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8 Characteristics of Ideal Business Partners

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:05:04 +0000

"When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends." Japanese Proverb

After you have made a concentrated effort to understand as to who you are, you are now ready to go out there and start looking for the right individuals to partner with. This is a critical stage which will have a substantial impact on achieving your goals. Over the years I have either started or joined many business teams. There is a mental checklist which I run through when meeting my prospective team mates for the first time. This check list is made up from my own past experiences and also Jim Collins view on who "The Right People" (courtesy www.jimcollins.com) are.

1. The person must share the core values of the business or organization. These are the values which determine how the organization interacts, communicates and operates to reach it goals and objectives. For example there was a charity project for protecting the environment I was part of during my university days. There was a sales and marketing director who didn’t share the fundamental core value of compassion. He was in fact looking to profit from the project. Needless to say he didn’t last very long in the team. This just goes to show how important it is for you to probe and ask whether your prospective team mates core values are aligned to ensure that you are all on the same page and headed for the same goal.

2. The person should not need to be "managed". When building your core team you need to find those individuals who are confident in their own abilities. If you are the more experienced partner then most definitely you will provide some guidance along the way. However if you are find yourself molding the individual into what you deem are the right behaviors then you have probably made a mistake during selection. These types of individuals who require constant support are draining and slowly become huge speed bumps for the organization. Make sure you select those individuals who have shown a capacity to operate on their own and have been successful at doing so.

3. The passion to become the best at what they do. There was a IT company which I was a part of a couple of years ago which was developing inventory management systems for the paper industry. Being a startup company we were naturally bootstrapping and couldn’t hire the best developers. However when filling a key role for project management lead for the team we selected an individual who had shown great potential during his university days and had great passion for his line of work. It worked out really well and the team flourished. So when you are making a key decision and may be limited by budget or geographic boundaries do your best to fill the seat with the person who has show the potential and willingness to be one of the best in that field.

4. Understand the difference between a job and holding a responsibility. This tip has helped me greatly in making some key decisions in recruiting partners. Say you are going to be hiring a developer for a new website to collect feedback for your product. You get the best coder in town to make it for you. He does what you asked for but users are frustrated because the website is difficult to navigate through or impossible to submit feedback easily. I know I have been in this spot many times. This is when you got someone who doesn’t know the difference. A coder who takes responsibility to make sure that users will be able to submit their feedback easily and quickly would have approached the project differently. So make sure when you are getting a partner who understands the bigger picture and is in line with it.

5. Would you hire the person if it were a hiring decision? This question allows you to look at the person from a different angle. Given that you know a substantial amount of the person would you hire him/her? When I get to meet people outside the workplace say at my squash game or at a charity that I volunteer at, you get to know a lot about the individual. When I ask myself this question when thinking about asking him/her to become a partner with me in a project it puts things into perspective. You begin to look at the individual impartially and can reach a more informed decision.

6. Does the person have a regard for rules, regulations and personal boundaries? I have learned this lesson the hard way as well. I came across what you call a super star performer. He excelled at a lot of the businesses he had been at. So if it were a hiring decision it would have been an easy one. However after working with him for a while I realized he had the sense that he was above any level of authority and did things which were ethically questionable when securing contracts and sales. We started to get complaints about his attitude from staff and customers and had to part ways. So when you meet a person make sure you get a sense of what his point of view regarding regulations and boundaries are even though everything else may look to be in place.

7. Professes a commitment to goals. When you are going into business you are looking for people who share similar levels of commitment as you do to the project. If you don’t pay attention to this aspect you will find yourself in an imbalanced partnership which could result in permanently jeopardizing your project. When evaluating prospective partners look at their past history and whether they were committed to the last projects they were on. Ask them about some of the big decisions they have had to make. Lastly if you are planning to take him/her on as a partner make them commit to particular goals and objectives and use them as benchmarks when performance will be appraised.

8. Integrity. This is probably the most critical yet most elusive quality to immediately identify. A person who has a high level of integrity will be one which will you can rely on and grow a successful business with. To be a good of judge of this characteristic however will take time and experience. I take Jack Welch’s advice here that if your "gut" feeling about someone is bad or you don’t get the correct vibes then it is best to go with that first presumption unless you are shown to believe otherwise.

By running through this checklist I have been able to select business partners with a lot more subjectivity. I hope this list helps out anyone who is looking to start up a new project. At the same time if you or anyone else has any key characteristics that they would like to share please do so in the comment section.

IS IT WISE TO HAVE A BUSINESS PARTNER?

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:57:21 +0000

Having a business partner, while not essential, can often be a very wise decision. With two (or more) people heading up a company, both bringing different areas of expertise, they have the capacity to do twice as much for the business and can make it even more successful than each could do individually.

A business partner can be a huge advantage to a company. This is truer still if your partner knows a lot about the market already. If you’ve got two people there with an advanced knowledge of business and how to go about it, a company can be hugely successful.

They’re always on hand to offer advice and support, and to help make tough decisions. It can often be encouraging to know that you’ve got someone there with you at every step of the way. Business can often be trying, so if you know someone else is going through the same thing and you’re there to support each other, it can make a huge difference.

A business partner can also bring more money to the company, so you have a better chance of succeeding straight away. With two people investing you’ve got much more capital to get started, so could find the early stages a whole lot easier.

However, make sure that you and your potential business partner get along, and you’re sure that your friendship can withstand the tests of sharing a company. While you may be firm friends in home life, business can be a completely different ball game.

If you don’t both have the same idea of the company and where it’s going, or you don’t agree with the decisions that each other makes, it can seriously damage not only your business but your friendship as well. Make sure you thoroughly consider all the options before you jump into a partnership.

So, if you make the right decisions, having a business partner can be hugely beneficial. They’re there to provide support, and when times get tough you’ve got someone you trust to lean on. If you choose the right person, it can lead to the ultimate success of your business.

Joel Christopher’s Tips in Looking for a Business Partner

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:01:43 +0000

Looking for a business partner can be quite a challenging aspect of building your business. Especially when you are concocting major business deals, you need to be able to have the scrutiny in looking for a business partner as you would a lifetime partner.

In the Internet marketing business, connections are everything. Establishing the right business ventures and transactions with the right people is very contributory to the success of your business. So what are the elements of a good partnership?

Rapport

You don’t necessarily have to know each other’s favorite color, but you must be able to get along with each other on a personal level. The best business ventures are those where you can be both professional and comfortable at the same time.

While transacting and doing business with a long time friend can sometimes be a disadvantage because of the risks of overfamiliarity, doing business with a person means you must still like him or her at a certain degree.

Credibility

Credibility is important. If you are working with a business partner, he or she must inherently be able to deliver what he promised and not flake on his or her end of the bargain. Credibility is not measured in one’s qualifications, but more on the previous transactions made with other previous business partners.

It might do you a lot of good to research or get a background checks for good measure. We hate to make up a suspicious vibe, but at least we must be free of scammers, who are just as willing to swindle people into getting money the easy way.

Mutual Trust and Respect

You must be able to respect your business partner, and vice versa. The mutual trust and respect fosters the best of the synergizing of your marketing capabilities. You cannot expect to earn much from people you do not trust, and in the same way, you cannot expect the best from someone who does not really trust and respect you.

Common Ground or Business Visions

Also, when you are looking for a business partner in one or more of your ventures, you must have some common ground by which you will work, common standards at some degree and if at all possible, the same wavelength of business visions.

This is something you can find from people who are working for the same target market and working within the same area you are working on. You will definitely find things to be pretty rewarding and less contrasting if you have something in your businesses which you can find to be in common.

The Win-Win Factor

Ultimately, the best business ventures are those where both parties win. You must find a business partner who will want you to flourish as much as he or she will flourish and work together to cooperate and not to compete for the income.

This win-win situation will not only boost you and your partner’s business, but it will also make you establish good business relations which can be a start for more equally rewarding business ventures in the future.