How do you find business partners?

Sup man,

First, there is some truth to that - increasing your
productivity and income. However, it can backfire.

It's a double edged sword. And, the quality of the
partner almost always reflects who YOU are. Your
goals. Ideas.

So, if you're mindset is set on making only say $5k
a month, 8/10 you'll run into someone who shares
the SAME goal.

...run into someone who wants to earn $50k - 100k
a month, and it won't work. You'll bump heads and
run into brick walls.

Second, forget about LOOKING for a partner.

In every case I've had one (about 2 or 3), it came
from "patience".

You can get wrapped up looking for someone build
a business and forget to build a business.

Here's the reality...

REAL potential partners they're attracted to those
who need them LESS.

No one wants to work with some deadbeat looking
to do something. They want to work with business
people "already DOING something".

Why? Because you're "unproven".

How can you expect a guy who does well for him-
self, BY himself to give up some of his resources to
help you if you bring nothing to the table.

Which leads to...

third, having something of VALUE to THEM makes it
almost too easy.

If you're a skilled programmer, copywriter, marketer,
or salesperson -- they KNOW you're work ethic and
are much more likely to reach out to YOU.

...because it's not only YOU who want what they
have, you have what THEY want.

You asked the following question:

So how actually do you find a business partner and
decide you two should be working together?

It's weird for me to tell you this but...

you don't.

Of course, you want to make sure you're not wasting
YOUR time on some schmuck,. A barrage of questions
past work, their history, etc -- all this you can tell in
the conversations loooong before you commit.

In MY case, it's largely gut instinct.

One time I was approched by this guy who wanted
to do a partnership with me. Everything on paper
looked solid. A few weeks later, he was "Businesses
Most Wanted".

I followed my instinct.

You asked the following:

Do you bump into him/her during seminars and such
events?

No. Most times you don't plan it. Sometimes you
bump into them, and vice versa. Sometimes it can
happen on the internet.

Have you ever made someone whom you know only
from online interactions as your business partner?

Yes. But I always request phone conversations or
initiate it. If I can't get a feel for their character by
email (no one can), I sure can come to the second
best...

by phone.

It's easier to fake yourself and who you are online,
but the truth ALWAYS comes out (unless you're a
professional con artist) by phone.

It's HARD to conceal your intentions, and I can pick
up on subtle cues that give me the GREEN light and
the RED light.

Other than that, partnerships are awesome. It's not
all it's cracked up to be. Not all pretty roses. But it's
worth it when done right.

Having a business partner is really advisable to start successfully with your business but you should choose a good partners which have enough experience in running business.

Network, network and then network some more. My most successful partnerships have 'just happened' from being involved and getting to know people. Like most aspects of your business, partnerships will evolve over time....and often sprout when you least expect it.

Thank you all for your inputs.

I'm certainly not going to go looking for business partners.
I understand I will only be wasting time if I do that.

But then, it is definitely my desire to tread the partnership path
some day and see how it goes.

I feel partnership is an excellent way to combine your skills
and achieve greater growth in business.

For instance, I'm basically a copywriter. And though I have
a little knowledge of others things like traffic generation, etc.
I'm in no way an expert at them.

So partnering will help combine our strengths and reduce our
weaknesses.

But at the same time, I do realize that a really effective
partnership also depends on how dedicated your partner is,
how well you trust each other, your budget and
lots of other vital things.

In one partnership project I attempted, I had kept my part
of the deal -- written copy and all, and even set everything up.

But the guy in charge of traffic was not willing to fork out money
because of a situation he ran into... and so we ended up shelving
the project.

So no doubt, if definitely helps if you've known the other guy
personally for a fairly long time. Because then you'll know how
serious he is about his business.

I find a good business partnership can be fostered by one or both of the partners being willing to work for free to prove their worth. When both demand immediate monetary returns it ceases being about the work and becomes too much about doing just enough to get paid.

I agree that partnerships do suck sometimes but they can work out and it all depends.

When two people try to share equal power, they end up fighting.