Few business models are meant for partnership. A good team consists of a board of directors who are experts in their field, employees, researchers, and analysts.
But when a problem arises, you cannot hand over your business to a stranger. Better yet, assign a trusted employee or look for a reliable partner.
Your partner could be a friend, an acquaintance, or an expert in your industry. But the problem is, you don’t know what constitutes a good partner.
The following are the top 6 qualities you must look for in a great business partner.
Character
Is the person good enough as a long-term business partner? Is he sensible, reasonable, and honest enough? Does he have a history of making the right business decisions?
All these questions come under the ambit of character. Rank your prospective partner on a scale of 0 to 10, with the highest being the most honest.
Trust
Trust is a key element in business. You cannot make a stranger your partner and hand over him the contract.
Categorize trust into three branches: the lowest starts from strangers, friends, and then your running mate. You could put the score to yourself.
Work ethics
The third quality to judge is work ethics. Scale the person on whether he is a 459 club type, meaning that he spends more time at clubs than at work, or he only does the job assigned to him and leaves or is obsessive, non-stop, and work driven.
Take the other two qualities discussed before and compare them with the third one. He can be of good character, is honest but lacks the passion for hard work. Hence, he is not a good choice. But even if he has good character, is reasonable, and good at his job, he still cannot be considered a good option.
Vision
A vision is a vivid mental image of what you want your business to be in the future, based on your goals and aspirations. You have to figure out at what number does he stands. You cannot go a long way if he is a hater.
Also, you can’t hand over the business if he is doubtful about strategies. What makes him good is the way of thinking and belief. You have got a good option if he possesses all the top four qualities. But wait, there is more to it.
Competency
Identifying proficiency could be a great challenge because of several competency levels. A person can be an amateur, experienced, or an expert. If a person has all four qualities but is an amateur, he can never value the company. On the other hand, if a person is an expert yet a liar, you cannot choose him for business. Therefore, pick wisely so that it doesn’t cost your business.
Contacts
Having good contacts is yet another perk of a competent business partner. Look for his contacts; is it local, regional, or global, and then make a choice. People with an international connection can boost your business in less time than the ones with local.
The Most Essential Quality
After judging a person over scale, you will know who is best for business. Imagine a person is your boss, and he has all the qualities a good partner must have, except trustworthiness. What will you do? Or, a person is not trustworthy yet has international contacts that can add up to your business. Hard decision to make, right?
Well, this leads to the essential quality when it comes to prioritizing; trust. If a person you can’t trust is your superior, you can’t do anything about it. If he is your co-workers and not trustworthy, you still have the edge over him because you’re not accountable to him. Third, you are good to go if he directly reports to you and has some control over him.
While concluding, place all the persons you are working with on this scale to determine the best. Give each one of them a score out of 60. Closer to 60 means he is somebody good you are dealing with above 60 standards best. And he is certainly not the right choice if he falls below 50.
Do the same with the amount of trust you have in them. Write down the ones who are superior to you and throw their score. Repeat it with your colleagues and people directly reporting to you. Work with the people who are willing to work as a team. Categorize each quality, and it will make it easier to find the right business partner for you.
