The old adage that friends and business should not mix is certainly true. While some friendships are strong enough to withstand the troubles brought about by joint business ownership, they are few and far between. Does this mean that perfect strangers should be your choice for a business partner? Actually, when properly vetted, strangers can make excellent business partners. However, the vetting process is essential. Failure to do so can have horrendous ramifications for your fledgling business.
If you are seeking a business partner for a new venture, you’ll need to know as much as possible about their background, their financial situation and their history. This is particularly important in small, startup companies. If you do not vet your potential partners, you can find yourself holding the bag as they embezzle your company’s funds, or you can find your company run into the ground by poor decisions on their part. How are you to vet these potential partners? Where can you go for fast results?
While you can and should require that any potential business partner provide you with a CV and references, you can also use public records to research their past and ferret out any dirty, threatening secrets that might bring your new company down around your ears. Public records include numerous items of information about individuals.
For instance, a simple criminal background check can offer you immediate benefits, helping you avoid partnering with someone of less than perfect character. Of course, traffic tickets shouldn’t be grounds for dismissal, but you can learn about liens they are facing, about criminal charges of theft or fraud and many other warning signs that a particular relationship might not be the best thing for your company. You can also use public records to ensure that the person your potential partner purports to be is their true identity. Some criminals cloak their identity in thick layers that are nearly impenetrable without the help of public records.
You can also use these records to verify education, if this is one of your requirements. You can use it to verify previous addresses, marriages and divorces, tax status, debt-to-income ratio and many other factors that will play a role in your decision to partner with a particular person or not. With the help of public records, you can find the partner that you need for business success and begin building that relationship.
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