IM Solo or with a partner?

[ChristineP]

Hi there - just something I wondered about.

Do you IM alone or do you have a business partner?

There are many threads about why you succeed/fail/stick with it/don't focus

I am considering a partner because personally I think:
1) It would be nice to share tasks with someone else and each concentrate on our strengths.
2) It should take 1/2 the time to get things done.
3) We'll keep each other honest and on-task

Obviously it can have it's drawbacks like any partnership.

What do you think?

[iYingHang]

Getting partner has advantages like you mentioned but you need to remember that having partner may get you some arguments.

Just my one cent.

Cheers,
iYingHang

[CurtisN]

It depends what kind of ventures you'd be getting into with this business partner. For example, if you were a software developer and the other person was a marketer/copywriter, it would make sense to partner if you wanted to develop a product together.

You don't want one partner doing all the hard work and leaving the other to do the easy stuff. This is why you've got to have a solid plan before seeking a partner. What if you decided to pursue affiliate marketing in one of its various forms? What kind of partnership would you form? How could you split the work so that a 50/50 split would be fair? Don't make one person write an article a day while leaving the other to design the graphics, you know what I mean?

I couldn't imagine doing everything online with a partner, but on the flip side, I wouldn't consider going solo on everything either. Some projects require partnerships while others don't.

Curtis

[MarkFreeman]

Make sure to get into a partnership with someone who complements you but does not match your abilities.

You want someone to do things well but not the same tasks as this can cause friction.

You also need to be VERY clear about the entire thing.

Draw up a contract, make it very clear who gets what money, how much time you put in and other things.

I have been in good partnerships and bad ones ... they can be very helpful but you must be careful or they will destroy your entire effort too.

[Loren Woirhaye]

Better to have an employee than a co-owner.

Ownership is everything. Partnership compromises your
power in ownership.

True - taking on a partner can be an advantage where you
are weak. But first ask yourself why you are weak in that
spot and could you correct or work-around the weakness
in another way?

Partnerships often end in unpleasant ways. Just so you know.

[money2k]

I am flying solo on my Internet marketing career (so far). I just don't want someone getting in my way. If you are in business with a friend it just opens a whole can of worms IMO

[Joel Gray]

A partner will help to make sure that things get done, kinda like having someone to answer to. It will also require consultations with one and other on monetary decisions and such.

Working alone and outsourcing lets you regulate the work flow and you get to make ALL the decisions.

Joel

[costos gohdohb]

an inexperienced partner (partners) is an awful idea

an experienced partner may be a good idea sometimes.
however what are you going to do in case when you & your partner have absolutely different ideas & decisions?
argue & waste a lot of time?

if to partner with an experienced man initially, this may bring great practice to you. Valuable for your success. Because you will avoid lots of stupid mistakes

but why do you need partner? you are not confident in what you do & you are simply afraid to lose? is this the reason?

I consider, on 1 ship there cannot be 2 captains at the same time,
the same thing is correct for your business.

[Obilex]

I wish I just had a partner in the sense that they stand behind me and yell at me when I get distracted.

[rlharding]

I would love to have a partner who complemented my skill set. I find that lot's of ideas I have don't come to fruition because I don't know how to do the 'other' bit. The tech side slows me down all the time.

However, having said that, I think once I can make enough money to always be able to pay someone to do the tech side, I would probably want to do things by myself - without a partner.

I guess it depends upon several factors: where one is 'at' in the learning process, what you know and don't know, real measureable benefits of having a partner.

[guide4everything]

I do it with a partner,he is really cool.It is easy doing in this manner for me.

[Leslie B]

I don't have a partner per se, but there is someone I contact every day. We discuss our projects, bounce ideas off each other and when there are things we don't have the skills for ourselves, we helped eachother out.

It's a great help to have someone like that around, even if she's at the other side of the ocean I wouldn't go with a 'real' partner though, I love the flexibility, but a good friend goes a long way. Still saving up that money to take a visit there, too

Leslie

[Swastik]

I've done it both ways and both have their advantages/disadvantages.

On one hand, having a partner can help you with brainstorming ideas, better implementation, holding accountable for stuff you gotta get done, increasing the scope of what you can do (say you're a copywriter, partner up with a programmer and both can create and market products making much more than what they might do - solo).

On the other, partnerships - especially if everything is not signed and on paper, etc - often ends up in unpleasant ways. You might not agree with something, maybe some misunderstandings, things go bizarre, etc.

[Lisa Gergets]

Originally Posted by Leslie B

I don't have a partner per se, but there is someone I contact every day. We discuss our projects, bounce ideas off each other and when there are things we don't have the skills for ourselves, we helped eachother out.

It's a great help to have someone like that around, even if she's at the other side of the ocean I wouldn't go with a 'real' partner though, I love the flexibility, but a good friend goes a long way. Still saving up that money to take a visit there, too

Leslie

I'll keep the light on for ya...

[Leslie B]

Originally Posted by Lisa Gergets

I'll keep the light on for ya...

I'm counting on it. Hopefully it will be at your new farm when I visit

[juano9z]

If your partner decides to leave you, you're gonna suffer.
If your partner lies you, you're gonna suffer.
If instead of having a partner you have a worker, He will suffer if he does wrong

[Negotiator74]

50% of the work means only 50% of the profit... Also, if the partnership fails, how do you split the assets? Domains, websites, etc. aren't that easy to cut in half. Your only options would be to buy your partner out (you have to have cash) or sell your sites (what if you don't want to sell?)

Anyway, I agree with an above poster who noted an employee is quite often better than a partner.

[soniia21]

I'm in business with my sister and we share the workload and everything but are always together and so I guess it's a bit different because we hardly ever disagree and fight. I do however have other marketers as personal friends, one who I speak with everyday and we have helped each other a lot as well with our different skills and sharing ideas. He has great writing skills and I have the design skills and so we just help each other out whenever we need it.

Personally, I would run the business solo and share activities with another marketer if you want to, this way you both still keep complete control of your business but help each other along the way. Plus I find it good to have an accountability partner - someone to kick you up the butt to make sure you are working on your set tasks to reach your goal.

Hope this helps.

[MJ Sterling]

I kind of do both.. I work with a partner sometimes but for the most part I do my own thing.

There's several group projects that I'm involved with, we have a meeting about once a month. The rest of the time I work by myself.