This is a continuation of my last post, “Are you the missing piece?” 

Remember the days when you and others would spend the afternoon building a puzzle. First, you would layout the pieces; then, you would begin by building the outside edges and work your way toward the middle. Sometimes, you struggled to find the pieces that you needed to complete the picture.

Last time, I talked about how to position one’s self to be the missing piece to another person’s puzzle. This week, let’s discuss how to build your own puzzle.

To start building your puzzle, define your business idea. You need to have a vision about what the finished picture should look like. However, you may not have a clear understanding about how each piece will fit together.

Think about the shape of your own puzzle piece. Are you a corner, an edge piece, or maybe a middle piece? How many tabs and blanks are within your piece? The tabs of your piece are your expertise, skills, and experiences, and the blanks are the open spaces that you will use to interlock with other pieces.

Seek out those missing pieces to your puzzle. Puzzles are unique in that each piece is a different shape, but not every piece (or person) may be an appropriate fit for growing your business. Look for those pieces that will be complimentary to your piece. Each person (or puzzle piece) offers new experiences and knowledge to help strengthen your vision. His or her tabs connect to your blanks and vice versa.

As you evaluate how each person will fit within your business, consider how well he or she will connect to other pieces as they are added. Fully interlocking connections are the best fit for your puzzle and will support growth. Non-interlocking and semi-interlocking pieces are temporary solutions to your open spaces but will not stay where you needed them or be able to interlock with other pieces of the puzzle.

Once you identify the right pieces for your puzzle, your vision becomes clearer and your business grows.