NFIB

Finding a Compatible Business Partner
02/ 13/ 2004

by Jeffrey Moses

Choosing the right partner can take your company to new heights, but choosing the wrong individuals can result in ongoing disagreements, confusion and lost productivity.

The key to selecting a partner with whom you'll find the greatest chance for success is locating a capable individual who complements your own strengths and weaknesses. Growing a small company requires a wide range of business skills, and it's rare that one individual has the personality makeup and experience to adequately handle everything.

Probably the most common type of successful small-business partnership includes one person who is skilled at and enjoys sales and marketing (i.e., bringing in new customers) while the other person takes responsibility for in-house operations of the business. Marketing is vital to businesses of all sizes, but during a company's start-up phase, marketing can easily consume every hour of the workweek. To assure satisfaction of a growing customer base, even while continuing to bring more customers on board, excellence in production and customer follow-up must be maintained. Having a person dedicated to each of these two aspects of business is the basis for countless success stories.

Friendship alone may not be the best foundation for a business relationship. John D. Rockefeller once said that a friendship based on business partnership is better than a partnership based on friendship. This may be true, but friends or relatives have founded many successful companies. When taking this route, it's important not to overlook the practical aspects of business that need to be satisfied within a partnership: the blending of skills, experience, likes and dislikes, and mutual respect.

However, there's more to a great partnership than the division of responsibilities. To achieve lasting success, both individuals must share the same vision. Company goals and mission statements should be agreed upon, and frequent check-ups of goals and methods of achieving goals should be made.

Before you enter into a partnership, make sure that you and your partner see eye-to-eye on the following:

Work ethic: Are both partners willing to work the same long hours, at night occasionally, and even into the weekend when required? If not, there may be personality conflicts.

Issues of integrity: Are both partners on the same page regarding honesty in accounting, production (including warranty work), customer relations and employee relations? If not, severe personality clashes are likely. A single vision among partners regarding integrity may be the single most important aspect of long-term harmony.

Delegating style: It's difficult when one partner feels the need to do everything without delegation, while the other partner insists on widespread sharing of responsibility.

Willingness or unwillingness to take on debt: When partners have different comfort levels about the amount of debt to take on to fuel growth, they must work together to reach a happy medium.

Overall, individuals who have had the chance to work together previously in one way or another form the most compatible partnerships. This allows each person to know what to expect from the other, not only during normal periods of work but also during difficult or even emergency periods. Numerous evaluation techniques are available to help determine levels of business compatibility, complementary skill/experience levels and complementary likes and dislikes. Meet with a business consultant skilled in these evaluation techniques to find out how compatible you and your partner would be.

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us