Successful Partnerships start with identifying the strengths of each partner!

Building Successful Partnerships and or Joint Venture Partnerships is a Wonderful Arrangement if you Understand its Merits and Faults. I’ve done hundreds of JV partnerships over 30 years. While I have taught our Fast Track Students the “art” of successful joint venture partnerships, here is just a short introduction.

Start off your partnership on the right foot. Let’s take a quick look:

Set clear expectations. You should have a strong agreement with the business partner by hammering out the details of that partnership as it needs to be more technical than emotional.

• Consider your partner a part of your team.
• Give the partnership room to grow.
• Make honesty and transparency your watchwords.

Use these tips to create meaningful partnerships.

Each partner must have clear roles, responsibilities and authority: Someone needs to run the business day-to-day. If it’s one partner that is fine. If both have day to day duties you must CLEARLY DEFINE THEM. Remember that word ”CLEARLY” and that means IN WRITING.

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses. What are you good at?
• Discuss your short and long-term goals upfront. Make sure you both understand it.
• Define your roles explicitly. This is Paramount!
• Communicate regularly. Absolutely Essential!
• Remember that no one likes surprises. ie:
  • “I thought we said….bla bla ba”
  • “I don’t remember saying that”
  • “Didn’t we say you were going to put any extra money in”
• ****The List Goes On and On. Believe Me!*****

Trust is a basic need for a successful partnership. Elite partnerships are made up of people who view each other as necessary equals and show mutual respect for each other’s differences.

Partnerships fail because:

They don’t adequately define their vision, roles and reason for existence beyond simply being a vehicle to make money. Consequently, people often join partnerships for just financial reasons. But if the partners are not compatible to begin with, fiction often occurs. This is another reason not to go partners just for the financial reasons. A bad partnership usually always means no profits or by the time they clear up disputes, the money is eaten up in either holding costs, or worse, lawyer fees!

Top 8 Qualities to Look for in a Business Partner:

• Passion.
• Reliability.
• Compatibility.
• The Ability to Build Strong Relationships.
• Fiscal Responsibility.
• Creativity.
• Open-Mindedness.
• Comfort with Risk.

(Remember, as great as your deal seams, there are none without Potential Risk).

And BEWARE of the ALMIGHTY Saying: ‘THIS IS A SLAM DUNK DEAL!”