How to find the right business partner

An example of a bad partnership....

Mark my words...a space photo is coming! Consider yourself lucky that I considered two galaxies merging to be way too...hmm...well...damnit that was a good picture... oh well.

Depending on what type of person you are and your idea, having a partner or two never hurts. A business partnership is almost like marriage in a lot of ways (not really sure about polygamy though...)

As explained in previous posts, a good buinsess partner brings the following advantages:

• Additional skillsets to build a stronger foundation on which ideas can be brainstormed, or an existing idea built upon

• Motivation. When you and your partner(s) are responsible to each other, you don't want to let each other down

• Work can get done faster by splitting the burden
  

• Additional start-up capital (if needed)

• Bigger network of people to contact that could help your idea fly

• Camaraderie (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/camaraderie) and lasting friendship(s) which are always good
  

Of course, as with anything, there are disadvantages to note as well:

• If your partner is not trustworthy, he/she can steal your idea, spread it to others or try to steal your hard-earned money from your venture

• Disagreements are inevitable, especially among dominant personalities. If you don't have the right partner, disagreements can either slow you down significantly, or grind everything to a screeching halt. Many small businesses fail because of unresolved disagreements between its partners rather than poor planning/execution

• Depending on your partner, you will have to compromise. If you are a control freak, this is probably a disadvantage for you then

• If you're more of the greedy type...then bad news for you, because you'll have to share your profits with your partner. This shouldn't even be a consideration for you though, because starting a venture shouldn't be for the sake of chasing money

You can maximize your advantages and minimize your disadvantages by taking the time to find the right partner for you. Trust is absolutely essential.

What are some signs you need to look out for in finding a good business partner? Here are some from personal experience and the experience of others:

• Is your business partner ambitious? What is his/her plans and goals in life?

This factor is important because you want to find someone who is entrepreneurially-minded like yourself. Someone who is ambitious and entrepreneurial will go the extra mile, work hard and take risks to make the venture a reality. Someone who says, "My plan is to get a good paying job in the next 5 years. Blah blah blah." probably isn't the right kind of ambition you want. People like that are stuck in habit and don't mind being "Just Over Broke" You need someone who wants to take the road less traveled and who is serious. Only someone who is ambitious and entrepreneurial will make the short-term sacrifices needed for long-term gains.

• Is your partner open-minded and compromising? Or stubborn and authoritative?

This is essential. Having an open-minded partner who can compromise and not stubbornly stick to one line of thought or ideas will go a long way. The more stubborn your partner, the greater the chance you will get into unresolvable disagreements which can destroy the partnership and the venture. If you happen to be the stubborn one, then it is really important you find someone who can effectively compromise with you, otherwise you're asking for disaster by bringing another stubborn partner along.

• Does your partner bring needed skills, fresh ideas or motivation that you need?

Sometimes, people need a partner just for motivation. However, in other cases, if a partner doesn't bring anything to the table that you can already do yourself, then why bring a partner along? That's just redundant. You need someone who can bring fresh ideas or skills to the table, otherwise there's no point in having them as a partner.

• Can you trust this person?

Sounds like a loaded question. It is. Trust is the single most important factor in not just business, but life itself. To determine if someone is trustworthy, it'll depend on how you know this person, what others say about this person and what your gut feeling tells you. If I could possibly tell you how to 100% tell if someone is trustworthy, then I'd probably write a book about it and win a Nobel Prize in Psychology.

• Is your partner one can short of a six-pack and a total dumbass?
  

What was that? ;)

• Last of all, do you "click" with this person?

What I mean by this is that do you enjoy socializing with your business partner? Can you talk about business, but also able to shoot the breeze and have a good time? Partnering with someone you like only serves to strengthen the partnership.

A good partnership