Aims & Objectives of a Partnership

At their best, partnerships create synergy. The aims and objectives of a partnership include bringing together the skills and resources of multiple business owners to create a whole that is bigger and better than the sum of its parts. Like successful marriages, the specifics vary from one partnership to the next, but compatible business partners complete one another, sharing the tasks and responsibilities necessary to keep a company running smoothly.

No individual has everything it takes to successfully run a business. You may be a skilled networker who can promote your company and your products far and wide, but lack the business savvy necessary to evaluate opportunities and business models. An advantageous business partnership would fill in the gaps in your aptitudes and experience, bringing you together with someone who can run your company smoothly and profitably. To find a business partner appropriate to these aims and objectives, take a careful inventory of your skills and strengths. Identify the areas where you would most benefit from collaborating with someone who could complement your abilities and look for a business partner with these qualities.

All business partnerships have financial components because the process of owning and running a company together involves sharing, managing and dividing the money. But the aims and objectives of some business partnerships are strictly financial. You may have most of the knowledge and experience needed to run a business well, but lack the capital to get it off the ground. In this situation, you would benefit from a silent partner who believes in your endeavor enough to invest money and is willing to let you make most of the decisions about operations. A business partnership can also be based on resource-sharing when one partner has equipment, inventory or relationships that are useful to the other, such as an arrangement between two businesses that offer complementary products or services in different areas.

In the business world, it's rare for partners to join forces unless they both believe that there's an opportunity to increase profits. This may happen because, together, the partners have a greater bargaining power and can negotiate discounts from suppliers. Or they may be able to cut overheads by sharing resources or increase sales revenues because they now have a bigger operation. Partners can share responsibility for generating these profits, as well as sharing the fruits of their labor.

A partnership deed, or partnership agreement, is a legal document that lays out the terms and arrangements of a particular business partnership. Its objective is to explicitly state the understandings and agreements that form the basis of your partnership so you can refer back to them as needed. Partnership deeds protect the parties they cover in case of discord. They also offer opportunities to envision potential difficulties and proactively present solutions. A partnership deed should cover the division of work between partners, as well as how profits will be shared. It should also provide an exit strategy, laying out a plan for proceeding if the collaboration turns out to not be mutually advantageous.