Years ago, when Marissa Levin was seeking the right partner to expand her business, a mentor told her that only 50 percent of the partnerships do really pan out. Despite he didn’t city any other statistics, Marissa could figure out the heart of his words. His experiences in building, selling, and investing in dozen of business was enough anecdotal evidence for her to conceive his notion. Thus, she decided to put her dream on hold for a while.
Years after, in 2018, Marissa has collaborated with two different partners from different entities, who are set up for great success. She sought help from successful business personalities and utilized all her good time to learn each lesson of partnerships prior to the collaboration. That helped her to become a successful entrepreneur, also in terms of the partnership.
That being said, in this article, we discuss several unique styles that Marissa has adopted to form a long-lasting strategic partnership in her business.
Finding a partner that believes in what you believe in, and upholds the same business standards is the most critical factor in collaboration. Before the alignment, both the parties should define a strategic vision to ensure mutual success. For this, in-depth discussions and long conversations are essential. Once the partners get along with the conditions and understand how they can leverage the strength of the other, then the foundation is established.
It will be the best collaboration if you find a partner that has different skill sets. Make sure that your partner is not another one of you. We need a partner that thinks and gives the big picture, and ideally well excel in business operations. In short, the partner should fill your gap in needs instead of taking advantage of your weaknesses.
Before making any decision, you need to have a proper plan with SMART goals (specific, achievable, measurable, relevant, and time-based). The goals need to be detailed out into objectives and tactics, and it should deal with the technical, commercial, organizational, and operational activities. Once you start achieving each of your goals, at certain time intervals, you should make sure that these goals are relevant for the time being. If it is not so, change the game.
Once you start operating a business in collaboration with someone else, ensure that both the partners are infusing the same capital. In partnership, one should not weigh the burden of the whole responsibility that is supposed to carry out by both.
To get this strategy on the right track, it is better to pre-determine the percentage split for partners. 50-50 percentage split is the most appropriate proportion agreeable for businesses of all sizes. If the percentage split will be different, one party will be superior to the other.
Thus, try to stand ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with your partner. It can equally value both of you. Also, it will not make one partner feel ‘less.’
