Give your partnership the best chance at success

Are you looking to start a business here in New Jersey? You may not have everything you need in order to make your business a success. You know that something is missing, but you aren’t sure what it is.

Then you realize that what you need is a partner, but you know that you can’t choose just anyone to go on this adventure with you.

Choosing the right partner

In order to give your business the best chance at succeeding, you may want to consider the following when trying to determine the best person with whom to begin a partnership:

• Do you and the other person share a similar vision regarding the future of your venture?
• Do you and the other person share the same standards and beliefs?
• Are your core values in alignment?
• Do each of you make communication a priority?
• Do your strengths compliment your potential partner’s and vice versa?
• Are you willing to have uncomfortable and possibly difficult conversations for the greater good?
• Are you willing to sit down periodically to assess how things are going, what improvements the business needs and whether any changes to the business plan are appropriate?

The answers to these questions should reveal whether you are making the right choice. If you have serious doubts about whether the arrangement would work, you may need to revisit your decision.

Taking care of the legalities

Once you enter into a partnership with the person of your choice, you need to memorialize your relationship and agreements into a written legal document. Your partnership agreement outlines issues such as the splitting of profits, duties and liabilities. You may also cover issues such as who will handle what daily operations of the business, among other things. It isn’t enough to simply shake on the deal. You need to protect your rights as well.

You may get along now and believe that you will continue to do so in the future, but why leave anything to chance? It could provide both of you with some peace of mind that you are truly on the same page when it comes to certain aspects of the partnership, including under what circumstances it may terminate. What happens to the business if one of you wants to leave or if you want to bring someone else into the fold?

All of these issues require careful consideration in order to help your business grow and thrive.