Sole proprietorship sounds appealing, but a partnership is even better.You could raise more capital and – theoretically at least – you can have someone who’ll help you out in the management of your business.
That is, if you’re able to pick the ideal partner to enter into a venture with. It’s not enough to just know the person professionally. There’s more to just knowing a person’s financial and technical capabilities when choosing an individual who will become your business partner for as long as your enterprise exists.
Here are some criteria to bear in mind when selecting a business partner.
Know their Lifestyles
It’s nearly impossible to separate your personal lifestyle from that you pursue as a businessman. It goes without saying that a person’s spending habits could very well spill into how he or she manages the funds of the business. As partners, both of you have a say over how the money is spent.
So, to avoid conflicts in the future, you’d do well to see what kind of lifestyle your potential partner is leading. If it’s made up of too much parties and less of work, you might as well say “No” early on. Not only will that partner be unreliable when it comes to financial management, they might end up dumping all the management tasks on you!
Find Out What Their Management Styles Are
A partner may be a good manager, but not all management styles blend together in harmony. Your outlook towards human resource management, for instance, may not be similar to how your potential partner views the same topic. This can lead to a lot of disagreements in the future, and could affect morale in your company so you might want to see first how they do stuff and gauge whether or not the two of you can work on a compromise.
See if the Partner Can Fill Up For Your Weaknesses
Each person has strengths and weaknesses. In partnerships, whether interpersonal or business, it’s important to find someone to work with who can have your back when it comes to your weaknesses. For instance, if you’re not good at marketing but good at HR management, it’s best to find somebody who’ll handle the Marketing Department for you.
If you manage to find the right person, you’ll be able to share the burden of managing the company. Your complementing strengths and weaknesses can result into a stronger foundation that you can work on strengthening further in terms of revenues and profits.
Remember that entering into a business partnership is more than just starting a new relationship. There is the legal aspect involved.It’s best to find somebody who can really help you out so you don’t have to go through the various legal hurdles that you will go through otherwise if the partnership falls through.
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