Business Partnerships
One day I will go into business for myself. I look at this as inevitable.
What worries me is not the risks that are inherent in entrepreneurship but choosing the right partner.
Much of what I read about starting your own business is how important it is to do it with a partner. Is this true?
Also, where do you look to find the right partner? Business between friends can get complicated very quickly. At the same time, who should you trust more than your friends?
By Karen Wilhelm Buckley and Fay Freed
LINKAGE WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
NOVEMBER 2009
Ten Areas for Agreement
1. Values and Principles - What are the values and principles
that we share and that we stand for?
2. Goals, priorities and accountabilities - Who is responsible
for what and by when?
3. Vision and mission - What is the greater purpose for the
existence of our partnership?
4. Healthy communications - What are our agreements around
written, verbal, nonverbal communications with each other.
5. Conflict resolution - How will we resolved conflicts between us
and what will we do if we cannot resolve them ourselves?
6. Financial - What are our financial arrangements with each
other and with others?
7. Endings - How will we complete the partnership with integrity
and an intact relationship?
8. Decision-making and authority - How are decisions made
inside the partnership?
9. Intellectual Property - what, if any, of our partnership's
unique content do we each own or do we own together?
10. Personal Leadership - How will we empower each other's
unique strengths and qualities of leadership?
You should seek and involve Partners with skills and experience outside of / that compliment your "core competencies"!, e.g. if you are Great at product development or in technical areas, but not in sales and marketing, then seek a Partner who is Great in sales and marketing!
I agree that you should have a written agreement with any Partners you bring on board which clearly defines who is responsible for what, how cost and profits from the business are to be distributed, and IMHO Most Importantly, the exit strategy should one Partner want "out" or want the other Partner "out"! Otherwise, things could get Very Ugly should the business fail, or a Partner fail to live up to their end of the agreement, or if the business succeeds and one Partner wants to "cash out" and the other(s) do not, you know?
I hope this all helps and Have a Great Day! :)
- Michael S. DeVries
Founder and Principal,
The Virtual Consulting Firm ™
“Real People Providing Real Solutions in a Virtual World™”
http://www.TheVCF.com
P.S. Please Follow TheVCF on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/TheVCF
its a forum for marketing, lots of people looking for Joint Ventures.
Anyways whenever you enter into a partnership with someone its always good to work out your relationship beforehand, and then have someone write up a legally binding document for both of you to sign.
Hope you do well!