Everyone needs a tribe. Friends and family are amazing and essential, but you need more than just friends and family to fulfill your dreams.  These are the quintessential FACES that every tribe needs:

1. Fantasizers. You need a safe vessel to store your dreams. This person will be an amazing listener and non judgmental. The point of this is just to let it out and inaction is not a negative in the dream phase. The dream is the why. It’s important to remember the why of what you’re doing.  
2. Accountability partners. This person will hold your feet to the fire and make sure you move it along. You really need an accountability partner when you start making plans and deadlines. Your accountability partner will call bullshit when you blow a deadline or start making excuses.
3. Co-conspirators. These are the people that will grow with you. Co-conspirators are perfect for collaborations and honing your skills. You will be on the same rung on the ladder as this person. Often, this will be your “day one.” When one of you gets on, both of you glow up. I was listening to Curlbox founder Myliek Teele’s podcast  and she spoke about how when she was starting out PR she met all these assistants and those women now have their own PR firms and are major players in the industry. Co-conspirators are the important relationships you build early that will be your support and “contacts” later. 
4. Elders. This not about age. In fact some of the “elders” in your tribe could actually be younger than you. Elders are just people that are ahead of you in the journey. They will be able to guide you off of experience, not just theory. These are your mentors and sponsors.
5. Support. This is the shoulder you cry on. Entrepreneurship is hard. Going against the status quo is hard, particularly when you have degrees. The degree is physical evidence that at some point you played the game. It is proof that at some point you believed the “good job” hype. Going against that is brave and bold. It is also incredibly difficult at times. You need a person to rely on that will not encourage you to fall back on your degree, rather push forward with your passions.

You may find that one person may fulfill several of these functions. That’s fine! I serve a different function in each of my friends’ lives. The most important thing is to get each of these needs met. While your tribe is your own, reciprocity is also important. You will maximize your relationships by being an amazing tribe member to those in your tribe.