What Makes A Good Business Partner?
This is a conversation I often have with small business owners:
Entrepreneur: Should I partner with a friend to start a business?
Me: Would you marry this person?
A business partnership is not unlike a marriage.
What are the qualities you would hope for in a spouse? If you are married, what are the qualities that led you to believe you will spend the rest of your life with your spouse?
A business partnership is a long-term relationship with A LOT on the line. Entering a partnership should be made with the same level of commitment that one does when entering marriage.
Identifying A good partner…
Glen Blickenstaff recently wrote this list of 10 questions to ask when taking on a business partner for Inc.Com. (My notes are in orange.)
- What do each of you bring to the table?
- Do your morals and ethics align? (This is a BIGGIE. This will define the core structure and philosophy of your business.)
- What are the division of responsibilities? (Kelly addressed this last week on the blog. Click here.)
- How do you handle oversight of the other?
- Do you have an exit strategy if it doesn’t work?
- Are you willing to risk the entire relationship over a business venture? – Because you are. (Review Kelly’s pros & cons here.)
- Can you both be selfless? Can you putting more value on the venture and the other person than on personal gain?
- Is there sufficient reward, personal gain, to enter into this? That may seem contrary to the previous question but it really isn’t. This question isn’t about teaming; it’s about capitalism.
- How are each of you going to be compensated and what happens if you have to forgo a paycheck or even invest more in the business?
- Can you create a document that outlines everything above? (This is a partnership contract. You need one of these!)
Great article! Really made me think & I know it’ll be helpful for my wedding vendor friends!
Jennifer and I are business partners and it IS like marrying the person. We are different people, but have the same core values for the company, so our partnership works well. She is great at some things and I am great at different things. It is a nice balance. You definitely have to be willing to forgo control over everything (this is a BIGGIE that I see a lot of planners who want to or have formed a partnership fail at), you have to compromise if you don’t both land on the same page, but I can say wholeheartedly that it was the best business decision that I ever made (and I am sure Jennifer would agree.) We are a great team!
I am in business with my sister-in-law. Most people look at us like we are crazy, yet we work quite well together. Before we ever put pen to paper to design our business plan, she and I spent two weeks at her dining room table discussing our life plans, priorities, strengths, weaknesses, etc. It made ALL the difference in the world to our partnership and success of Wedding 101. Now, we have our disagreements but nothing surprises us in terms of who we are and where we want to take Wedding 101.