Importance of good partner choice highlighted

The National Business

MANY business partnerships fail because they do not know their shareholders and business partners, Deloitte principal tax and business services officer Antonio Bernabe says.
He told participants at the 2019 Start-Up PNG Convention in Port Moresby yesterday a lot of business partnerships were not successful because of a lack of knowledge about the person or group they were working with.
“They fail in the initial stages or first year or so because they have not been properly established or set up,” Bernabe said. It is important at the very start to choose the right kind of people that are going to be associated or in partnership with, when you are starting a business.
“When you say the team, in terms of the partnership, you have to say what this person is going to bring into the partnership.”
He said the different business structures like sole proprietorship, partnership and company were relevant for MSME/SMEs.
He also highlighted the importance of having a business plan when starting a business.
A business plan should contain the following elements:

  • A company overview (a summary overview of the company);
  • Mission/vision of the company
  • The team (Who are the key team players? What is their relevant background?);
  • The problem (What big problem are you trying to solve?);
  • The solution (What is your purposed solution? Why is it better than other solutions or products?);
  • The market opportunity (how big is the addressable market?);
  • The product (give specifics on the product);
  • The customers (Who are the target customers? Why will there be a big demand from these customers?);
  • The technology (What is the underlying technology? How is it differentiated?);
  • The competition (Who are the key competitors?);
  • Traction (early customers, early adopters, partnerships);
  • Business models (What is the business model?);
  • The marketing plan (How do you plan to market? What do you anticipate for customer acquisition costs vs. the lifetime value of the customer?);
  • Financials (actual and projected profit and loss and cash flow); and,
  • The Ask (How much capital are you trying to raise?)