One of the topics I stress numerous times in The Business Manual is the perils of partnerships. As humans, we all have the basic emotional need for support and a partnership is the natural way to get that. On the surface, partnerships can also offer practical skills and resources that can complement what we are lacking.

The difficulty in partnerships also generally comes from the emotional side, firstly if we rush into them, and secondly when disagreements or incompatible goals surface. Then what happens? Even 50% of marriages end in divorce and those are surely the strongest partnerships in our lives, so what are the chances for business partnerships?

A friend of mine recently sent me a message asking about whether she should partner up with a person to help grow her business. I asked some key questions:

1. Do you have your corporate structure figured out? NO.
2. Do you know the value of your company? NO.
3. Do you know what their goals are? NO.
4. Do you know what their expectations of salary or duties are? NO.
5. Do you need a partner or could they be an employee? …

These are just some of the very basic considerations which she had not though of. The structure of your business and the investment you make in time and money is too valuable to risk going into a partnership without considering the above questions and many more.

Then there’s the issue of legal agreements, shares, structure etc. Long story short, don’t enter a partnership without a lot of research and thinking because the success rates are very low and to do it right takes the specific knowledge and correct setup to make sure it doesn’t end in a messy business divorce, or worse even losing your company.