When you go into a partnership with someone for a business, you are equally sharing the work and all things related to the business.  It is essentially a marriage. We will go over a few questions below that you should be asking your potential partner and yourself before making this decision.

 

1. Would I trust this person with access to my personal information such as my bank account or social security number?

If the answer is NO, you absolutely should not go into a partnership with that person. If you cannot trust them with your bank account information, you cannot go into business with them.

 

2. Do I know this person’s work ethic?

 Are you aware of how this person works and what their work style is? Will you have to carry a lot of the weight? Do you know if you are the type of person who will not put in enough work? These are questions you should be asking them as well as yourself. If you are not willing to put in the work yourself, you certainly should not have a business partnership.

 

3. Do I have skillsets that compliments their skillsets?

Do you have things that they lack and vice versa? For example, if someone is more extroverted than the other person, then that is a good asset to have. However, if you are both introverts, who will do the marketing and networking? Who has better financial management skills and what types of things will that person put in place for the business?

 

4. Will that person challenge me in a good way or bad way?

When you are seeking out a business partner, it is ultimately a marriage. In a marriage, you learn good things about that person, but there are also things that you will learn that you do not like. The same thing applies in business. There are good things and bad things. It will not always be butterflies and rainbows.  However, when challenges arise, will you both work through it together or will challenges break you apart and hurt the business? If you and your business partner cannot have the bad conversations and only have the good conversations, do not go into business with that person.

 

5. Is this someone I can rely on?

 Is this someone you would want to be around when the ship you are on is going down? I have dealt with many clients who have gone into business with partners who have taken all the money out of their business bank account, partners who have done side deals, and partners who have committed to projects that the business could not handle. You want to go into a business partnership with someone you can absolutely trust and rely on.

 

These are all things that you should consider when going into business and considering a business partner. Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upXLWJIUwOU&t=561s.