The desire to choose a partner is often justified by 4 reasons.

  • The first is economic: you want to open your business to one or more other people to strengthen yourself financially.
  • An associate could also bring you an address book or some notoriety. Significant advantages knowing that the network constitutes a powerful lever for the development of a company.
  • He may also have skills useful for the development of your project. Even though versatility is a major quality in entrepreneurship, there are sometimes areas in which we lack personal resources. Finding a complementary person can be useful to extend your field of action.
  • Entrepreneurship is about many choices to be made and decisions to be made. Having someone else to talk to, think about and share ideas with can be reassuring.

These are the 4 main reasons for joining forces: this collaboration must bring added value to the company.

Choose an entrepreneur at heart

This is your first challenge. If your partner has all the qualities to help you, but is unable to cope with the challenges and uncertainties inherent in being a business leader, he will abandon you in the midst of the first storm.

Be sure to choose a real entrepreneur who knows and assumes the risks of carrying a project. He must be familiar with the differences between the status of manager and employee, particularly in terms of job security, professional responsibilities and the pace of work.

Have the same vision

To ensure the success of your project, you must be on the same wavelength on fundamental points such as the future of the activity, the investments to be made, the development strategy, the values ​​of the company …

Important

In the event of a discrepancy, it is essential to puncture the abscess immediately, to verify that a possible compromise is possible. If not, this is not the partner for you.

Complementary skills

Choose a profile that has skills different from yours and that can bring added value to your business. It will always be one less skill to hire and it also allows you to have a much more coherent view of the activity.

Even so, if you fall in love with a candidate with the same skills as you, divide up the tasks to save time and avoid stepping on each other. Let everyone take care of the position in which they excel.

Our advice

Do not hesitate to establish job descriptions (which may change over time) so that everyone can have a precise vision of their missions.

Trust and dialogue

Developing a business is a tough journey, and it’s no secret. To associate is to accept to go through all these trials together, for better or for worse. It is then necessary to make sure that you can have confidence in your partner.

Sometimes it’s natural to orient yourself towards your loved ones, which seems like a comfortable solution. It’s easier to bring people you know into your business, rather than complete strangers. However, not all good relationships can turn into good professional associations: stay alert.

It is customary to thoroughly test the characters, the vision of things and the aspirations of each one before starting: it would be a shame to mar a long-standing relationship in the event of disagreement.

Do a little investigation of the person

Opening the doors of your personal project to a third person is always risky. Make sure you collaborate with a reliable person will propel your project (and not the other way around).

Many entrepreneurs advise working with someone you already know, whom you trust. Whether you’re lucky or not, do your little research on your future partner.

Our advice

Find out about their legal and financial situation, their experience and their reputation in the professional world.