First of all, make sure which business relations you would like to have. And also, it is of equal importance, to know which ones you do not want. You need agreements and relations that will enable you to progress professionally and to grow your business. On the other hand, you should avoid as much as possible connections that will surely damage your business (like illegal structures, people who will surely try to exploit you, unhealthy personal relations, etc.). It is much easier to identify the first and sometimes, it is very hard to judge the second group. However, once you know who you look for and why, it is much easier to access them.
Next, be sure that you know how you can benefit form the agreement. After all, the other party (parties) will expect to gain something from this relation. It is good for you to know what it is. Extremely important here is to be aware that your partners want from you officially may not be the same thing what they actually want. A partnership for know-how exchange may prompt your partner to ask for more information that it is wise to disclose. Ask for something in return which is equally important for you; do not just think that your partner will put your interests above theirs – that will not happen.
One of the main things that you should remember is to try to treat your partners the way you want to be treated – with respect and without trickery. Of course, you will meet many people in your life that will try to trick you and will treat you disrespectfully. Some of them might even succeed. However, will you keep good memories of them and will work with them again? Most probably, no! Even more, other people will hear of that (something which is much easier with today’s technologies) and will avoid such people. That will be also your normal reaction. So why do you think that most will act differently towards you if you behave in a different way? That does not mean though that you have to be extremely nice (such people normally not the best business people, there are exceptions though).
In order to secure long-term success, you need to grow your network. If your business starts growing, it is natural that it will have moments when you will have lucrative opportunities. To exploit them fully, you will need more contacts. Thus, creating and most important, maintaining good business relations, is very crucial. So make sure that you have the right connections (even if you do not see how they can help you at the moment). So it is better to be nice or at least indifferent to people when the situation allows it. However, that does not mean that you should not protect your interests, just show reasonable manners and do not be excessively aggressive.
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