What are your top tips for ensuring that partnering works & is the best way to earn future revenues.....?

For me, partnering has been so important to everything I do - personally and professionally.

Choose people you like and *want* to work with - life is too short for anything else. Ideally choose people that you can learn from and hopefully they can learn from you too.

In terms of shared revenue, it's impossible to say without understanding what each party brings to the table, but I have always found, where possible 50/50 makes the most sense and leaves the least room for future fallouts!

I have a great concept that I fully believe in and am working on the ideas for a network that involves a lot of creativity and building. How do you suggest I find the right technically minded/skilled person to work with on this as I'm keeping things quiet at the moment and want to build on trust to put together the idea and take on financial investment to grow.

That is a challenge / problem lots of entrepreneurs face ... I would suggest attending as many events as possible where like-minded people will be at - check out all the Smarta100 Academy events on www.smarta.com/smarta100

Also look at events that people like The Kernel and Tech Crunch hold - people are out there - you just need to find them!

I've run one type of business for many years and want to branch out into another... Do you think it's better to re-train & do things yourself or to employ good people? Where do you draw the line with delegation?

My advice is focus on the things that you love and are best at and employ / partner with people to fill in the gaps. You will have a much happier and more fulfilled life that way!

Time, not money is our most valuable commodity.

Delegation and trust are crucial, but like everything else you have to *start* somewhere ... today is a good place to start!

What are your top considerations in taking on a business partner?

I'm pretty simple: Would I want them to stay in my house for the weekend? If not, don't do it.

A business partner is like a marriage, so you'd better get on!

Also, find someone with complementary skills - not just a replica of you.

From experience it is key that you share the same work ethic ... not everyone wakes up at 5am like I do! Doesn't mean they have to either, but if someone doesn't answer my emails in an hour, I'd be concerned!

I've been roped into helping my friend market his community gardening project (update the website, write press releases, help find/contact sources for funding). He's really thinking BIG about where he wants to go with it. He's a natural entrepreneur, but the disorganisation makes me feel wary - I feel that he's running before he can walk. Should I try to bring more order and structure to the project or let him run free and just play catch-up where necessary? I guess this is a question about different work styles.

You guys have a good balance and if you can cope with the different work styles and make it work for both of you - you have a greater chance of success.

Hopefully you will balance each other out - I always run before I can walk, but only with a great support network around me!

Marketing

How to set up your own business