A few years back, I helped write a book by the name of Lessons from the Edge: Survival Skills for Starting and Growing a Company, by Jana Matthews and Jeff Dennis. In this book, more than 50 entrepreneurs and business owners offered some very candid stories and insights into how they got their businesses off the ground, survived some calamitous business event, and then picked themselves up and rebuilt their lives -- and often their businesses. As it turned out, partnerships with other people -- good and bad -- had a very high impact on the success (or ultimate failure) of many of these businesses.
Entrepreneurs seek out partners for a variety of reasons. They may have a great idea, but need someone with the cash to back them up. Or they may be great at programming software, but need someone who is business oriented to set up and run a business that can sell the software. Or they just may need someone to share the good times -- and the bad. Whatever the reason for partnering with someone else, like any other relationship, it pays to take your time before making a long-term commitment.
In the book we offered the Top Ten Lessons in Partnerships. Here are the Top Five:
- Know your partner. Screen your partners with more scrutiny than you would a job applicant.
- Match your values and goals carefully. Incompatibility at the beginning of a partnership is likely to get worse over time.
- Be prepared for market shifts. If your partnership isn't flexible enough to respond to changes in the market, you may need to go your separate ways.
- Have an exit strategy from the beginning. Know how you can get out of a partnership. And be prepared to exit if partners start taking sides or if you have conflicting values. Dont be afraid to dissolve it if things go poorly.
- Understand the partnership laws before you sign a partnership agreement. Know your liabilities and responsibilities, as well as your rights.
Pick the right partner, and success may be right around the corner. Pick the wrong partner, and hell may be your next stop.
