Great businesses can be and have been severely damaged by bad
partnerships because many times, once a partnership is established, it
can be incredibly hard to dissolve; this is why it is very important for
entrepreneurs to be extremely careful and meticulous when choosing a
business partner for their business.
Friendship
This
isn’t just about whether the two of you are friends, it’s about how
well his/her goals, values and responsibilities are aligned with yours.
Take a look at the person’s personal life and how stable it is, consider
carefully if the person is actually a good person, a good friend, not
just how well you get along with the person. You might get along with
someone well but when you consider things closely, the person might not
actually be a true friend, he/she might not be capable of having your
back when it truly matters. So, to avoid personal problems that can
easily complicate your business, it is best to look well before you leap
and consider how good a friend the person is. before going into
partnership with him/her.
Trust
This should be obvious
to many entrepreneurs but many times, entrepreneurs choose people they
don’t fully trust as business partners for one reason or the other. For
one to be your business partner, there must be trust between the both of
you. Choosing someone you don’t trust to be your business partner is
simply a recipe for business disaster.
Consider Consultancy
This is more or less the next best
thing to do to avoid the cost of hiring someone as an employee when you
can’t afford to. You simply hire the person as a consultant rather than
hiring the person as an employee. This is also an especially useful
alternative when dealing with people you don’t consider entirely
trustworthy enough to go into a partnership with. Since you can’t afford
to either offer them a partnership or hire them as employees, you can
simply hire them as consultants to save cost. It is not always the best
idea to offer every tom, dick and harry that is ‘good at the job’ a
partnership because you can’t afford to hire them as employees; you can
simply hire them as consultants and avoid giving away a part of your
company only to regret it later.
Consider Strengths
The
strengths of your business partner should complement your weaknesses.
It doesn’t make business sense if both you and your business partner
have weaknesses in the same areas, one has to complement the other, or
at least not be as weak as the other in the same areas. For example, if
all your business partners including yourself are good at sales but weak
at executing on an operational level, it will only spell doom for your
business in the near future. It’s much better to keep some balance and
bring in partners who will complement each other’s strengths.
