During the past year, four people asked me to start a business with them. While I was flattered that others wanted to work with me, there were too many red flags to agree to partner with any of them.
Before you decide to start a business with someone or even partner with someone on different projects, consider a few questions.
1. Is their business idea viable?
A little research will help you figure out whether or not you should pursue the idea. Start by researching the competition. If the market is filled with the same type of business that you and your partner want to start, you’ll need to find a different angle to make your business stand out.
2. What skills can the other person bring to the table?
If you and your business partner have similar skills, who is going to fill in the gaps? Both of you may be skilled marketers, but who is going to handle accounting, sales and product development? Ideally, if you can split your responsibilities and make sure each person has specific tasks to handle, your partnership is more likely to run smoothly.
3. Do you have a similar business vision?
Your partner may want to hire a large staff, while you want to start small. You may be cost conscious and penny-wise, but your partner may want to spend money you don’t have. You need to be on the same page and follow a similar path.
4. Is the person organized?
Believe it or not, an organized person can work well with someone who’s disorganized. The secret is for each person to respect and understand the other person’s working style. If your partner is a pack rat, and you’re not going to share an office, so long as he or she meets every deadline and doesn’t drop the ball, it doesn’t matter whether or not his or her office is organized. Yet if your partner is beyond organizing help (more than just the physical part of it), consider whether you’re going to be stuck with most of the work.
5. Do they do as they say?
It’s one thing for someone to say he or she is going to do something, yet another thing to follow through. Consider whether your potential partner will complete projects, handle tasks and meet deadlines. If you’re going to have to remind him or her constantly to finish projects or deliver what he or she has promised. then you’re going to be frustrated day and night.
6. Do they complain all of the time?
No one is happy all of the time and sometimes it feels good to vent. But what if you have to work with someone who complains all of the time? At some point you may cringe whenever the phone rings or whenever you open an e-mail from your partner. Decide whether or not you can put up with a complainer and, at best, redirect the conversation.
As with any relationship, whether business or personal, not everyone makes a good bedfellow. But when you find a good match, your possibilities for success are endless.
How have your partnerships worked out?
Such important points to consider, Lisa. It’s easy to jump into a project without stopping to think about these. The partnerships that have worked the best for me have been those especially where we looked at #2 — who’s got which skills, and where our skills were complimentary and fit together well. It’s awesome to find someone who can do what I can’t (or don’t want to) do, and I can do what the can’t (or don’t want to) do.
Michelle Shaeffer recently posted..5 Smart Ways to Keep Your Content Consistent
I agree. A few friends have tried to form partnerships but then realized that they both brought the same skills to the table and there were going to be a few gaps. It’s easy to get excited about a project and lose sight of the big picture.
I know you’ve had several successful partnerships (I’ve read about them in your newsletters) and each time I’m impressed with the partners you’ve chosen. All good choices.
Lisa recently posted..6 Points to Consider Before Partnering With Others
Lisa, I especially loved your point about integrity. You can’t work with someone who doesn’t honor their commitments no matter how skilled they are. Another thing I always consider is does their network fit in my target market? Also I consider if this opportunity will take my focus away from my current business. I wrote an article on that here. http://wp.me/p1Hk3R-e9 great points. Kristoffer
Kristoffer Thompson recently posted..Prospects Fess up: White Lies They Tell Sales Professionals All The Time
You bring up a good point about taking focus away from your current business. Someone else’s energy and excitement about a project can be infectious and hard to resist. They may not realize that the new project will take too much time away from their current business. Thanks for the link to your article. I’ll check it out.
Lisa recently posted..6 Points to Consider Before Partnering With Others
Great post Lisa! I would also add to this list, assess if they in the same tribe and track as you. In other words, discern whether what they do and whom they serve are in alignment. There’s no use in partnering with someone who serves a niche different from yours. And make sure that your businesses compliment one another, not directly in competition with each other. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us.
Zenobia Garrison recently posted..Biz Tip of the Week: Go Beyond Setting S.M.A.R.T Goals – Make it Happen!
Those are all good points! I couldn’t agree more about making sure you’re trying to reach the same market. If not, you’re wasting your time and effort.
That’s an interesting point about businesses not competing. I’ve only seen that type of partnership work when the partners service different parts of the country or the world. Or if one business is too busy to handle all of the requests they receive, they can pass along referrals.
Lisa recently posted..6 Points to Consider Before Partnering With Others