5 Things You Should Find Out About Your Business Partner

Working with a business partner can be a stressful experience fraught with risk. While you may not want to take them out to dinner to for a potentially awkward chat about their past, their future and their beliefs, this sort of information is vitally important to your professional relationship and the future of your business. If you aren’t quite sure what you need to discover about them to facilitate a successful partnership, take the opportunity to read through the following list of useful topics to consider.

1. What is their motivation?

Why are they in this? If you aren’t sure what is in it for your partner, perhaps this is an area you need to explore more thoroughly. It’s important not to let your ego run wild either: unless you have been in the industry for many, many years and you possess a wealth of knowledge far above that of your partner, chances are they are in this collaborate not to learn from you.

2. What is Their Financial Situation?

If you are feeling a bit uncertain of their motivation and are uncomfortable asking directly, knowing their financial situation may put you at ease (or instead sound vital warning bells). Check the reports from any other ventures they are involved in using software that lets you do a company search and an ASIC search. Find out more about specialist business software and online solutions from companies like GlobalX Legal Solutions at this URL

3. What beliefs influence their methods?

Depending on the industry you are in, you may find that possible conflicts of interests or beliefs arise throughout the course of business. For example, if one partner is big on authenticity and the other a dedicated vegan, you could run into trouble with leather or fur. Explore relevant personal beliefs before they arise to identify any issues and prevent them from becoming a major stumbling block.

4. What are their expectations?

Does your partner expect you be the doer while they come up with all the ideas? Do they expect you to respond to every email within one day? If you haven’t already had this conversation, drop everything and go have it right now: these details are critical to the success of the partnership and to the happiness of both parties.

5. How committed are they?

If this is a weekend project for your business partner but a full-time, stake-your-house-on-it venture for you, you may need to take a step back and look at the relationship. It is also possible that you might be the one who is less committed to the venture. In either scenario, it is better if you both have a similar level of passion and drive. A partner who isn’t invested in the business might get lazy or careless, or simply prioritise activities outside the business and leave your partnership to wither.

A business partner in some ways should be like a partner in a personal relationship: you need to be on equal ground and share similar beliefs. By arming yourself with the above information, you can take appropriate action. If everything is going well and you are a good match, then great! But if there are differences in opinion or expectations, it is time to make some plans or opt out of the partnership altogether.