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Partners
Partners
As an entrepreneur it is very important and often crucial to work with partners. Working with the right alliances can give you extra strength, in the sense that it can help you with market penetration and specialisms you don't have as well as perceived value to the outside world.
You will have partners at all levels, but for all of them goes that you have to understand and consider carefully who your partner is, what is driving them and how he/she may fit in with the culture of your company. Both parties should regard the collaboration as a two-way street - designed to bring added value to both.
If you attract a new employee - you do so via a number of interviews, you check references and talk to people to get a feel for the person - so why wouldn't you do the same with an important new partner? Do your Due Diligence, talk to the management team and find out if they really fit in with you. What you never want to experience is that a partner drops you suddenly when facing hard times.
Money, in many cases, is the largest motivator to start a new relationship. Lowest price, highest margin etc. are often a considerable factor - but in my view an even bigger factor should be Loyalty. You start a partnership for the long term - and you should be able to expect that a partner invests in the relationship in the same way you do - be it with money or effort or both.
E.Factor has just closed an important new partnership in Silicon Valley - who can help E.Factor gear up to the next level. So this is a key example of an alliance that has to be based on interpersonal relationships, trust, loyalty and transparency, otherwise it will never work.
It has taken 3 months of mutual preparation in order to get to the point of starting the partnership with a lot of exchanges of information, meetings and conversations. That is the best way to figure out whether this is the partner for you.
In addition you can/should do all of the following:
- check out your partner on the internet
- talk to their clients and old customers
- make sure you understand the objectives and goals of your partner
- exchange your expectations, be open and upfront about yours and listen to theirs
- keep an open dialog and signal early if you see issues arising or expect problems or major changes.
A partnership can determine the future of your company. Treat it with respect and care - and view it as a two-way street.
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Edited: Oct 7th, 2009
Comments
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- Oct 7th, 2009
Bill Evans
Congratulations !! I would add that the success with the partnership will depend on how well it benefits us, your members. From my perspective and experience an ingredient for success is in the "like a marriage" analogy. If you can sit down and talk with your partners about things other than business and actually appreciate their ideas and enjoy their company the parnership should flourish. Bill Evans -
- Oct 7th, 2009
Scott Zheng
Agree with your blog's suggestion, Now at deep night,3:00 when i was disturbed by the delay delivery of goods when i had promissed my customer. Just our accessories factory(sublimation printing) make the wrong cut, in order to make our good perfectly just request redesign them.One points affect the whole things. We had promissed our word, but now hard to carry out. Throught above things. Making ones things beautifully need depend on organization(all feature affect the whole thing). Like clothes: printing, embroidery,fabric, craft, risk of car freight(may be accident), clearing customer, risk by sea, If done the FOB, we need afford those risk so that our customer can get the satisfactory good. If one make the wrong, can give the tragedy on the good. So Loyalty and trust is more important than others like price. Maybe customer want to pursuit the high profit for buing the goods at bottom price, which is not wise. Sometime We only refuse who want to 1.2USD for T-SHIRT, envn if we also can do, but the quality is not permitt to enter to Waltmart. Thank you for adrie to show us so value opinion.