When courting a business partner, you spend a great deal of time working out who you’re looking for, what they can do you for your company, when the best time to sign them on will be, where you’ll find the best candidates, and why you want one at all. Don’t forget to cover all of the important how’s: How will you work together? How will you divide the work? How will your business thrive?
How you’ll work together is huge. For a lifelong partnership, find someone with a skill set that complements your own. If they don’t and you still want to work together, be sure that duplicating your own skillset is going to benefit the company – strength in numbers has its advantages, too. However, bolstering your company with a partner or partners who add to your skillset has a better possibility to grow bigger in every direction. Examine the weaknesses in your projects and processes to see where you could permanently use help.
A trial run is a great idea – possibly the best ever. Just because your discussions have been excellent, you can’t really know how you’ll work together until you, well, work together. Start with a small project, and then try again with something grander. This could be as simple as a networking event appearance, or as detailed as a marketing campaign.
And when you take on that trial run, do so in the same room at least once. There are 2 kinds of people in this world: those who can meet a deadline, and those who can’t. Those who can meet a deadline have difficulty working well with those who can’t, and vice versa. What if they listen to music and tap their fingers to the beat but you need complete silence? Get a clear understanding of your working habits to know whether you can share space. In the same vein, find out how they talk to clients, staff, (and you) to ensure a good fit.
Understand how much time it will take to include a business partner in your plans. Adding an equal to your level of responsibility means you have to share all of the decision-making. This means more meetings, more emails, more phone calls, and more texts. You will be able to unload a good deal of your task list, (and stress!) on to the ideal business partner, but some of that free time will be filled with additional communications. Don’t book that 6-month hiatus just yet!
Being courted yourself to become someone else’s business partner? The same how’s apply! Ultimately, you and your potential business partner share the same vision for the company – where it will be in 5 years, 25 years, as well as next year. But you have to be able to work together, too.
You don’t need a business partner to make your website stand out from the rest; you just need Jelly Triangle! Book your commitment-free consultation by calling (519) 624-8888.
