When I first started Netccentric and Nuffnang, I never put much thought into business partners. Ming and I were newly made friends that had the same interest and passion to do something together. So that’s what we did. No shareholder agreement, nothing. Just a verbal agreement between me and him.
In the past 8 years we’ve grown a partnership that just started with 2 of us to a company that has close to 200 employees around the region now. We have gone through lots of ups and downs as partners and I’ve learned that a business partnership is like a marriage. It takes a careful evaluation before going into it and when you’re in it, it takes a lot of work.
I got lucky. I got Ming who I think is the best business partner I or anyone could have. I ask myself, what if I wasn’t so lucky?
So today I sat down to list out the things that I think are important in a business partner and here they are.
1) Integrity
This is the most basic thing that everyone tells you. That you must have a partner you can trust. A partner who won’t cheat you by taking money out of the company for his own personal benefit without your knowledge. It’s a very valid concern because this often happens in so many partnerships. Partners cheating partners.
Ming and I have a belief that as businessmen and entrepreneurs we want to make money but never at the expense of each other or at any of our partners or staff.
The mistake I feel that some people make though is that they consider this the most important reason in the consideration of a business partner. I personally disagree with that. I think the following points are equally as important.
2) Complementing skill sets
The ideal partner is someone who has skills that you don’t or is good in areas that you aren’t in. This doesn’t just apply to particular professional skill sets but also personality.
Ming for example is a big picture person and going into the little details of things isn’t necessarily his strong point but for that part he has me. I am a small picture person so I rely on Ming to see business problems before we face them and I take the role of making sure his vision is well executed.
We cover each others’ weaknesses with our respective strengths.
3) Belief
Belief in your business partner is important. In the good times you gotta have the belief that he contributed as much as you did to the success and deserves the rewards. In bad times, you gotta believe that he isn’t the reason for the failure.
All businesses go through good times and bad times. It’s cyclical. When a business faces a tough time, business partners tend to fight because the stress of the business challenges lead people to doubt each other and point blame.
If you don’t have belief in someone who is about to become your business partner then look somewhere else.
4) Generosity
Generosity among business partners is something we all often overlook. When a company does well, reward everyone generously. Sure perhaps it could be true that someone contributed to the success more than another but a business or company’s success is a sum of all the successes each partner has achieved. So reward generously. Don’t count pennies on who should be paid more, who should get a bigger bonus or who deserves more stock options.
Ming and I have similar compensation schemes but he has some benefits I don’t have and I have some big benefits that he doesn’t have either. We don’t count the pennies among each other. We’re just happy that we’re both well rewarded for our work.
5) Values
Just as similar values are important in a marriage. So are they in a business partnership. There will be many times in the course of business where decisions we make will be very dependent on the values we hold. In doing what we think is right… and not doing what we think is wrong. Fortunately for Ming and I we both were brought up by our parents with a similar set of values. In fact we become each other’s moral compass whenever either of us are temporarily misaligned.
If you don’t have the same values as your partner, then chances are you will have conflicts in decision making.
For example, one of the things we both believe in is giving back to the people who have helped us along the way or the people in need. There were cases in the past where bloggers we knew had health problems which then led to financial problems. We then quietly helped them out. Unfortunately one of those bloggers succumbed to his sickness but I’m glad we helped.
When it comes to charity, there has never been a time when I approach Ming with a cause (or he approaches me) and he said no. Even when we were a startup and didn’t make much money, we found a way to give back some money to charity. This is made easier… because we both share the same values.
6) Loyalty
Again just like a marriage, your business partner is someone that you know must always have your back. It doesn’t matter what people say or what people do, the loyalty of your business partner must be to you. This is important because we live in a very competitive and harsh business world. To the outside world, all business partners and drivers of the business must be united. For any lack of unity among the key drivers of a business will signal a fall of even the greatest companies.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space