What is a good test for finding Business Partners?

Hello Solana:

Find someone with a complimentary personality–just like you would in a romantic relationship.

If you’ve noticed that advice on picking a partner sounds an awful lot like relationship advice, you’re right; finding a business partner is a lot like finding a romantic partner. You need different personalities, but also have to be able to completely get along. It’s sort of like a marriage.  If I married a woman like myself, we’d be completely reckless and the house would never be clean. My wife balances that side of me and it’s the same thing with my business partner.

Why does this balance matter in business? For the same reasons it matters in a romantic relationship—complementary personalities help balance each other. My business partner balances some of the risks that I want to take with logic but at the same time, I balance some of the ideas that may be too techy for our users. He works well by himself and my personality allows us to manage a team, so collectively we make a great team.

Choose a partner you can trust.

A good partner is basically about finding someone you can trust—and that is not always easy. My current partner is my brother, and it truly is the easiest partnership I have ever been involved with as there is much less acrimony, disputes, or conflicts that often seemed to be the case with my prior partners.

This is one area where having a past history isn’t a negative; siblings, family members, and friends are often the people we trust the most. As trust is such an integral part of the business relationship, friends and family can make excellent business partners for this reason.

If your business partner is someone you have more recently met and perhaps share less history with, be sure to determine as soon as possible if they are trustworthy. It sounds obvious, but if you have any reservations about the trustworthiness of your potential partner, don’t ignore them—it may save you trouble in the long run.

Remember how I said finding a business partner is a lot like finding a romantic partner? Well, it is—but there’s one important aspect that the two relationships should not have in common.

Have an honest conversation with your potential partner about the status of the relationship and any potential romantic involvement, especially if the partner is a friend or someone you share history with.

If you’ve always had a thing for your best friend but you never told them, now is the time to discuss. Any surprises in that route of relationship matters can be lethal to the business.

Once things get awkward, it will be very difficult to stay professional at that point without letting personal emotions come into play. The friendship can suffer and so will the business. A startup takes long hours and hard work to make it successful, so you and your business partner/best friend will have to spend a lot of time together.

Pick a partner who is hungry to succeed.

You want a partner who is as passionate about the business as you are, so seek out individuals who share your commitment and your drive. Look for someone who is involved with their craft outside of regular business hours. If you are looking for a good developer, attend local meetups within the coding community.

Why does this matter? Because if they are spending their own free time to attend these meetups, they are passionate about what they do, and it will reflect in their work,.

Your potential partner should be as hungry to succeed as you are!

He adds that this drive for success will also help establish equality in the relationship. If one person has all the money and the other has all the expertise, there can be bitterness. If you’re both struggling and you both put everything you have on the table, you’re going to work equally as hard to be successful. You’re both going to get the same rewards and go through the same triumphs.

Consider a partner in a different field.

While it might be tempting to look for partners who know your industry as well as you do, a business partner doesn’t need to have the same skill set, training, and experience. In fact, it’s a good idea to look for a partner who brings a different viewpoint and work history to the table.

Partnering with someone who has a different background and skill set can help both you and your business partner, as you may be able to leverage your differing strengths and weaknesses.

Know your strengths and weaknesses so you can choose a business partner to fill in where you fall short. It works even better with someone who is different from you so that you can get a perspective of things you never think of.

Not only will this lend your business a fresh perspective, but it can also eliminate squabbles. If you and your partner both have expertise in public relations, you’re always going to be arguing over who is right and who is wrong; I’m a marketing guy and my co-founder is a developer, so I don’t question his stuff and he doesn’t question my stuff, mainly because we don’t really know what the other person does. It works out great that way. Having a business partner can help lead a business to greatness, but don’t feel the pressure to rush into anything.

Worse than not having someone to partner with would be choosing a business partner with different goals, a work style that doesn’t mesh with your own, or a personality that clashes with yours.

 To other entrepreneurs, I would recommend that they find someone that has as much passion as they do in their business.

Being an entrepreneur is hard, there are long days, and it can be lonely at times. Having a great co-founder will help them get through these hard times.

It will only work if both people have a passion for the business and truly believe in what they are doing.

You can put an ad in your local paper asking for an entrepreneur who may be interested in your business. at times larger colleges have people looking to work with a startup company.

It is also good to have a mentor to guide you through your startup steps.

I hope this helps you.