10 questions to ask a prospective business partner

I wrote this post for this week’s Bizcrowd newsletter and thought it might be useful for a few readers here at Mobile Industry Review. Creating a partnership is fraught with difficulty. I’ve seen many work fabulously, but I’ve also seen a lot of poorly matched partnerships descend into business hell. I put together 10 questions that you might want to ask a prospective business partner before you sign the paperwork. All of the questions are derived from bitter experience!

Here’s the first section:

Some of my worst business experiences have come about because I didn’t have the confidence to start a business on my own. It’s quite difficult to admit this and writing it down in black and white makes it look even worse.

I’m an entrepreneur and I have been since my very first Tuck Shop business aged 15. Watch me striding across the stage as I present the Bizcrowd Award at the upcoming Great British Entrepreneur Awards and you wouldn’t think I’ve ever lacked for confidence. But the sad reality is that every early business I founded was with a partner because I simply couldn’t summon the courage to go it alone.

I was literally kicking myself when, both aged 21, my partner and I were offered half a million pounds each for our business from an international investment bank. He disagreed. He didn’t like the idea that the acquisition required him to take a step back. I had to politely decline the offer that would have made me before I’d even finished University.

Continue reading over at Bizcrowd.