I have aligned with good partners over the years through my blog.
Picking good business partners is a skill to hone for peace of mind and increased business.
Never blindly accept any business opportunity that flows to you via a cold pitch.
Let's start there.
Never Agree on a Cold Pitch Mindlessly
Entrepreneurs from a specific forum cold pitched me many times over the years. I never agreed to these ventures because their cold pitches did not resonate with me, my business values and my brand.
I observed how little homework they did on me because virtually all pitches had a heavy emphasis on financial gain. I never note money outcomes, preferring to focus on the process of building a blogging business and selling a fun, freeing dream far bigger than money.
Be wary of cold pitches. Go into business with entrepreneurs you built a bond with.
Only Do Business with Trusted People
I only do business with trusted blogging buddies because our resonance, joint vision and detachment on all things money makes doing business a breeze.
Compare this approach to doing business with complete strangers; who are they, why should you trust them and why would you trust a stranger in all things money?
Do business with trusted friends you bonded with over years. Form the foundation of love and harmony. Doing business is easy with loving, abundant friends because money issues causing contention between strangers cause no issues between loving buddies.
Contract or No?
I have never done business with a contract other than an agreement between two trusting friends.
Follow your intuition.
If your business model seems a bit complex you may want to draft a contract. But if you co-create through a simple business and trust your friend implicitly, you will split money based on your agreement with no issues.
Trust your gut. Talk to a lawyer if you need counsel on a more complex revenue sharing model.
Everything went smoothly for me partnership-wise but I am pretty clear of fears and only engage in business with friends I have known for years.
Never Partner if Something Feels off
Does something seem a tiny bit off about a partnership?
Even if you intend to do business with friends, trusting your intuition helps you avoid a business deal guaranteed to head into some strong resistance. Perhaps you would earn steady profits but the time and energy required for getting the venture off the ground would have been better spent in some other capacity.
Choose a business partner if the venture feels like it'd be fun, freeing and enjoyable. Honor your intuition to avoid going into business with someone if a heavy, or confused vibe permeates the proposed deal.
Going into business with someone should feel like a blast. Expect to face some challenges but understand that the journey should feel easy, calming and fun.
Unless you signed a contract, never hesitate to pull the plug if the venture doesn't feel fun to work.
Good points Ryan. I’ve only had to go to court a couple times in nearly twenty years of running a business. One was over a multi-million dollar deal where a few of the key players on the other side changed, and the new people wanted out, but we had already delivered everything that was promised. It’s handy if you have a contract in those scenarios, that one cost us over $20k in legal fees before we agreed on a settlement, and if we hadn’t had a contract it could have been a loss in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In reality, unless you’re talking tens of thousands of dollars or more, it’s probably not worth hiring an attorney though.
Main thing is to make sure things are crystal clear so there aren’t any misunderstandings, and an email can often accomplish that. I don’t recommend doing those completely verbally unless it’s a very minor thing like trading leads or traffic, because memories aren’t very accurate given enough time.
Other thing like you said is when you do business with people you trust, a handshake goes a long way.
Hi Ryan – LOL. I read all this and liked it, but could not believe it was you that wrote it. Usually I can tell your posts from others. I’m looking for new partners now and working on plan to grow further. Thanks for these tips as always!