PARTNERSHIP RELATIONS IN BUSINESS. From the article Skriptunova E.A.("Studio")

You are determined to start your own business. However, doing this alone is quite scary. It's always easier to find a partner and start together.

This is a completely justified decision. After all, at the first stage it is necessary to make many decisions and it is simply necessary to have the opportunity to consult with someone and discuss the situation. But, as the business develops, such a decision very often results in a number of problems:

• No one takes responsibility for failures. If a business is doing well, the partners are proud of it, but if something goes wrong, each partner tends to blame the other for the failure.
  Two friends organized a company that was engaged in wholesale purchases of fabrics. Both of them were directors, some of the decisions were made jointly, and some were made alone. At first, things went well, the business grew, and after a while the partners had the opportunity to hire several purchasing and sales managers. Since one of the partners was constantly busy with external contacts, representing the company at exhibitions, conducting negotiations, he was constantly busy. Therefore, I often did not participate in interviews with new employees. The decision to hire most of the new staff was made by the second partner. Gradually, the company began to experience difficulties. Sales began to fall. Partners began to blame each other for failures. The first partner accused the second of improper selection of personnel, to which he replied that no one prevented him from participating in interviews. The second partner blamed the first for choosing the wrong exhibitions to participate in and wasting money.
• Each of the partners believes that they are putting more effort into the development of the business, which gradually increases tension and mutual dissatisfaction.
  A new business (a service center for the repair of sewing equipment) was founded by three former colleagues, all of them were engineers. At first they were full of enthusiasm and did everything together. It spontaneously happened that one was involved in finance, accounting and purchasing spare parts, the second was in search of new clients and the actual process of providing services, and the third did a little of everything, helping both the first and the second. They shared all income equally. But gradually the third partner began to appear at work less often - he got married and began to devote more time to his family. At first they treated this with understanding. But gradually his frequent absence began to irritate. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the first partner was tired of dealing with finances; it seemed to him an uninteresting, routine task and, moreover, more labor-intensive and complex. He would also like to provide services to clients. However, the second partner also did not want to deal with finances, and they had already stopped counting on the third.
• Decisions on fundamental issues may be delayed due to disagreement partners with each other, and since the decision should be common, it is often not made at all.
  Two former classmates decided to organize a small atelier. They were both ambitious and determined girls. and enterprising. Problems started immediately. At first, they could not come to a consensus on the assortment of the future studio. One offered to sew business clothes, and the other offered to specialize in the manufacture of car covers. In the end, we decided to sew both. The next dispute arose over the location of the future office rental; each wanted it to be located closer to her home. Fortunately, they managed to find a suitable place approximately in the middle of each person’s place of residence. But the real stumbling block was the name. The friends could not agree. Each one wanted it to be from her name. The story ended with the friends quarreling terribly and abandoning the partnership, although for preparatory A lot of money and six months of time have already been spent on creating the company.
• In the sphere of decision-making, it is also possible that one of the partners makes decisions, and the other cancels them. This leads to conflicts.
  For the first three years, the small bed linen company developed very well. Its founders (husband and wife) held the positions of director and deputy director, respectively. The problems started after the move. Business was going well, and the company moved to a new, more spacious office. Since the premises were purchased, the company incurred large expenses. The director decided to carry out only minor cosmetic repairs and purchase new equipment. The deputy director had a different opinion, but did not argue with her husband. I simply instructed the office manager not to buy equipment, but to order better repairs. The office manager was a woman and approved of this decision. As a result, things almost came to divorce and division of the business.
• Mutual suspicions of partners towards each other gradually accumulate, especially when it comes to finances. Each partner begins to feel like the other is doing something behind his back.
  The two partners started out together as shuttle traders, transporting clothes from Turkey and selling them at the market. Or rather, one partner (man) carried things, and the other (woman) traded them in the market. In the shuttle business, they managed to accumulate a small initial capital, and the partners decided to rent a small space in a new shopping complex and switch to selling domestic clothing; they were very tired of traveling, and consumer preferences began to gradually change. The functions were distributed approximately the same. The man started looking for suppliers, the woman was selling. After some time, it became clear that we needed to hire additional salespeople. Three saleswomen were hired and worked in shifts. A friend was appointed eldest female partner. She found the rest of the sellers. Gradually, both partners withdrew from business, carrying out only periodic monitoring. Relations with suppliers were established, salespeople were working. Since the partners had more free time, they began to think more about their business, which, having started so well, suddenly slowed down in development. Sales remained stagnant, but costs rose. The partners began to suspect each other of fraud. The male partner thought that by reaching an agreement with his girlfriend, his female partner would take part of the proceeds for himself. At the same time, the woman partner suspected the man of spending less money on purchases than he told her and taking the rest for himself. Since each thought that he was being deceived, he, to be on the safe side, actually began to deceive the other. It was impossible to check anything because no records were kept. So gradually the partners literally ruined themselves.
• Partners do not know how much they actually earn, since they do not keep records of either income or expenses. Everyone has the opportunity to take as much as they need from the common cash register. It happens that there is not enough money, but no one can understand where it was spent. Which again leads to mutual suspicions.

Typically, these problems begin to appear gradually and partners do not immediately realize that something is wrong. At first, omissions and vague suspicions appear. Gradually, tension grows and can even result in open conflict and a complete break in relations. We know of cases where one of the partners, having appropriated the common cash register, simply went into hiding.

However, you should not abandon the partnership completely in order to avoid these problems. Still, it’s safer to start your first business together with a partner. But it is necessary to know about the presence of possible dangers in order to mitigate possible consequences. Moreover, preventive measures can be taken in advance to avoid conflicts.

Based on our experience, we have come up with several rules that, if followed, can build constructive partnerships in a new business.

Rule 1. The shares of partners should not be equal (50% and 50%, 33% - 33% - 33%, 25% - 25% - 25% - 25%, etc.)

When a business is built on a parity basis, it is almost impossible to avoid problems associated with decision-making. Decisions will be delayed out of necessity come to complete agreement. Even if in the first stages of business development there is complete agreement among partners and mutual understanding, don't delude yourself. Sooner or later an issue will arise on which the parties will have different opinions. Equal shares at the same time lead to the fact that responsibility for the final result will be scattered, i.e. it actually won't exist.

Rule 2. Principle of unity of command

The second rule follows from the first. If the shares are not equal, then one of the partners has a larger share in the business, and accordingly and greater powers on the one hand, and greater responsibility on the other. Moreover, this principle must be agreed upon in advance. It is necessary to decide who is in charge and who makes the final decision, which is not subject to discussion. And he, accordingly, bears responsibility for this decision.

Rule 3. Distribution of powers, responsibilities, functions.

Partners must immediately agree on the responsibilities of each. Each partner must be assigned in writing the level of his powers and functions. Not all functions are equally interesting; there is a lot of routine in any business. But we can’t do without it. First you need to create a complete list of the functions of the new organization. Next, they need to be assigned to each of the partners so that there is no “pushing” uninteresting or difficult work onto each other, which will prevent a showdown: “why should I do this”? If this is not done right away, then pretty soon you will find that both (or several partners) are doing some of the work, and no one is doing some of the work.

Here is an approximate list of areas for which you need to agree on who will be responsible for them at the first stage of business development, before the corresponding employee is hired for each area:

• Main production process
• Finance and accounting
• Personnel, personnel
• Technical and economic support of activities, procurement of raw materials and materials
• Marketing, sales
• Company development, new directions, developments
• Interaction with the external environment (government agencies, key partners, etc.)

Rule 4. Clear decision-making procedure

At the initial stage of business development, collegial discussions and decision-making on almost all issues are not only possible, but even normal. While the formation of the organization’s value field is underway, positions and opinions on various issues are being developed, such discussions are very useful, they bring people together and form corporate unity. Once values ​​have been agreed upon, discussions on any issue should be gradually reduced to a minimum. As a rule, this needs to be done 3–6 months after the founding of the company, when, on the one hand, certain results have already been achieved, and on the other hand, general enthusiasm begins to gradually decline. If you do not understand in time the need to rebuild work and move to the principle of unity of command and division of powers, then conflicts are inevitable. It is necessary to make decisions collectively only on strategically important issues, and then the final decision always remains with the first person. General current issues are decided by the first person, and the partner responsible for the direction to which the decision relates is responsible for making local decisions.

Rule 5. Maintaining management records from the day the company was founded

To avoid the situation of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” as well as mutual suspicion, it is necessary to keep careful records of both income and expenses from the very beginning. At first, the accounting will be of a homegrown nature, but this is better than not keeping any accounting at all. Both income and expenses need to be analyzed periodically. Find out which clients are more profitable, which services are in great demand, what seasonality exists in business, etc. You also need to evaluate what the new company spends the most money on, whether all expenses are justified, and how expenses can be reduced. It is obvious that profit must be clearly taken into account from the first day of operation of the company and distributed in proportion to shares.

Rule 6. Dispute resolution procedure.

Disagreements among business partners are common. Disagreements in themselves are not as dangerous as attempts to pretend that nothing is happening. The longer you avoid having a frank conversation about controversial issues, the more difficult it will be to start one later. Dissatisfaction and suspicion must not accumulate. It is better to immediately agree that disputes are possible and discuss an acceptable procedure for resolving them. This can be done, for example, in the form of a written analysis of the business development of each partner, carried out, for example, quarterly. Each partner prepares his own vision, analyzes successes and failures, and proposes solutions. Then you can get all the partners together and discuss all the points on which different points of view have emerged. The summary report is prepared by the first person, he also prepares a list of issues requiring general discussion and organizes the discussion.
Time will pass, and sooner or later (in almost 90% of cases), the business is either divided, or one of the partners opens another business and then everyone goes through life independently. Each partner gains experience and it becomes easier, more convenient and more profitable to work alone. But the very first business is usually created on partnership terms. Therefore, it is so important to seriously approach the issues of agreeing on the terms of this partnership, which we discussed in this article.

Lesson 1. Business partners.

I built my business from scratch. In 1993, while graduating from MADI, he took up computer selection of car paint. I didn’t have any connections; my parents were scientists. There was no money either. I rented the premises - a small room in a dilapidated research institute - on the condition that I would pay in two months, as soon as I started earning something. I am against working with relatives, but there was nothing to pay employees, so at first my wife helped me. As soon as I was able to hire a person on a salary, she left. Soon my friend Alexander Gorelov became my business partner, and we are still developing the company together. I don’t doubt for a minute that we could never have achieved what we have achieved on our own. Now Auto Repair Systems is one of the leading suppliers of equipment and materials for car body repairs with branches in almost all major cities of Russia.

We recently completed the construction of a paint and varnish plant in Tver, where we will produce industrial and auto repair materials. It was all designed by Germans and built by Finns. The cost of the project is about 1 billion rubles. When they started construction (this was before the crisis, in 2008), many said: you are crazy, who needs such production in our country, it’s better to build warehouses or a business center. But we didn’t want to stupidly follow the trend. And they made the right decision, although it is too early to draw conclusions. Our first materials - we developed them in close cooperation with the best German specialists, the search for which took many months - will be released early next year.

Several years ago I read the book by management guru Itzhak Adizes “The Ideal Leader”, the main conclusion of which is that there is no such leader. Adizes argues that any successful organization must have four main functions - producing results, administration, entrepreneurship and integration. And if at least one of these components is missing, the company is at risk of disease. So, according to Dr. Adizes, people who can combine all four functions do not exist in nature. It is difficult to be results-oriented, pay attention to detail, have an entrepreneurial spirit, and have people's interests in mind at the same time. I am also sure that ideal people do not exist and the best results can only be achieved in a team, in a team of leaders. And these leaders should not be the same, they should have different competencies! I know what I am not very good at, and I know that my business partner will successfully compensate for these moments. By the way, if you analyze the history of any successful company, you can see that it achieved success thanks to a team of people. Even in cases where the success of the organization is attributed to one person (I suggest discussing this topic in the comments).

Of course, finding successful partners is very difficult. Over the 17 years of our joint business, Alexander and I have heard hundreds of times the surprised “And you still haven’t run away???” Indeed, there are many examples when former business partners separated, at best without loud scandals, and more often, unfortunately, turning into sworn enemies.

What is the secret of our cooperation?

As I said, we are different, and everyone is strong in their own areas.

- We tested ourselves very well for compatibility even before we went into business together. In the early 1990s, during our student years, Sasha and I bought a dilapidated “kopek” (VAZ-2101) and began to take turns driving it, both on our own business and earning money as a driver. Can you imagine what it's like to jointly own a car, especially an older one? Almost every day something broke, and one could argue for a long time about who was to blame for the breakdown. For example, at the end of my “shift” the brake pads began to creak. Change it late at night yourself or hand the car over to your partner as if nothing had happened? This was a real compatibility test!

Even before we started working on the same team, We clearly stated all possible situations and our actions in them. For example, what if one of us decides to go out of business? How will we decide on the distribution of profits? What should we do if one of us urgently needs money for personal needs? What if we can't come to a common decision? We tried to provide for any scenarios, including the most unpleasant ones.

- We have very clearly divided our functions as owners and managers. I often see that this is what causes discord in teams. After all, ownership of shares, by and large, gives the right only to certain actions prescribed in the charter - participation in the distribution of profits, approval of major transactions and strategic decisions, selection of the general director, etc. But the operational management of the company is a completely different matter. If all owners participate in management, there must be a clear agreement on roles and responsibilities. And remuneration should be clearly divided into salary (for example, the general director) and dividends.

And most importantly - we must respect each other, trust and understand that business interests must come before personal interests.

So, conclusions:

1. There are no ideal leaders, you need a team.

2. Partners must have different competencies - otherwise you can get by alone.

3. Before starting a new business together, it would be good to test each other for compatibility, for example, in some common business or on an extreme trip.

4. All possible scenarios must be discussed “on shore”.

5. It is necessary to clearly separate the rights and responsibilities of the owner and manager.

6. We must be honest and trust each other.

What conclusions have you drawn from your joint business experience?

Good day! Today I am writing an article for one of the subscribers of my VKontakte group “ Business secrets for a beginner”, but I’m sure this topic will be useful to many who are involved in business or are just planning to start one. The topic of the article is business partnership and how to find a business partner.

Before writing the article, I, of course, briefly looked at the articles on this topic that an Internet search offers. The articles turned out to be so-called rewrites (that is, rewritten from each other, changing expressions and words so that the uniqueness of the article was more than 90%), as I understand, these webmasters simply have nothing personal to say on this topic experience in finding a business partner almost none of them had.

I categorically disagree with more than half of the information. And now I will dispel these misinformation materials.

And so, we begin to examine the topic of partnership in business:

Business partnership

I’ll start by refuting some points that are recommended for those who are looking for business partners:

1. Running a business alone is difficult and not advisable. On the contrary, I would recommend running your business without involving partners; if you have enough of your own resources, then you do not need a partner. If it is difficult for you to run a business alone, you can simply hire a director or boss who will be responsible for a certain area (possibly several). All money earned by the business will be yours and there will be no need to share it with anyone;
2. Consider relatives or friends as partners. In no case!!! The one who wrote this is completely far from business. If you don’t want to ruin family ties and lose friends, you shouldn’t even invite them to become partners. You can borrow money from them for business, but under no circumstances should you take them as partners. I have been doing business since 2003 and during this time I have seen enough of friends stop communicating precisely because of business, just like relatives. The business partner must be a complete stranger;
3. Community of entrepreneurs in the city. Until you become a full-fledged businessman standing firmly on his feet, no one will even talk to you and you will not find any partners here;
4. Participation in exhibitions, conferences and business meetings. What could we be talking about here? You are no one yet and there is no way to call you. Only representatives of a real existing business can find partners for business in this environment, and that partnership will be of a completely different nature, for example, the purchase of some products;
5. Searching for business partners on forums. Another misconception, despite the fact that on these forums there are potential business partners, it is unlikely that anyone will enter into a partnership with you. Don’t forget that on the forums there are people from all over our vast Russia and being in Vladivostok a person obviously will not enter into partnerships with future partners from, for example, Voronezh.

These are basic suggestions for finding business partners that are not feasible and highly undesirable.

Let's now look at what a business partner should be and the terms of the partnership:

• The business partner must understand the topic. The person you propose to become a partner must understand the topic of the business that you have or that you are just about to open. It is advisable that he even has experience in this business;
• for a full and honest business partnership. A prerequisite for a full-fledged partnership and protection from the so-called “scammers”, business partners must be legally protected. This is possible in opening a limited liability company; the Charter will stipulate the rights of both business partners as founders with an equal share of the business;
• General Director of LLC. The head of the organization should be one of the partners of the business you are opening;
• Distribution of functions of partners in business. Usually, people who are looking for partners for their business are people who have ideas, and possibly a future business (in simple words, they need an investor partner). In such cases, the partner who is looking for an investor takes on all other functions of opening and running a business. That is, one simply invests his money, and the second already creates a fully functioning business, which is quite fair.

Where to find a business partner

It is best to look for a business partner in your city - this is an ideal option.

You can also consider nearby cities, preferably no further than 60 km. from your city.

How to find a business partner:

1. City newspapers. Look through newspapers in your city that contain private advertisements. Usually after the “Work” section there is a “Business Partnership” section, perhaps you will immediately find a business partner there. If not a single offer from this section suits you, then place your ad in it with brief requirements for a business partner, the cost of the ad is 80 rubles per issue;
2. Online classifieds sites. Post information that you are looking for a business partner on city Internet bulletin boards + don’t forget city forums. You can also use the all-Russian online advertising platform AVITO, just place it specifically for your city. The good news is that the ads here are free;
3. TV ticker. Each cable television has channels through which a ticker runs, often several of these channels. There may also be not just one cable service, but 3-4 for an average city. Give a creeping line on all the channels you can. The ad should be succinct, like “I’m looking for a partner for a business producing toilet paper, tel. 66-66-66.”

These options are the best for finding a business partner. It is difficult to say how long it will take to find a partner for your business - it could happen the next day or a month later.

In any case, the information should go until it is found, I understand that you will have to invest money (especially in the ticker), but you have a business at stake, so it is not such a big expense to find a business partner .

And in the end, I want to give advice: you shouldn’t immediately start a business with the first person who is interested. You should have a choice, so you can meet and talk, discuss possible nuances, but not give an answer right away. It’s almost like applying for a job, only with more serious criteria and conditions.

And ideally, if opportunities allow, of course, then it is better to work on your own, without business partners, but this is purely my personal opinion.

The procedure for state registration of an individual entrepreneur or LLC has now become even simpler. If you have not yet registered your business, prepare documents for registration completely free of charge without leaving your home through the online service I have tested: Registration of an individual entrepreneur or LLC for free in 15 minutes. All documents comply with the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

Currently, many entrepreneurs use this Internet accounting to conduct business, calculate taxes, contributions and submit reports online, try it for free. The service helped me save on accountant services and saved me from going to the tax office. I also managed to get a gift promotional code for subscribers of my site, by which you can get 3 months of the service for free in order to truly appreciate it. To do this, simply enter the promotional code 74436115 on the gift activation page.

That's all! If you still have questions, you can ask them in my group - the link is at the beginning of the article or in the comments.

Good luck in finding a partner for your business! Bye!

Anyone who has ever thought about running a business has heard that any field of business needs partners. In business language they are called partners. A business partner will provide support in a difficult financial situation, put you on your feet and help take your joint business to a new level. This is what a good companion would do. A bad business partner will bring the company to ruin, and with its actions will only aggravate the existing financial difficulties. So what should you do and who should you take into business so as not to become a victim of an unscrupulous business partner? Business partners from A to Z.

Who to hire for business?

Do not take relatives as partners!

A partner must invest!

Let's consider the situation. Successful businessman N, together with his friend M, decided to open a car dealership. The first one works day and night, makes the most conservative decisions, and literally lives his business. And the second one does nothing, puts the entire capital of the company at stake and does not particularly care about its affairs. Why?

Yes, because the money of the so-called “friend” is not involved in the business; in fact, he intends to receive income without any special investments. So he doesn't need to worry. Let everyone invest in the business; this is the only way to get a company with a clear horizon, where all the co-owners will worry about its affairs.

Don't take those who are richer than you!

In fact, not everyone needs to be taken on as a partner. We have already discussed that you cannot take on people who do not share your opinion. Also, you don’t need to take too rich partners. In fact, you are handing over the reins of power to this very rich man. The thing is that the larger the deposit amount, the more shares the investor is entitled to. And from now on, decisions in the company will be made by this very rich man.

Distribute goals and responsibilities!

Lack of horizons is a sign of a fading company. It is up to the leader to ensure that the horizon is clear and promising. And this can be achieved in two ways: by distributing responsibilities and goals. This way, your employees will be sufficiently motivated and prepared for work. In addition, in case of an employee error, you will have someone to blame.

Whom to hire for business is up to you! I hope you find this article useful!

Nowadays, more and more people want to become independent and have a good source of income, then become businessmen. The Internet offers such people the widest opportunities, which even allows them to earn good income without initial investment.

• What are affiliate programs?
• Selecting an affiliate program
• How to start making money on affiliate programs?

There are many ways to become a business partner without investing money; one of such effective and very popular ways is to participate in affiliate programs, many of which can become a very good source of profit.

What are affiliate programs?

The essence of affiliate programs is that each owner of his own website, public page or some other resource can receive money if, by following a special link from his website, one or another user performs a certain action.

Such actions can be: purchasing a product, registering on a website, subscribing to advertising, and much more. It all depends on what exactly the affiliate program advertises. This method of earning money is very popular because it does not require investment.

At the moment, you can find a very large number of sites on the Internet that offer many people to become business partners without an initial investment. Each affiliate program has a number of its own features, which may differ in payments and some other conditions. However, as for the organization and appearance of such programs, most of them are very similar and quickly become understandable to every webmaster and do not require investment.

Selecting an affiliate program

Before an affiliate program starts bringing you income, you need to make the right choice of an affiliate program. There are currently a very large number of affiliate programs, all of them do not require initial investments, however, many of them have a number of their own characteristics, and in order to become a successful affiliate, you need to study them as carefully as possible. As for their classification, the most reasonable classification would be by type of product, since at the moment there are affiliate programs that sell real goods (shoes, cosmetics, electronics, etc.) and virtual goods (all kinds of courses, books and much more).

When choosing an affiliate program for yourself, you should take into account a number of factors, for example, the theme of your site is very important, since if your site is dedicated to cars, probably not many will buy cosmetics by clicking on your link, so for the automotive theme, you should select a more suitable product.

Another important factor is the price of the product being sold. Let's say you become a partner of an online store selling stationery and receive 10% of its value from each notebook sold, so if a notebook costs 10 rubles, you will receive 1 ruble from each notebook.

On the one hand, the money is not very big, however, people buy notebooks and similar goods every day, so a very considerable amount can flow in a month, which can become a pleasant surprise for you. Of course, only if your site is a visited resource and many of its guests will click on the referral link.

At the same time, you can be an affiliate and sell more expensive products, such as online courses. Nowadays, online courses can cost about 5 thousand rubles, in this case your earnings (at 10% of the cost) can be 500 rubles from each course. Of course, courses are purchased much less often than notebooks, since they belong to the category of more serious investments. However, a large amount of money from each sale can sometimes compensate for a small number of sales, and in some cases, such an affiliate program can be much more profitable than selling notebooks.

Thus, we can conclude when choosing an affiliate program You should pay attention to the theme of the product being sold, so that it fits well with the theme of your site, since in this case the number of purchases, and therefore your earnings, should be higher.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the cost of the goods, it is up to you to decide whether to receive a little money from each sale, but at the same time have a large number of sales, or focus on receiving larger amounts from one sale and sell a small number of products.

How to start making money on affiliate programs?

Free PDF book - 10 secrets that rich people are silent about

In order to get your first income from one or another affiliate program, you need to properly prepare the ground. You must use every opportunity to place an affiliate link; place it not only on your own resource, but also on your profile on social networks, on your blog and on other resources. Place this link wherever you can, since a potential buyer of a product can be anywhere, sometimes a simple account on a social network can bring in a lot of money if you correctly place the link there.

Another good way is to promote on forums and groups on social networks. Make a short advertisement for the product that you are selling through your referral link, it is important to write really honestly and informatively so that people immediately get the necessary idea about a particular product.

Some forums may ban you because of advertising, but don’t worry, this will not reduce your earnings, on the contrary, it will allow you to become more popular.