Business Partners

Many friendships end when friends become business partners. But many love affairs end with marriages that turn into divorces, too, but that doesn't mean that we should abandon our pursuit of friendship and love. In business good partnerships can be valuable, and when choosing business partners, it is important to keep the focus upon two things: 1) interpersonal compatibility 2) what the partner brings to the table in terms of business assets.

If you are a real estate investor specializing in rehabbing property, for example, it may be entirely beneficial for you to partner with a mortgage lender or a building contractor. If you're a landlord, you may want to partner with a professional property manager. And if you are interested in vacation property far from your main residence, you might do well to team up with a Realtor in the vacation destination where your property is. Instead of spending all your free time traveling back and forth to check on your beachfront condo, you can delegate the responsibility to your partner, in exchange for a piece of the action.

Choose partners carefully, and then rely upon written contracts to spell out each person's duties and compensation. If you get everything on paper up front, it can help you avoid many of the disagreements that arise between those who team up for business without taking a businesslike approach to their partnership.