You’re thinking of signing a partnership agreement with someone else to take your business to the next level — or to simply get it off of the ground. You know that you want to work with someone else, but you also know that the person you choose could determine whether the business thrives. You have to pick the right person. How do you find them?
The first thing to think about is if you have any values and goals that you refuse to compromise on. Bring in someone who shares them. Maybe you want to pay your employees far more than minimum wage, for instance, even though you don’t legally have to. Don’t work with someone who only wants to cut costs. Maybe you have a vision of running an international company someday; don’t partner with someone who only wants to stay local.
The next thing to do is to consider what skills or abilities you lack. You can then find someone else who has those skills. They provide something you couldn’t offer without them. For instance, perhaps you came up with a great product, but you’re not a people-person. You don’t want to make sales calls or figure out how to get it in stores. Your product is valuable, but you need someone who can bridge that gap, and get it to the consumers.
When you find the right person, it is wise to use an official partnership agreement to talk about things like ownership percentages and how the two of you will make decisions. Put your company first and learn about the steps that you need to take.
