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Having a partner in business can either make or break your business. If you choose the right one, you and your partner or partners, however the case may be, can take your business to success.
However, on the flip side, if you choose the wrong partner, this could be detrimental to your business, So it’s very important to choose a partner carefully if you're wanting to choose one at all.
A lot of entrepreneurs like to go at it alone and that's just fine, but if you're looking into having a partner help you with your business, this article is for you. Let’s look into 5 things you should consider when choosing a business partner.
Find someone that compliments your experience and expertise
One of the main reasons why most people look for a partner is to help their business grow and be successful. The best way to do that is to get a partner that knows how to do what you don’t. You also want someone that either doesn’t know how to do what you do or isn't as good as you at it. That way you can both take care of different aspects in the business.
One reason why I chose to work with Dana is that he is a lot farther along in his entrepreneurial journey and has developed many skills along the way. Many of those skills are ones I don’t have yet and that made him a great fit as a partner. Having that different expertise makes for a great conversation because when you have two curious people wanting to learn from each other and that are different from each other, you get a great conversation that helps everyone learn, which is great for a podcast.
On the back end, Dana really helps me focus on different things that I wouldn’t have focused on otherwise. I have a tendency to be a perfectionist and he, through experience, has learned that it's more important to get things out there than to work on them forever and they never see the light of day. In a way, I can say that it’s because of him that FIREpreneurship.com is a reality and it's because of his expertise and drive.
Find someone with the same passion
It wouldn’t make much sense to have a partner that isn’t interested in the business or what it stands for. In my case, it would be very hard to have a conversation on a semi-weekly basis on topics around entrepreneurship with someone that isn't interested in entrepreneurship and has nothing to contribute to the conversation. I can imagine it now; It would just be a “conversation”, if you can call it that, with a lot of me talking and the other person saying things like, “that’s interesting” or just a bunch of filler words and phrases to show they are “listening”.
However, Dana and I have had conversations about entrepreneurship for years. Ever since I can remember, actually. Because of this, I knew Dana would be great to do a podcast with since we have such a great time talking about entrepreneurship and because it's easy to talk about it with him. We have been able to talk about some really valuable things that we'd love to share with the world and learn together. This is another thing that makes our partnership work out well.
Find someone that has more experience and knowledge than you do
Dana has 36 years of experience starting and then running his company, Turf Plus. He has a lot of valuable knowledge to bring to the table. He's also in a position in life that goes right along with FIREpreneurship.com and it’s mission. Dana has created a business that has helped him live the life he dreamed of living.
A great benefit to having someone that knows more and has more experience is that you can learn a lot from them and, in the case of a podcast, your audience gets to learn a lot while you learn. That's a great advantage to add to your content.
I have consumed content that has had the dynamic of having someone that has “been there, done that” and someone that is going through the same thing as the audience. This is a great way to combat the concern a lot of content consumers have of someone speaking “from on high” and the content not being very relatable. When you have someone going through the same journey with the audience, they begin to feel like it is achievable and they can see the process in action right before them instead of listening to someone talking about how it was for them.
Find someone that is just as passionate or even more about your business than you
How would it be to tune into a podcast and hear someone talking about the given topic in a monotone voice and with no enthusiasm? How would it be to watch such a video or read a blog like that? Not fun at all.
In order for your content to go viral it must be educational, aspirational and entertaining. All of these elements need to be present if you want your content to succeed. The above scenario isn’t entertaining at all. You could create very educational and aspirational content, but if it isn’t entertaining, no one would listen to it long enough to get anything out of it.
One great thing about having a partner that is passionate about your business is they can help you rekindle your passion when you just aren’t feeling it. This happens. You will be able to help them in this regard as well. As Dana mentioned, his partner/brother helped him stay motivated and he did the same for his partner. This is a great sign when it comes to having the right partner.
Find someone you can trust
I saved this one for last because I feel like it is the most important quality to have in a partner. There are way too many cases where partners betrayed each other. It is imperative to partner up with someone that you know you can trust. It is also imperative to be someone that your partner can trust.
A breach in trust is one of the main reasons why partnerships fail. It brings down too many businesses all the time, and no one wants that for their business. Before even mentioning a partnership with someone, make sure you know you can trust them. If you don’t know this yet, take the time to get to know them and ensure that you will be able to trust them.
Conclusion
When looking for a partner, make sure you know what you are getting into. Make sure you know the person you are partnering up with enough to feel comfortable to take the leap. Also, it is important to be the partner you want to have in your business. Make sure you can be trusted, that you are motivated and passionate.
Here at FIREpreneurship.com, we do everything we possibly can to help you trust us. We do this through our content like this blog, our podcast, and our YouTube channel. We also do it by offering unlimited revisions in our content creation services. If you are looking to partner up and take most of the content creation tasks off your plate, you would love to work with us. You can test out any one of our services here. We look forward to working with you!