In the midst of a competitive business era like today, business cooperation is a mainstay strategy that business people use to attract their customers massively. Every business can basically make a collaboration, but not all of them understand how to get the right business partner for them.
A business partner can determine whether a business collaboration will work well or otherwise.
Having a good business partner will certainly be a valuable asset that will help our business achieve its targets. Therefore, it is important to find a way to get the right business partner that suits us.
But what is the method to find the right business partner for us?
In this edition of the article, let’s discuss in more detail how to get the right business partner to create the best collaboration for our business. Let’s see the explanation below!
General Narration
Business partners actually have a fairly broad narrative. Understanding business partners will be a valuable provision for you in determining how to get business partners which we will discuss in the next point.
So , what exactly is a business partner?
The scope of the meaning of business partners itself is very broad. The word “partner” in the Indonesian language has the meaning of friend, colleague, companion, partner and others.
So if we interpret it simply, a business partner can be interpreted as a person or entity that has a role – either active or passive – in a business collaboration relationship for mutual benefit. The entity here can also be interpreted as an organization such as a foundation, community, or company.
Thus, in a partnership relationship, it is indeed appropriate to base it on the principle of mutual benefit, aka mutualistic symbiosis. Therefore, a business collaboration is usually formed because of the similarity of goals of the two parties who are collaborating.
Do business partners need to have an agreement?
In essence, a relationship based on a partnership agreement will have a more certain legal impact than one without an agreement. Without this partnership agreement, the rights and obligations of the parties will be unclear and difficult to obtain proof if at any time it is really necessary.
Therefore, an agreement should indeed be an important thing as one of the ways to get good business partners for us in the future.
Strategy for Finding Business Cooperation Partners
A partner is a valuable asset to a business. Now that you know what a partner is, it’s time to start looking. But where do we start?
In this digital era, fortunately finding a business partner is not too difficult. Here are some ways to find a good business partner for future business collaboration:
1) Vision and Values
The most important thing if you want to get the right partner is that you must have a strong business vision and value about what you want to achieve from your business. Make sure you describe this as detailed and specific as possible.
Because, this will be your number one foundation that you will continue to hold to convince everyone you feel is suitable to be your business partner. If they have the same vision and values, then it could be that the person is the best candidate to be your partner.
2) Complement each other
In essence, a good business partner is a partner who can cover your shortcomings and you can complement their shortcomings. This principle is like a marriage, but that’s the reality.
After determining the vision and values, the next way to get business partners is to look for relevant partners.
For example, if you are an expert in marketing but weak in managing company finances, you can look for a partner who can support you in the area of financial management.
3) Social Media
Mainstream social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook are the ones you can use. LinkedIn is also one of the mainstay platforms that you can use to find professionals you want to collaborate with.
Using social media platforms can also allow you to tap into the networking power of your peers. You may not know the person personally who is interested in collaborating with you, but someone you know may know someone who is.
4) Business Community
The next strategy for getting business partners is to look for partners in communities that support your business field. Business communities can be a valuable ‘safe’ for finding the right partners according to the business niche you run.
You can also use the group feature on social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn to search for relevant communities and find someone who is suitable as your future partner.
5) Peers
Friends can be great business partners if you know them well and can be the right liaison if they have extensive connections. But the thing you need to note if you want to make your colleagues partners is to make sure you choose them because of their potential, not because they are your friends.
Online platforms such as social media are a great way to conduct research to explore this.
6) Mentor
If you have a mentor who has been contributing to you for a long time, you may and they may trust you to build a partnership with you. If not, they may also know of another individual or entity that you can partner with.
Try to consult a mentor and express what you think. This can be a door to new opportunities that you may have never realized before.
Those are some ways to get business partners that you can implement in the future. You may find some rejections, but staying consistent in getting the right partner is one of the main keys that you must hold on to in order to find the right partner. Hopefully useful!
Protect Your Business’s Main Assets!
Recruiting people or business entities to partner together may not be an easy matter. Not infrequently, you will receive some rejections or even some requirements if you want to partner with them. One of the frequent requirements for partnership is the matter of protecting your business brand .
Yes, you read that right because brand protection is often one of the requirements for several business entities to partner with them as a form of your commitment to maintaining the aspects contained in your business.
Therefore, doing brand protection will not only smooth your way in attracting potential partners but more than that it will also protect your business from future legal problems. Let’s protect your brand while there is still time!
FAQ
What does partner mean for business?
A business partner is a person or entity that has a role – either active or passive – in a collaborative business relationship for mutual benefit.
Is a partnership agreement important?
Yes, because it is to guarantee the rights and obligations of the parties involved in the partnership relationship and as evidence in court if necessary at any time.
How to find the right business partner?
You can start by defining your business values and vision, looking for partners who can complement them, using social media, communities, peers, and your mentors to find the right partners.