Have you ever thought of bringing a partner into your business? Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to lean on so all the pressure isn't just on you? Of course, you'd have to share the profits.  So, like everything, there are pros and cons. In this episode of The Land.MBA Podcast, we're going to talk about the reasons for partnering, the prerequisites for making a successful partnership and the potential risks.

You hear a lot of horror stories out there about partnerships, don't you? I’ve done more than just hear those horror stories, I've actually witnessed them.  You start out with all the best intentions and everything is rainbows and unicorns.  But then things start to go horribly wrong. If you look at the rate of failure of small business in the United States, was it the partnership? Or was it the failure of both partners to execute? So I think the truth kind of falls somewhere in between.

There's certain prerequisites that make a good partnership. Before you do something, you have to know why you're doing it.  “Wouldn’t it be fun to work with my friend in the land business,” is not a very good reason.  What you really need is someone that can fill gaps in your knowledge and expertise.  Someone who can make the business much more well rounded.  You need to understand what gaps your partner would fill before they join your team.

There's a lot of value in finding somebody who's not like you.  The problem is that can create a very frustrating experience. And so you have to figure out how you can work together without annoying one another.

This is a relationship. It's not that much different than a spousal relationship. Self awareness is everything. If you want to have a successful partnership, it takes humility. It takes a thick. If you can call each other out without things descending into a screaming match - you may have found the right partner.