6 strategies that will help you choose a business partner

Are you going to formalize a partnership agreement? Take your time, first read the wise advice of experienced people in this area.

Partnership agreements in business

Large enterprises appear on the basis of excellent partnership agreements. However, even the best of them can be destroyed by ill-conceived partnerships.

Strategies of experienced partners

These entrepreneurs and people who have first-hand knowledge of partnerships in business share their hard-won wisdom. They tell you what you should pay attention to before joining forces with your business partner.

Trust your instinct and write everything down on paper

The famous writer, motivational speaker and entrepreneur Jack Canfield says that the greatest success came to him precisely thanks to a successful partnership - he wrote his best books in co-authorship with other writers, and he controls his companies together with his partners. The two main criteria of the Canfield partnership are: first - you need a person to like you, and that you can trust him, the second - a person should bring you something that you yourself could not get. Sympathy and trust are subjective concepts, but you need to learn to trust your instinct. If something subconsciously seems wrong - do not move in this direction. One of the biggest mistakes that can be made in forming partnerships is the lack of clarity in the roles, constraints, compensations and options for withdrawing from the partnership, as well as the absence of all this on paper. It is very important to trust each other, but it is even more important to make sure that you share the partner's idea of trust, the future of the company and other things. People often have different ideas and understandings of the same things, if they are not written on paper.

Communicate with a prospective partner for at least a year

The investor and adviser of many multimillionaires, Tai Lopez, as the main condition before entering any partnership agreement, calls his acquaintance with his future partner at least for a year. Some psychological and scientific research shows that people demonstrate what they really are, just after a year of dating. It's like a romantic relationship - you need to meet for a while before you bind yourself by marriage. Business partnership is like a marriage. So you will need some short-term projects to get to know each other better. You need to learn to read people well. If something does not work out - you move on. This is the same as giving up meetings with a person after three visits - you have not yet managed to bind yourself with long-term obligations, so you can safely and painlessly leave. The biggest mistake that can be made in partnership is the formation of a partnership too fast. Make sure that you indicate the degree of responsibility of each partner. Otherwise it may turn out that you will do all the work. In the current union, you need to write down the responsibilities of the partner, your own rights and options for withdrawing from the partnership. For example: "The partner will do tasks A, B and B within 30 hours, and task G - for five hours." The more accurately and in detail you all will paint, the less likely that your agreement will not work.

Use math, but do not forget about the pleasure

Well-known Hollywood producer and screenwriter Roberto Orsi believes that the partnership can be wonderful, but it can become your worst nightmare. Use math to determine the rights of each partner. Yes, mathematics. If one plus one equals two, this is not the best partnership for you. One plus one must equal three. Partnership should be something more than just the sum of its components. Otherwise, it will be easier for you to hire outsourcing employees for other parts of your business. You also need to form partnerships with people who are better than you in certain things. Very often you can see how a person's ego does not allow him to conclude a very profitable partnership agreement. People feel the threat from a more experienced and skillful partner and can not overcome this lowly envious urge to look at the situation from a different perspective. "Father of Advertising" David Ogilvy said that you need to hire people who are smarter than you. Well, in the end, you need to make sure that you will enjoy this partnership. Yet each of the participants enters into a long-term relationship of "business marriage". This relationship will become an important part of your life. You will have many ups and downs along the way. What is the point, if you do not get pleasure from it? Fight with the temptation to go on the issue of prestige or an excellent resume partner - if you do not enjoy the collaboration, your partnership will not last long.

Scan their brain

Entrepreneur James Swanwick reports that the first thing he does with a potential partner is to give him several personality tests, which are a kind of brain scanner. It is very important to know with what person you will work in the future, because business partnership is, as already said, a kind of marriage relationship. Secondly, he prefers to cooperate with people who have other skills that can supplement his own, but these people should share his views on this or that issue. If you are an extrovert, look for introverts. If you are the face of a company - perhaps you will need someone who can act from behind the scenes. If you yourself are such a person, then you need to look for an extrovert who will be able to present your company in the best possible light.

Beforehand, please write down all conditions

Entrepreneur and advisor Chris Plow forms only those partnerships that will be beneficial for both parties, will be long-term and relationship-based. The partnership contract turns into a way to document the understanding of the situation by partners, as well as an insurance policy in case of a change of leader. And to achieve the ideal result, you need to sit down together and discuss two main things - key values and business baggage. These two points will allow you to create a healthy profitable partnership that will be able to withstand any problems in the business.

Do not be afraid to leave

Entrepreneur Phil Suslow also suggests paying attention to personal tests. With their help, you will be able to understand the labor preferences of future partners and better understand how they function. But here there is a dilemma - ideally you would like to achieve a balance, but at the same time I would not want to drive each other mad that you are too different. If you believe in astrology, you can even check compatibility with your partner for the sign of the zodiac - be careful with every opportunity. But never be afraid to get out of the partnership - Phil reports that the biggest mistake he ever made in partnering grew out of his fear of confrontation. He admits that difficult conversations are difficult for him. Once because of this, he postponed the break of the partnership agreement for too long, even though he knew: it will not function. This created a lot of internal contradictions. It was spent too much extra energy, which could be used to build what more suited Phil than that doomed partnership.