PARTNERS, the BEST or WORST thing that will ever happen to your CAREER and YOUR LIFE

www.bluescorpioninv.com twitter.com/jamisondernest

Being the talented, witty, funny, brilliant, sarcastic, kind, generous, genius that I am according to my mom and a couple of other people, I give you my ultimate comparison: having a business partner is like being in a marriage, except you can sleep with one and get screwed by the other. I've never been married but I've had a couple of long tern relationships, 1 engagement and 1 legal domestic partnership, so I'm close enough to the situation minus any messy divorces, kids or legal fees to use this as an example.

Starting a business is a lot like getting married. Both involve a lot of hard work, commitment, and compromise. Starting a business with a partner is like being in a marriage with a person who never stops talking or thinking about work. Which is great if you’re like me and absolutely love working all the time.

Like a marriage, a business partnership involves two people agreeing to come together to achieve a common goal and build something that’s bigger than themselves.

First rule of the partnership, open communication is the key. Just like in a marriage, you gotta be able to talk to your partner about the good, the bad, and everything in between. But unlike a marriage, in a business partnership, you gotta talk about spreadsheets, budgets and every once in a while your feelings. It's like being in a relationship with quickbooks, except quickbooks doesn't ask how your day was. Might be a feature they should add in the future.

Rule number 2 is trust. In a marriage, you trust your partner with everything. In a business partnership, you trust your partner not to embezzle all the company's money and take off to live their best life in India. It's like a marriage but with less emotional baggage and higher risks of tax fraud.

Be prepared to sacrifice absolutely everything, including your net worth. Just like in a marriage, you gotta make sacrifices for the one you love. But unlike a marriage, in a business partnership, sometimes you gotta sacrifice your social life, your romantic relationships, your family time, your personal happiness and at times even your sanity for the business to thrive. It's like being in a relationship with a demanding entity that is always lurking over your shoulder.

Disagreements, yes we definitely have them. But unlike in a marriage, where you can just avoid your partner for a day or two until you go to couples therapy, in a business partnership, you have to interact with your partner every day, whether you like it or not. At times It's like being in a relationship with your arch-nemesis, except you can't just unfriend them on social media.

Rule number 3, keep it simple and have fun.

In a marriage, you commit to spending the rest of your life with your partner. In a business partnership, you commit to spending the rest of your life in meetings, building a dream, and dealing with investors.

In conclusion, having a business partner is like being in a marriage. It's a commitment for better or for worse, till death do you part. But unlike a marriage, in a business partnership, you can't just get divorced, you're stuck with your partner for the long haul. So, choose your partner wisely, or you'll be stuck in a business marriage from hell. And trust me, there's nothing worse than being stuck in a business marriage from hell.

Luckily I'm fortunate enough to have a trustworthy and honest business partner like Gautam Ahuja at Blue Scorpion Investments who compliments the business partnership as the Yin to my Yang.

Best of luck in your romantic and business partnerships...Jamison