Finding a Business Partner

If you've come to the decision that you need a little extra assistance or even guidance with your business, you might be thinking of finding a business partner. Business partners are great to have for several reasons. We might at times think we know everything there is to know about our business, but in reality, we don't. Having a business partner will add that extra "oomph" when it comes to decision making, opinions, knowledge and know-how.

I'll discuss the benefits of having a business partner in more detail in later post. Let's now focus on how to find a great business partner.

You will want to start out with a few characteristics you'd like to see in your business partner. These are only a few of the many you can use to narrow down your selection.

Values: This by far might be the most important characteristic you will want in your business partner. Granted we all have our own core values, those we agree with and those we don't, but when it comes to running a business there are values that we must all have. You will want to have the same if not very similar business values between your business partner and yourself. This will ensure a working and respectable partnership.

Knowledge: Briefly mentioned above, you do want to find someone that will compliment your strengths and weaknesses. Your business partner should be able to bring knowledge to the table that you might not have. If both parties can bring individual experience and know-how to the table, it will only make for a better partnership and quite possibly a better run business.

Commitment: You need to make sure the commitment levels of both parties are aligned. If one party enjoys working on a 9 to 5 schedule and the other party doesn't mind working from 7 to 7, there might be complications that arise. One party might feel as though they are putting in more time than another resulting in conflict. To prevent any kind of conflict both parties need to agree on their commitment levels prior to negotiating any terms relating to the partnership.

Now that you've decided on some of the more important characteristics you'd like to see in your business partner, you might first ask yourself where you've gained a certain amount of trust and credibility. It might be through networking events, charities, family or even people you've met online. If you have presented yourself in a good light and proved to others they can trust your opinion and judgments, they might be more likely join in. Focusing on these individuals that you already know will give you a good head start. You first need to inform those individuals that you are looking to start a partnership. Begin giving small interviews to those individuals to find where they stand and if they are interested in partnering. I would suggest using the same questions for each individual. This will allow for a easier comparison. Once you've been able to narrow down your favorites, you might consider doing a smaller interview to see if their views have changed from the first interview. Pick your partner and your off to the races!