The Future Of Partnering

Partnering between home-based businesses is a natural result of corporate downsizing. Many professionals who have left large companies and started home-based businesses are successful and don’t want to return to the corporate world, but they recognize the need for and benefit of alliances.

Partnering will continue to gain respect and recognition among home-based entrepreneurs seeking top talent for short and long-term business needs. Across the scope of business today, joint-venturing is in. When it comes to partnering, the home-based business has an advantage in flexibility, overhead structure and unique sources of talent. In other words, getting together to combine the best of talents, the best of direction and the best of enthusiasm is a win-win situation, period.

A couple of examples would be: you partnering with real estate agents, and brokers in regards to lease purchasing; or to use a specific company for inspections or clean up of the property. Or contracting with a web designer to design pages for your clients.

Tips for Effective Partnering

Choose your partners carefully. Be sure they have the skills and abilities you need, and share your level of commitment. Define the scope of the partnership. Are you working on an equal basis, or will one of you function as the managing partner? What roles will each partner play? How will the compensation be calculated and distributed?

Put it in writing. A detailed, well-crafted partnership agreement prevents misunderstandings, memory lapses and future conflicts. Develop and stick to an operations plan. How will the work actually happen? How and when will the partners interact?

Plan for the unexpected. How do you plan to handle problems and resolve conflicts? If a partner wants to dissolve the agreement, who ends up with what?

Set a minimum “no exit” time period. New ventures take time to become productive. Make a mutual commitment to stick with the partnership long enough to give it a chance to prove itself.

So, who do you want to partner with?