When you’re considering starting a business with a partner, it’s vital that you learn as much as possible about them before making a commitment. You’ll certainly have to shoulder less of the financial burden and risk, but differences of opinion and profit sharing can eventually create very real conflicts between the two of you. Before moving forward, consider what your own expectations are of a potential partner; ask about their financial situation and establish whether they can make a genuine commitment of time and energy.

Some businesses can adapt well to having a joint leadership strategy; after all, you’ll boast twice the skills, knowledge, contacts and drive of those owned singly. Better still, you can bounce ideas off each other and fine-tune your best innovations collaboratively. If things go wrong, both of you will have a different perspective on the key issues; this can help you come up with a more creative solution and avoid similar problems occurring in the future. A partnership reduces the fear of failure that most entrepreneurs have felt at some point; with a partner you’re never alone. In the good times and the bad, they are a sounding board, a brother/sister in arms and a listening ear – as you are to them.

However, just like in a marriage, you have to knock the corners off each other as you go, and if one person doesn’t pull their weight, refuses to compromise, or their circumstances drastically change, you may find your partnership teetering on the edge. Resentment is most common when one person is – or perceives him/herself to be – doing most of the work and only receiving half of the rewards. Conflicts can also arise when your future plans begin to diverge; a business plan has to be reworked regularly, but if you don’t see eye to eye with your co-owner, it can be impossible to do so successfully.

To find out more about this or any other aspect of investments, head over to Wesley Edens’ site; he’s a leading financial executive with 25 years of experience and heads the private equity arm of Fortress Investment Group. He has managed its development from small private investments to becoming NYSE-listed and having a global reach. Wesley continually works to improve the services in his industry, overseeing both traditional and new alternative types of investment.