Ah, Valentine’s Day…

Think about the last time you met a romantic partner. You heart started beating a little bit faster, your mouth went dry and there were butterflies in your tummy.

 

 

That’s pretty much the exact opposite of the way you should feel when trying to pick the right business partner. After all, this is business, not pleasure.

However, there are certain aspects of forming a business partnership that do reflect the romantic kind (there’s just a lot less cuddling). Here are five quick tips for finding the perfect person to join you on the journey.

 

 

1. Actually, passion is important!

 

Not for each other, but for your product. It is absolutely essential that anyone looking to invest in a business has a deep understanding of why people are passionate about the product.

It’s even better when they have their own emotional response to what the business is trying to acheive. After all, who doesn’t want to hear someone they respect and trust say, “I love it!”?

 

 

2. Play to your weaknesses

 

You might have started the business and have a very deep understanding of how to develop a product through the supply chain and get it to the retailer… but what do you know about marketing?

Be true to yourself and identify where your business most needs help. Is it accounting? HR? Logistics? Be sure that your prospective business partner is going to be complimentary to your skills rather than reflecting them.

 

 

3. Communicate with each other

 

Unsurprisingly, poor communication is often the reason for a business partnership breaking down. Sound familiar?

A lot of business communication is done via email and, on plenty of occasions, business partners with competing priorities are kept in the loop via ‘CC’. However, to properly manage your business partnerships, be sure to have a chat on the phone every couple of weeks, and catch up for a coffee or a drink when it’s convenient.

It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but will ensure that all of those who are risking investments feel reassured and have an opportunity to offer input.

 

 

4. Admit fault

 

Another lesson torn from the pages of every book on marriage ever written ever. Again, much like love, it’s important to recognise that you have made a mistake, and that the fault lies fairly at your feet.

While this may not fix the resulting problem, it odes remove tensions between the parties and allow everyone to work together to find the right solution. A team is more than the sum of its parts and, like any other union, there is strength is working together

 

 

5. Sign a prenup Put everything in writing

 

In business, it is essential to understand where the various roles and responsibilities lie – and the only way to do this is to write down exactly what the expectations and obligations are for each of the parties, circulate for comment and then confirm.

Should things go bad – and they do for most businesses – the last thing you’ll need is a shouting match and a bout of blame-laying while everyone wants to keep custody of the kids. Or something. But you get the point, right?