Partnerships are crucial for the development of any company. It was not invented yesterday, but the principle of partnershipsapplied for running a business has existed for a very long time. Only the trend is more visible today.

From people with initiative who decide to partner to start up a company, business owners who cooperate to invest in a project, to the exchange of technical knowledge and ideas between companies, the partnership takes various forms. Whatever the partnership model, it is important that the partnership agreement is appropriate and benefits the parties involved.

Some entrepreneurs self-generate important problems by working with poorly aligned partners, who fail to bring anything to the table. Given the effervescence of recent years in connection with starting and scaling a business, I want to refer to the partnership in the case of start-ups. So, if you are in a start-up, to avoid possible pitfalls, consider the following 3 factors:

1. When you start a business, the secret to the success of each partnership agreement is based on trust and respect between partners. You need to have confidence in the decision-making ability, temperament, vision, and competence of your partners and vice versa. Make sure you respect the abilities and personalities of others.
2. Before starting a partnership, it is important to determine exactly what each one does and how your skills align. Agree on a way to set goals and achieve the agreed goals.
3. It is important to partner with people whose goals and values will increase yours. There are people whose main focus is on making a profit and maximizing partners’ income, while others are more concerned with corporate social responsibility and place profit as a secondary goal. Partnering with someone who does not share the main goals can lead to a clash of values and the risk of creating a rift between partners increases.

And yet, what good is a partnership at? Why do ones keeps going on business with more partners? Because the partnership:

1. Gives access to knowledge – Partners need a lot of knowledge, and this knowledge comes through the association of professional experiences. This offers the opportunity to grow and learn from another’s perspective. All knowledge is put to good use for brand building, product development and customer acquisition.
2. Gives competitive advantage –Partnerships increase synergies by pooling the knowledge, expertise and resources available to make better products and reach a wider audience. All this put together can grow the business quickly.
3. Improves the company’s credibility and image –Business partnership between experienced professionals increases the company’s credibility. When partners who share the same goals and the same vision join forces, the company’s influence and strength can increase greatly. A stronger business offers better products and better-quality services to customers, which stimulates the overall capital of the brand.
4. Increase customer base –There are a lot of ways this can be achieved. For example through a direct agreement with a company that offers products that are complementary to those of the company. In this way, a smartphone manufacturer that enters into a partnership agreement with an anti-virus software developer can have a valid agreement that obliges everyone who orders a new phone to ensure the security of the device from the company with who agree and vice versa. This will help increase the customer base.
5. Gives stability –The purpose of all businesses is to remain relevant for a long time and to systematically achieve their goals. Having business partners means getting out of isolated operation. The company has access to more knowledge, innovations, expertise and funds.

Relevant in terms of partnerships in Romania is the Fast Track study conducted by the company Valoria.Fast Track is based on the rapid diagnosis of the level of training of Romanian companies in order to effectively operate in the post-lockdown business environment. The study considers six relevant areas, including partnerships and alliances. The area of the Partnership is defined by 5 components which, on a scale from 1 to 10, each record a score as follows:

• Clear process of establishing partnerships and alliances – 6.52
• Pro-active identification of the most appropriate partnerships and alliances – 6.11
• Experience in establishing and conducting partnerships – 6.85
• The development of partnerships is essential to have growth – 7.80
• Efficient management of partnerships and alliances – 7.28

With a total score of 6.81 out of 10, for Romanian companies, alliances and partnerships are of medium importance and show an area for improvement so that the Romanian business environment become stronger.

An excellent business partnership makes the company better, improves its weaknesses but also its strengths. Ultimately, this is all it takes to be relevant for a very long time and to achieve its goals and results at the level of super-performance.