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Finding the right partner for your business
12-26-2015, 12:17 AM
Okay so i`ve finally decided after a lot of thinking what i wanted to do in terms of creating my own business. The idea is pretty good but i havent tested the market. I have no actual knowledge in web design but i think that i will need these capabilities for the growth of my business.
How do you find a good partner or at least a goos person that can provide the services that you need.
How confidential should you idea be (at this embryonic stage it could be replicated) and how much money should i invest before even knowing theres a real market for my business?
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-26-2015, 12:33 AM
Unless you've come up with something so novel and life-changing that it will disrupt the world as we know it, you probably don't need to worry about secrecy.
I tell people my business ideas all the time and go into great detail to get as much feedback as possible. If they start it before me then good, that means I can work with someone else in my feild i already know who has figured out all the problems and issues.
Try starting it. Write out a business plan, do some research, and six months down the road you'll never think twice about keeping your idea secret.
As far as finding a partner, the best advice I've heard is that each participant knows and is 100% clear on their roles.
I also advise against business with friends, but maybe I just have crappy friends
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-26-2015, 09:41 AM
Quote: (12-26-2015 09:16 AM)joecolombia Wrote:
the thing is profits can be 50 50 but if the business dont suceed it will be looses of 50 50 too
What losses? Sounds like the only thing you and your hypothetical partner have to put in is time. So put that time in yourself, and spend a few dollars on web design. Speculate to accumulate, or in this case, speculate to keep the profits to yourself.
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety- Benjamin Franklin, as if you didn't know...
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-26-2015, 09:57 AM
I can assert from OP's skill with punctuation, that anyone would be lucky to be his business partner.
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-26-2015, 03:51 PM
Don't be that guy looking for a "technical co-founder". Being a software developer myself I get offered business partnerships and always say no. Depending on the venture, you're almost always better off outsourcing the developement of your product, ie hiring employees or freelancers, versus giving away equity / getting a partner. Only partner with someone that has access to what you don't have: either capital or network, the rest can be outsourced.
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-26-2015, 03:54 PM
okay, I might come out as an ass-hole but as someone with 10 years on the tech sector.
1. You don't have an idea. You think, deep inside, that you are special. You are not.
2. Your idea is worth exactly nothing. And rest assured, nobody is going to steal or implement it until it becomes successful. That's why we have 5,000 clones of candy crash.
3. Telling your idea to friendly-neutral people is close to useless. They'll all answer "Great".
4. Try pitching your idea to investors. And you'll realise how bad of an idea it is.
5. If your idea requires a web app, you'll need a competent software developer to have an MVP. A good MVP will cost you in the $50K-$100K range if the app is simple enough not to require any CS magic and geniuses.
6. If you don't pay for the software developer and except 50/50 equity. What the heck is your role/job? You don't become a CEO by having an "idea".
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-27-2015, 11:07 PM
It sounds like you want to hire a cook for free right now in exchange for future income share opportunity.
If you can't pay the cook right now, you shouldn't be in the business.
Btw, how much does it cost to hire a web design person? few grands to max $10k?
Just pay it if you are sure about the idea. you are not sure if it would be successful but you think your investors should believe it's a good idea? LOL come on man..
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-28-2015, 01:14 AM
The right partner is like finding a girl worth spending time with; it's hard to find. I would advise against founding a business with friends, make friends through business, founding a business based on friendship unless you are both on the exact same page and willing to go all in is useless, and I've been burned by it. I disagree with some of the guys saying "if you can't pay the partner right now, you shouldn't be in business", thats a scarcity mindset and will get you nowhere. You will have to give up equity in the company, and they will get rich or they will go down with you; that's why it's hard to find a partner that will stick through the shittiness of starting a business.
You do not need more consideration, you need to act. An idea is worth $0, and a really good idea is maybe worth $10. Execution is everything. I didn't have the slightest clue how to start my businesses, I learned on the go. I jumped in and learned web design, I learned the financial aspects, I learned about taxation, I learned about every goddamn in-and-out on the fly. Nobody will steal your idea, because they don't know how to execute, and 95% of people will not execute because they are losers; talk about your business all you want it will 1. create awareness but it will also 2. cause you to talk instead of walk, which is counter-productive and should be avoided.
Investment wise, it's cheap to get into web design and getting a website online probably all in costs about $200. When it comes to complexity of building the site, then you may need to invest further, but in the early stages, there's a ton that you can do yourself, and I have learned a ton about coding and the applicable skills just with YouTube videos and forums. Investment early on is cheap, and includes advertising on google; I wouldn't go much further than that, and if nobody clicks on your ads, you don't pay a dime; it's win-win, you either know your idea will work with a few hundred dollars investment, or know you need to go back to the drawing board for less than $20 if your campaign flops.
"Money over bitches, nigga stick to the script." - Jay-Z
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-29-2015, 04:49 AM
My business has 3 partners:
A. Guy who has a network and is great with people
B. Guy who LOVES the technical part of the job and horrible with people
C. Guy who documents everything
Typical Strategy:
Guy "A" promises the world to customers
Guy "B" builds plans
Guy "A+C" execute plans
Guy "C" documents and charges clients
We all need each other:
Guy "B" is worthless without guy "A" (he cannot get customers/clients)
Guy "A" is worthless without guy "C" (he'd work free because he loves helping people)
Guy "C" needs guy "A" and "B" because he needs something to manage
Everyone has a role:
Guy "A" lives for the future
Guy "B" lives in the past/future
Guy "C" makes sure the business continues to run day to day--present via documentation and processes
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-29-2015, 07:11 AM
I'm too much of an egomaniac to have a business partner.
These things mostly end in tears.
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Finding the right partner for your business
12-29-2015, 07:19 AM
There are pros and cons. The biggest pro is that you have someone to bounce ideas off, and to take the reigns when you want some time off. If you find the right person, it will make life immeasurably better during those brutal early years.
However, the wrong partner makes the tough times even tougher, and will probably lead to you breaking up the company. Even if you have opposing skill sets, egos can get in the way of common sense. I had a partner who was technical, and shit with people and presentation. I was un-technical, but a good front man. My partner decided that what I did was more glamorous than what he was doing, and insisted on muscling in on my domain. It lead to him trying to 'win' over me in client meetings, and all sorts of stupid counter productive stuff. We lost a lot of business because ego got in the way of good sense. Where money is involved, these things can quickly escalate too. It ended in a nasty split that took a lot of recovering from.
My personal advice is that unless you are certain that you are going into business with an angel, who compliments you perfectly and with whom you can clearly delineate roles and be certain he won't encroach, then you are better off going it alone.