I don’t particularly like joint ventures. Joint venture companies, no matter how well they are doing will eventually break up one day and breaking up a successful company is not a good thing. You can form a joint venture to do one particular project that you don’t have enough knowledge in. maybe you can do two. On the third one, small problems will start to crop in. Eventually, small problems will become big problems and most will part ways on a sour note.
Difference of Opinions
Most problems starts with a difference in opinions on how things should be done. If one party does not play along in a very matured way, there is bound to be a clash of ideas. The trouble is, both of them have equal say and no one party will be happy to be taking instructions from another that is on the same level as him.
It will be a wise thing to state clearly before becoming partners as to who will be calling the shots on what. If one party is in charge of the money, state clearly that the other party should not interfere. Like wise, if the other party is in charge of marketing, no interference is expected too.
Trust
All this only achievable through trust. Can you trust your best friend with money that is partly yours? Even brothers have absconded with their siblings money leaving them high and dry. Humans are greedy creatures by nature. They succumb to temptations. If they have total control over the finances and they are free to do what they like, no one can guarantee that he will not siphon off some funds into his own account.
And again, humans are suspicious creatures too. Can you suppress that suspicion that your partner might be filling his own pockets? It small suspicions like these that breaks up a partnership, no matter how formidable it was in the beginning. It starts when the company has lots of funds and it also starts when the company is seriously lacking. Fingers will be pointed. relationships will turn astray.
Thus, if you are planning to venture into something, do it yourself. Avoid bringing in a partner unless you have no other choices. In the end, you will not only loose a business partner, you will be loosing a friend as well.