Seven Steps to a Solid Business Partnership
BNET.com
By Jonathan Haeber

February 11th, 2008 @ 2:05 pm

Today, there were two big partnerships that hit the news. AT&T was teaming up with Starbucks to offer free wireless Internet. Did you just get a sense of Deja Vu? Probably because BNET1 reported on a similar revelation from AT&T a few weeks ago. The second piece that hit the news was Netflix’s choice of HD format. Not surprisingly, Netflix went with the clear champion, BluRay, which is another stab in the heart for our old friend, HD-DVD.

These are big partnerships, but what if you’re small fries compared to Netflix and AT&T. Well, there’s still much to be gleaned from these mergers of opportunity. Here are the top seven secrets to building a successful business partnership, from Jobacle.com

1. Similar Values. Diverging skills. Make sure your partnership allows you to draw from the strengths of each of your abilities. Above make sure that you and your partner are ideological equals in your values and aspirations.

2. Fluidity is Key. Be ready to take up something that isn’t part of your M.O. You might be surprised at effective you can be at something new.

3. Let it all Out. Withholding secrets or grudges even, won’t make things any better in a successful business partnership. Make sure you can be honest — even brutally honest — at all times.

4. Write it all Down. Probably one of the biggest mistakes of a business partnership is not clearly laying out the terms and conditions before-hand. As a business grows, the complications will increase, but if things are clear from the start, then there should be no issue as the business evolves.

5. Disagree. Take the cue of the defense attorney. Object when at all possible. Disagree when you don’t believe in how something is being done.

6. Let the world Know. The AT&T/Starbucks and Netflix/BluRay agreements are hot topics in the news. You can bet a silver dollar that they’re in the news because of good PR and effective message delivery.

7. Share Knowledge. Teach your partner what you’ve learned and demand the same from your partner. A good partnership always shares strategy and advice.