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Partnering for Profit

Written by: Jeanna Gabellini

Article Overview: Doing almost anything, besides meditating, is easier when you have two or more of the right people. So, why do most people invest by themselves or just with their significant other? They don't know how it easy it can be.

Partnering for Profit

Doing almost anything, besides meditating, is easier when you have two or more of the right people. So, why do most people invest by themselves or just with their significant other? They
don't know how it easy it can be. They've either had a bad
experience with someone in the past, decided that they do everything on their own or they just hadn't thought about it.
Remember that doing it alone is a trap with a self-employed mentality.

I'm going to do my best to not only get you to do a deal with one or more partners, but to make it a complete win-win. If you already do deals with partners, make it your intent to take it to the next level. How good can you stand it?!

Here goes my sales job for you to invest with a partner.

Benefits:

You have help finding more deals and doing the research. Together you can cover more ground in less time.

You get to share the maintenance of the investment. Delegating is the way! If you're really smart, you'll hire assistants and other professionals to handle the details. Your job is to find the opportunities and do the deals.

Having another person to be accountable to and challenging each other to stretch is the best! You'll get motivated to do more or go bigger. A partner depending on you will get you off that couch.

You have more buying power. You get to do bigger deals because you have your money and your partners. You also get to do more deals.

Your partner knows people and has contacts that you don't. More opportunities are available to you.

You also get another perspective. Your partner will have insights that you hadn't thought of. They may also have expertise
in areas that you don't. You'll have the power of two or more
people brainstorming rather than just your brain. Remember
1+1=3. There is power in numbers. Synergy creates magical
results.

Sold?! Okay, now you have to make it work. Like any relationship, it takes a commitment to communication and some up-front planning.

Taking a little time up front to plan what you want the partnership to be like will make the whole process so much easier. Make your wish list of what you desire from being in partnership. What will it give you? What type of person would be a great compliment to you? What are your weaknesses? You can either learn to make them into strengths or get a partner who is really great at the things you are not. I personally don't like attending to details, but my partner does. This is such a relief!

If you already have a partner, it's good to do some checking in with yourself to see if the relationship is still a match to your needs. If not, what do YOU need to shift, say or do to make it better? Constantly redesigning your alliance with your partners will keep all of you expanding.

Things you MUST talk about honestly:

The way you will communicate with each other and how you want to discuss any issues that come up. How will you deal will conflict?

What are your criteria for doing a deal? What is your exit strategy for the investment? What if one of you has a financial crisis? How will you dissolve the partnership if something comes up?

What will each of you be responsible for? What percentage of the load are you willing to handle (with no resentment)? Will it be equal to the percentage of money you invested?

What are you unwilling to tolerate? Each of you needs to set clear boundaries. This means someone will know if they've crossed a boundary long before the other person gets mad.

Will there be agreements regarding other investment opportunities? For instance, you are doing real estate deals together and one of you finds a really good deal. That person decides they want to do the deal alone. Is that okay? Should you have to discuss the opportunity with your partner first?

What needs to be in writing? Even if your partner is a very good friend, writing down all aspects of the partnership and each deal gives each of you clarity. This saves you from future misunderstandings.

What parts of the investing, maintenance, etc. are you unwilling to do? What will be delegated out? What do you need to learn?
What makes your knees shake? What gets you excited? What do you procrastinate on? What do you need support about? What's the best way for your partner to support you? Do you like a kick in the pants or a persistent nudge?

By using the steps above, it's truly easy to have an investing partnership where you have a blast together. You'll create big time profit and passive income. My favorite motto: Win-win or no deal. Remember to never make assumptions about what you think is happening in the mind of your partner. Seek to understand each other by asking questions that give you clarity. The sky is the limit on the results you will create.

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  Self-Coaching Tip: Partner With Your Emotions
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Article Tags: bad experience, brain, couch, insights, magical results, mentality, money, next level, partner benefits, perspective, power in numbers, relationship, sales job, synergy



Related Forum Posts
Which kind of industries are you interested in? - Ecological or E-business or Investment or Finance or Management or Non-Profit or Retailer or others.
More Profit Women! - I really enjoyed the stories of Lisa Shepherd and Julie Mitchell - More Profit women CEOs would be great!
Partnering for the wrong reasons - Well I guess the 2 biggest fears/mistakes are: 1.) Partnering with someone just because you trust them (i.e. a close family member or friend) and more importantly, need his/her money to implement YOUR unique idea. 2.) Giving away too much (in terms of company shares) too soon. For instance, let's say you gave away 50% of your company shares to a friend who was mainly just an investor who paid for more than 70% of the initial startup costs. You do more than 70% of the work, and the company becomes successful and you're able to repay all of your debts. Then going forward, you're stuck doing the majority of the work still, while you investor friend has been repaid in full and sits on his/her laurels because of the initial written agreement didn't require him/her to help out as much. What would you do then?
A ton of Great Women - You might want to profile Teresa Cascioli of LakePort Brewery. She has an amazing story! I met her at at the celebratory luncheon for the Profit/Chatelaine Top 100 Women Business Owners. The Top 100 list is also a great resource for inspirational stories of Women Entrepreneurs.
profit line - I recommended Profit Line to one of my clients and they were not 100% satisfied with the service. Apparently one of the profit line people got a parking ticket while serving my client and then charged them for it. I haven't heard the other side of the story yet but the fact that I recommended them and it didn't work out makes me reluctant to recommend them again.


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