Size up the eyeballs and

handshakes, or split!

     It doesn’t matter  whether you’re talking about a distributorship, franchise, equity partnership, or strategic alliance, a commission plan, or a creative property royalty arrangement. If you’re considering any kind of business partnership, go the reality route. Nothing else will do.

Life is not long enough for you to waste any of it on people who don’t walk their talk.

You don’t have to love someone  to do business with him or her. You don’t have to agree with some one’s religious, political or sexual persuasion if there’s no bearing on your business. But you owe it to yourself, and your family (who will suffer from a bad partnership decision) to do some due diligence.

     Take advantage of every opportunity  (including the more obvious — but surprisingly seldom invoked — Google) to check out who and whom you’re thinking about dealing with. No, you probably don’t need a CIA or FBI report.

     And some one’s credit history  should have nothing to do with the creative services you may be looking for, anymore than wanting to know what high school that a board-certified physician may have graduated from, or the disorderly conduct charges filed against some one’s college student son on homecoming weekend.

     In other words, decide what’s really relevant  to the relationship you’re weighing before you start digging into directions that waste time and effort and money and are not truly important in the grand scheme of things. “Chemistry” for example, always counts! 

     Meeting someone face-to-face,  belly-to-belly, eyeball-to-eyeball, one-on-one –and physically shaking hands– is the only way to enter a partnership agreement with any reasonable degree of confidence. Think of it as a chance to enhance your professional judgment. 

     It’s not a 100% lock,  but it will certainly serve to eliminate at least 50% of the quacks and maniacs (yes, both exist; and yes, both can be very convincing on the phone and via email; and yes, the more talented you are, the more likely those types are to turn up in your backyard)!

     If you’ve reached a point of initiating serious business pursuits with another person or group you’ve never actually met, work out a way to get together personally before making any written or verbal contractual-type commitments. Be willing to hop a car or plane and get a firsthand impression of what your prospective partner is all about.

     Restaurant settings can be particularly revealing.  Eating habits, preferences, pace, and posture paint one picture. How the other person or persons deal with the restaurant staff paints another. Be careful of anyone who orders more than one alcoholic drink in this setting.

     Be skeptical until proven otherwise.  In the end, you’ll be glad you were careful and insisted on a reality meeting with your virtual partner.   

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116 

  Open minds open doors. 

 Thanks for visiting and God bless you. 

   Make today a GREAT day for someone!