Selecting a Business Partner Wisely

Business Partnerships are not unlike marriages – the separation (the divorce) can be very painful. So just like choosing a life partner, choose your business partners carefully.

I am regularly amazed at just how casually people end up in business together. Most people would not marry someone without some serious getting to know them time. Yet, I find people who have barely met going into business with each other – especially in today’s digital marketplace.

Is your potential partner a positive happy person? How do they react under pressure? Are they the kind of person who is vengeful and vindictive?

Beware of anyone who boasts about getting ‘one over’ in a previous business dealing – because chances are one day it will be you that they will want to get ‘one over’.
OK they may have a skill or money that the business needs but if you can’t get on or respect each other it is going to be challenging for both of you.

Before reading this list I should say this is not Legal Advice – it is some key lessons from a personal perspective – hire and pay a professional for advice. Additionally one thing I see a lot of is individuals referring to each other as partners – when no legal partnership agreement exists.

Beware of this term – in some parts of the world if a true partnership exists you could be responsible for the debts of your partner. OK, on to the main points:

1) 50% of something big, is better than 100% of nothing

You could argue that none of the businesses I created with partners would have ever happened, if I didn’t give up some ownership share and control.

2) It’s less stressful when you share responsibility.

This is especially good if say one of you is the writer / creative type and the other is say more technical.

3) Most people will choose what they want to do, not what is best. This is a BIG one – all growing businesses have challenges – the road to the top is not a straight up arrow and there will be things that don’t go as planned. It is in those times that people often retreat into their comfort zone and do the things they like doing rather than the things that need doing. They fail to prioritize and if you don’t watch out the business will fail.

As Drew Houston (the founder of Dropbox) says:

“It’s OK to have growing pains, as long as you’re prioritizing correctly and working to address them. Every company looks messy from the inside,”

4) Greed at some point usually takes over.

Strangely the more successful the business is the more reluctant some partners can be to share. This is why it is essential everyone knows their roles / responsibilities.

For example in some ‘deals’ one individual may have the idea and put up the cash and thereafter have very little ‘work’ involvement while the other partner would on the surface appear to be working harder and sooner or later may forget it was the other partner who put up the cash / had the idea. As I say. it is essential to have an agreement on different roles clear and out in the open from the start.

continue reading>>>> https://tobecomegreat./2015/08/31/11-essential-lessons-from-going-into-business-with-people/

Makes sense

Your last paragraph was exactly the reason for the dissolution of our partnership.