Documenting Partnerships in Your Business Plan
Forging partnerships to improve market penetration has become commonplace, particularly for "new economy" businesses. And, most companies proudly mention their many partnerships in their business plans. The fact is that, regardless of whom the partnership is with, partnerships by themselves are meaningless. What are meaningful are the terms of the partnership. For instance, while it sounds great to have a partnership with a Fortune 500 company, the details of the partnership are what investors find important. For instance, investors will look poorly upon a partnership in which the Fortune 500 company earns 90% commissions on customers it refers. On the other hand, investors would look favorably upon a more equitable partnership. As such, be sure to detail the specifics of the partnerships. This includes factors such as how the partnership will work, payment terms, contract length, minimum and/or maximum guarantees, the type of customer leads expected from each partner, timing of payments, etc. In addition, if partnerships are a key part of the business plan, expect prudent investors to interview the partners and scrutinize partnership contracts. Partnerships can be a major factor in the success of growing companies, providing leads, sales, capital and/or other critical benefits. However, ventures should be careful not to place too much emphasis on any one partner in their business plan. Partnership agreements, like other legal agreements, can be breached, and if the venture positions any one partner as critical to its success, this will become a risk factor to investors. Overall, partners can provide a great boost to growing ventures. Business plans should not only discuss who the partners are, but detail the terms of the partnerships and how they will benefit the company. Finally, the business plan must not place too much emphasis on any one partner in order to convince investors that the business is capable of success even without it. Since its inception, Growthink Business Plans has developed over 200 business plans. Growthink clients have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share. Growthink has become the firm of choice for venture capital firms, angel investors, corporations and entrepreneurs in the know. For more information please visit http://www.growthink.com or download our free Business Plan Guide.
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Wife, mom inspire engineer to enter retail businessAtlanta Journal Constitution, USA - Aug 18, 2008Q: How do you manage to work with your wife and mother? A: We’re a good team. We have well-defined roles and we don’t step on each other’s toes. My mom does ... |
Hard work brings rewardsAugusta Chronicle, GA - Aug 17, 2008Dee was a stay-at-home mom, but she also dabbled in rental property management and co-owned an interior design business with two friends. ... |
Periquet champions entrepreneurship in RPInquirer.net, Philippines - Aug 9, 2008So I gathered my mother’s black garden stones and painted colorful art work subjects on them. I put a table in front of our main gate and sold the stones at ... |
Cupcakes beckon Butler family to Spring HillMy Tennessean.com, TN - Aug 20, 2008Hard work and the stress of being an entrepreneur didn't stop Gina. At that time, she was running Gigi's Cleaning Co., a business she started when she moved ... |
Stay-at-home moms turned entrepreneursLewisville Leader, TX - Jul 28, 2008Many “mompreneurs” take a break from another career, intending to stay home for a while and work just one demanding job: that of mom. ... |
work at home mother mom entrepreneur - Google News
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