vital

“John and I inevitably have conflicts because we think very differently,” Vincent explains. “We argue a lot sometimes, we fight and we fall out, but our relationship is based on mutual respect. We know we need each other so we always resolve our issues. This is why our relationship has lasted since 2009.”

He continues, “We’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations. We made a lot of mistakes together. A lot of business partners fall out, but we persisted and we never gave up. These are traits we share: we are very persistent and resourceful and we always find solutions in the end.”

When you consider all the variables, the benefits of working with a business partner far outweigh any negative aspects, particularly if you find the right person. As Vincent says, “The best business partner is one who’s the antithesis of yourself, but together you become whole. It’s essentially a marriage in business.”