Recently, I’ve been following my own advice and testing a possible business partnership. Through weeks of collaboration, I realized that a business partner had to be these 4 things:

  1. Passionate: It’s very hard to stay motivated when things don’t turn out the way you planned. The last thing you want is to have to manage your partner’s motivation on top of yours.
  2. Mature: There will be plenty of disagreements along the way. Does your partner have the maturity to always do what’s best for the business and the relationship?
  3. Complementary: There’s too much to do to be competing over tasks. It may be fun at first to always work together but, your partner should be focused on doing what he does best. And you, what you do best.
  4. Talented: Talent and skills OR potential (great potential can also do the trick); you need to understand how your partners will grow. Will they make great partners or just very good employees (Octavian Mihai).

Finding the right partner is very difficult but, a great partner-fit is often worth more than a great business idea. Protect your partnership as you protect your business.

Discussion: What would you look for in a business partner?

Photo Credit: Hillary Manuel