Why should your business partner have complementary skills?

If you’re looking for a business partner, your natural inclination may be to find someone that you’re comfortable with. This will probably be someone who is similar to you, and they may have similar skills and abilities.

But as much as this feels natural, it is often better to have a business partner with different skills. These should be skills and abilities that complement your own. Why is it better to look for someone who is different than you, rather than someone who is relatively similar?

It helps the business overall

The reason is that the business likely will benefit from a wider range of skills. If your business partner brings skills that you don’t have, the business will be stronger and have a greater chance of success.

For example, perhaps you are very introverted, but you have a great idea for a new product. You know that you need to meet with investors and convince them to back this project. But your personality makes this difficult because you are much better at figuring out the technical details than meeting with investors.

If you find a business partner who is an extrovert, they may be great at finding financers, networking, striking up conversations and helping the business secure the financing it needs so that your products can be successful. This business partner may not be nearly as good at designing those products, but you still need their skills in order for the company to flourish.

This is just one example of what to look for when you are choosing a business partner. Be sure you know exactly what legal steps to take while setting up your company, from choosing a business structure to drafting a partnership agreement.