Having a business partner is never a good idea, simply for the sake of joining with some other person you admire or would like to work with. Finding a business partner should be something you do only when it would be critical to the eventual success of a business. As an example, if one partner has tremendous business skills and the other has financial resources, this might be a scenario that lends itself to partnership. Here’s how to go about finding and working with a good business partner.

Communication

Especially at the very beginning of a partnership, communication is absolutely essential. Both individuals need to understand clearly what their responsibilities and their roles are in the business, as well as what they expect in terms of profit or reward. It’s a good idea to formalize all these ideas in a document which can be referred to later on. One other thing you might want to include in this document is the potential exit strategy for both partners, because it’s very likely that the time for that will come.

Partnership trial run

In order to be sure that you can work well together, it’s a good idea to tackle a small project that you can use as a trial run for your partnership. This should be a project which doesn’t have a lot riding on it, but which still gives both parties a chance to fulfill their roles, and which requires you to work together, so that you can see what it would be like when things get a little more intense.

Complementary skill sets

It’s not bad to have some degree of overlap in the skillsets that each partner brings to the table, but these should not be a mirror image of each other. A far better arrangement is to have complementary skillsets, so that where one partner might be lacking in an area, that skill can be provided by the other partner. For instance, one partner may be exceptional at accounting issues and managing details, whereas the other partner may be a gifted speaker and customer service expert.

Need a financial business partner?

Many times, a small business would benefit greatly from having a reliable financial business partner to help keep the business running efficiently and profitably. Contact us at Proactive Funding Solutions, and discuss your business needs with our financial specialists. There may be ways we can help you achieve your business objectives with solutions that fit your circumstances.