A business partner is one or more people who are ready to work together for the benefit of each party. The relationship between partnerships is a relationship on one level, so there is no one below or above. Therefore, choose a right business partner is crucial in long term business and outcome. When choosing a business partner, it’s not just about aligning on vision and ethics, but also about making sure you’ve the right legal structure for your business. One popular option is forming an LLC, which can be made smoother with services like LegalZoom. To better understand their offering and customer satisfaction, you may want to check out a legalzoom llc review. This will give you a clearer idea of what to expect when using their services.
In a business, business partners are often sought after by those who need other people’s products, capital, energy, or thoughts. For example, say you have a cattle business and intend to market it online. But you are confused about how to create a website for these needs.
You then work with a web developer. As time goes by, your working relationship with the web developer will be more intense and it will penetrate into broader fields such as digital marketing.
The web developer is no longer the person you pay for his services. He really contributed to running the business just like you. Thus the relationship that has been established is already a closer partnership.
To help you choose the right business partner, here are 9 tips:
1. Find One With Similar Interest
The relationship between one business partner and another is different. There are partnerships whose relations are more tenuous, but there are also very close ones.
Now, especially for partners with very strong relationships, it’s better to look for those who have the same vision. This way, you can run your business without too much conflict.
For example, you are an eco friendly furniture entrepreneur. Of course it would be better if you work with people who have a passion for the eco friendly industry as well.
So, you can immediately execute the plan that has been made without arguing about the importance of environmentally friendly products.
2. Deepen His/Her Track Record
Watch out! In the business world, there are lots of people who just want to commit crimes. They present themselves as rich people looking for business partners, when in fact they are just committing fraud.
Track record, in other words you have to pay attention. Find out in-depth the footprint of your potential partner. Use your relationship to identify the partner.
Do not let you work with people who have cheated or even languishing in prison.
Related: 9 Hacks To Manage Financial In Business
3. Choose One That Can Cover Your Weaknesses
A partnership relationship will not provide many benefits if each party cannot cover each other’s shortcomings.
For example, you are a very innovative businessman. You have a million ideas to execute. But on the other hand, you often change plans.
If your character is like this, don’t look for a partner who has similar tendencies. You might end up in conflict because each party has its own idea.
Instead, look for partners who tend to be pragmatic. They will be able to point out the shortcomings of your idea when applied in the real world.
4. Discuss Capital Contribution
Capital matters clearly cannot be ignored. In fact, this matter is so sensitive that it should really be discussed.
There is no exact formula for how each partner should contribute in providing capital. However, in general the principle is the same, namely that each partner must provide an equal contribution.
So, for example, there is a partner who cannot provide a lot of capital, ideally he/she should contribute more energy and thoughts. Or, if his/her capital is indeed very limited, he/she should agree to a different profit sharing.
5. Check Their Reputation
In this era of social media, it is also important for us to choose the right business partner in terms of their reputation in cyberspace.
Prospective partners do not need to have high popularity. Potential partners also don’t need to be praised by netizens in cyberspace 24 hours non-stop.
However, his ideal partner candidate does not have a bad reputation in front of netizens. Because if the reputation is bad, the company’s image will also go down.
Hey, don’t get me wrong. The power of netizens cannot be underestimated at all. Not a few cases where a product is boycotted because of a problematic upload from the owner.
Related: 8 Hacks To Stay Consistent In Business When You’re Bored With It
6. Find out the Honesty
Honesty is a very crucial thing to consider when choosing the right business partner. Honesty is the attitude of what someone shows. An honest person will not manipulate data, hide bad intentions, or be duplicitous.
Actually, in the business world, it is impossible for someone to be 100% outspoken. But of course it is still better to work with those who are not too secretive than with those who are very secretive.
In terms of finances, the issue of honesty is also very important. Imagine, you want to do a partnership but you are instead being held up to pay a very large amount of money first. The reason is that the partner has run out of capital.
In fact, after calculating, the amount of money to be paid is not that expensive. Even the partner has not contributed too much. Annoying, right? Honesty is clearly absent in such cases.
7. Mindset & Mentality
Setting up a business is not an easy thing. Especially if you start from scratch. Failure, disappointment, and financial loss are common. The question is, is your partner ready to face it?
An entrepreneur mentality is needed in order to become a successful entrepreneur. So, instead of messing around with partners who are not ready, you should immediately find someone with the right mentality.
8. Set Clear Task Allocation at The Beginning
Responsibility is an attitude that is characterized by the willingness and realization of a party to undergo the consequences for what he does. In the business world, an entrepreneur is said to be responsible if he can guarantee quality claims on his products or services.
To choose the right business partner, a clear attitude of responsibility must be observed. Because, if you deal with those who don’t have that attitude, you are the one who loses.
Just imagine, you are working with an entrepreneur making plastic containers for your food business. According to his claim, their plastic is safe to use for food containers. However, after being tested by a third party, it turned out that the containers were not safe.
Someone in charge must have dared to face the situation. But those who are cowards will tend to run away from problems and leave you alone to suffer losses.
9. Find One With More Innovative
Innovativeness is a trait characterized by high creativity and the creation of new things. Working with those who are innovative in general will greatly benefit you.
Because the competition in the business world is very tight. If your business partner finds a new innovation, then your business will be positively affected. So, you can be better prepared to face a very competitive business world.
For example, you are a herbal medicine manufacturer who works with partners A and B as marketers. Partner A always markets your products in the style of a beauty advertisement on TV. Meanwhile, partner B sometimes likes to experiment with making mini dramas that are going viral.
Compared to partner A, partner B is clearly more innovative. The products he branded will also be known faster because he creates different content than others.
Bottom Line
It is very important for you to be able to choose the right business partner. Choosing the wrong partner can make the business you run a mess. Especially if the partner’s contribution is quite large in your business.
