 Hey guys! My name is Wilson. Today's video is on how do you choose the perfect, the right partner for your fruit and beverage restaurant. This is a question that I ask all the time. And how do you find the perfect partner? I want to partner up with my friend. How do we do this? Now I want to be sharing with you the importance of finding the right partner because throughout my last 10 years of dealing with business, mentoring different business owners, 99% of them have failed because of partners. And this is something that I don't wish upon anyone because you don't want to spend your time dealing with conflict with your other half. You don't want to spend time day in, day out, seeing someone that you completely hate. You don't want to lose a friend because of business, which is why it's so important for you to understand these four secrets in finding the right partner for your fruit and beverage restaurant. The number one secret in finding the right partner for your fruit and beverage restaurant is vision. You've got to make sure that your vision is aligned with your partner's vision. And what I mean by that is if you have the idea of creating a hundred shop chain franchise for your food and beverage, then you need to make sure that the partners that you bring on board has the same vision as well. Because at the end of the day, having a mom and pop shop that automatically runs by itself and that requires little to no stress, zero risk or actually not zero, but minimal risk versus a hundred shop chain, a franchise chain that has a lot more stress dealing with that, building that up and a lot more risk in terms of financial, in terms of putting in everything that you've been building and just leveraging it and just keep rolling that. That is very, very different in terms of vision and the skill set to build these two things are very, very different as well. And the workload is very different. Stress load is very different as well. So if your partner and your vision does not align, if he wants a business that automatically runs by itself, that requires minimal amount of work, much more like an investor, whereas your vision is to find a partner that can bring strategic value to your food and beverage, and to be able to build this hundred shop chain with you, then that itself creates a lot of conflict if your visions don't align. Whereas if your visions are aligned, if both of you are wanting to create that hundred shop chain, then everything becomes a lot easier because your vision is aligned because you guys want the same thing. The way to approach this vision of yours might be different. So there might still be conflict with your partner. However, because of the fact that you guys want to get to the same place, your visions are aligned. That's what truly matters when it comes down to it. And that prevents a lot of argument because the intent is there. The vision is aligned. For example, with 720 Suites, I brought on Brian and I told him exactly what he's signing up for right from the get go, which is the reason why throughout the last five years of relationship, we have such a great relationship because our vision was aligned because we are able to identify that right from the get go. We're able to set the expectation for each other right from the get go. And that's why it's super important if you want to have a successful relationship, a successful partnership to have the right vision and to have the same alignment in your vision with you and your partner. The second thing to think about and to consider when choosing the right partner is value. What does value mean? We hear this term a lot. Value means how you do things. And what I mean by that is at the end of the day, what do you truly value? How is it that you work? Do you value relationships? Do you value efficiency? Do you value integrity? Do you value communications? Whatever the things that you value, these are the things that if not done right, if not done the way you want, it would press your buttons. And if, for example, if you're a person, you're high in integrity, whereas your partner is a little bit more flexible, if they're a little bit more, hey, you know what? It doesn't really matter what I do as long as I get to the destination. Then you guys do things differently. Then there's going to be clash because your values don't align. And another version of that is, for example, if you value communication, if you truly want someone to always update you all the time because that's how you operate because that's how you think a successful business should be run by having high communication, then it's completely fine. You declare that, you tell your partners that, and you ask them, what is it that they value? If they don't value communication, if they think communication is an efficiency, then right there alone, you understand there's this conflict that would eventually happen because they're not going to communicate with you. They don't like sending emails. They think that it's inefficient, whereas you value communication a lot, and that's how conflict is being built. So for example, if the values don't align, then you should really consider whether this partner is good for you because the way you guys do things is just completely different. Another example of 720 suites. With 720 suites, we have four different values. Communication is something that I highly, highly value. I love people when they communicate with me, whether they can do something or whether they cannot do something. I want to be able to be fed into the loop. Which is the reason why I tell Brian right away, hey, is this something that you value? And we have a consensus on the fact that we understand the importance of communication in a company. The second value that we have is integrity. At the end of the day, I'm handling multiple businesses and we're handling multiple teams at the same time. If someone that I handle with and that I work with does not have high integrity, that they slack off when I get off work or that they just drive off and say that they're visiting our store to make sure that the quality is there whatsoever. But yet they're just slacking. They go off and watch football. And these are things that I can't control. And if integrity is not part of what they have as an intrinsic value, there's nothing I can do, which is the reason why I got to know Brian and I understand that integrity is really deep down his core. And that's what makes us work really, really well together. And the third value is empowerment. Empowerment is trusting and telling and empowering and giving the confidence to other people to be able to perform a certain task and being able to trust that they have the ability to do so. And that's something that I really, really promote because if you're operating a big team without empowerment, without you inspiring and without you giving opportunities for people to become leaders, if you don't rise them to become leaders, it's very, very difficult for you to be able to do that. And which is the reason why Brian and I both are very, very strong in empowerment and giving opportunities for our staff as well. And then fourth is get the shit done. And this is a mentality that we have deeply ingrained in us and that we that's the reason why I love him so much. It is because he has this GST mentality. GST really means that with business, there's no right way. There's no formula. There's no structure. When you have an objective, all you have to do is hit that objective. Okay. I don't like to hear excuses. All I want is for them to be able to achieve that goal and achieve that task, which is the reason why me and Brian work so well together, because he has that same mentality. He's not going to come to me and tell me that Wilson, this thing can't be done because I because, you know, the suppliers don't won't allow us to to make this modification to the cup. No, he's going to go find another supplier. And he's going to find another supplier. He's going to find that supplier who will work with us that will provide that feature that we need in order for us to get that smoking effect. Without coming back to me, without me telling him, Hey, you know what? Your attitude really determines how you achieve this goal. So make sure that go out there and find other people. You know, he has this GST mentality right from the get go. Now, me explaining our four values to you really just shows you an example of when two people's values align, how much power it gets in how much like harmony it creates within a partnership. Just imagine Brian does not have these values that I have, then there's going to be a lot of conflict and we won't be focused in building our business. We're going to be focused fighting each other. And that's not good for business, which is the reason why you need to find a partner who has the same value as you do. The third secret in choosing the right partner for your food and beverage is table. What is table? It is what they bring to the table at the end of the day when you're choosing a partner. You need to understand just because you're there, your best friend, just because you trust them a lot, just because they're your family member does not mean they qualify to become your partner. When you're choosing a partner, always be strategic with the partners that you bring on board. It is because your friend is only your friend. They are not meant to be your partner. Although they may have the skill set, although they may have what it brings to the table, they might not be suitable to become your partner because they don't bring any value to this whole operation. Now, let me give you an example with 720 sweets. I brought on Tim, which is our supplier for our ice cream and bubble tea chain as a partner. And the reason why I brought him on board is, is because he's a supplier and a wholesaler of all the ingredients, which in turn, what does that mean? That means that we have the lowest cost of goods sold and that's guaranteed. That means that for research and development, we're able to have a lot more resources and a lot more depth for us to find different equipment, for us to find different product ideas, because he is in the trade of wholesaling. And thirdly, it is because he has a warehouse and delivery system that we're able to leverage off when we're working with our ice cream shop. This is the reason why I brought Tim on board. And as much as it sounds very strategical and calculated, that is not the case, because right now we're dealing with business people. We're dealing with business, which is the reason why we need to understand what they bring to the table, because they're going to think about the same thing. Wilson, what do you bring to the table? Right? So you need to be a person of value and you need to know exactly what you bring to the table. You might be able to make the best dish in the world, and that's the reason why they want you. Or you might be the best marketer, and or you may be the best face for your company, which is the reason why you, and that's what you bring to the table. And vice versa. For me, we'll bring Brian on board as part of the partner. It is because he is, our visions align, our values align. And on top of that, he is super dedicated as a spearhead of this business, because he's very strong on operations and he's very strong on people's side, dealing with all the staff. And that's part of the reason why I brought him on board, because he can focus 120% of his time, energy, and resources in building 720 suites. Whereas I am handling multiple different businesses and my time is spread quite thin. Whereas what I bring to the table is that I'm very strategical, and I know a lot of different trade, and I'm very, I have a big, high sense of business acumen. And I'm strong on marketing because I'm able to understand what people and what the market is wanting. So this makes for a great team because everyone brings different things to the table. And it is not just money. Okay, biggest mistake that people make is that they bring people on because of money. And you don't want that because money doesn't solve problems, right? So at the end of the day, make sure you understand the partners that you bring on board strategically speaking. What do they bring to the table? What value do they add to the table, which would enhance, which would make this project super, super successful. And that's part of the reason why we're able to expand internationally into China, Beijing within a span of only four years. Okay, because of the fact that we chose the right partners, we have the right support and we have the right talent to build this business. So when you're trying to find a partner for your food and beverage, make sure you understand what they bring to the table. The fourth secret in finding the right partner for your food and beverage business is what are they going to do? What I mean by that is what are they going to be doing on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis? And we need to make sure we identify that and be on the same page and be okay with what they are signing up for. And what I mean by that is are they good at operations? Are they good at marketing? Are they going to be doing finance? Are they doing logistics? We need to be able to identify the whole, all the operations and all the arms of your business and identify who's responsible for what right from the beginning. And this is something called a shareholder agreement. So if you don't have that, you can download that from the link below. It's called a shareholder agreement. And that is like a 40 plus page document that identifies everything that you and your partners are responsible for. So for example, if your partners are not really carrying their weight with marketing, then you can tell them and it's very, very clear who is at fault at this point in time because when there's this partnership that is formed right from the beginning, if your partners are responsible for marketing and they're not pulling the weight, you know exactly that they messed up and they know exactly that they messed up. The biggest problem that happens with partnership is that they do not clearly identify who's responsible for what. And in turn, I feel like he's not doing his job and vice versa. He thinks I'm not doing my job and this creates a lot of conflict and unnecessary burden for the business. And in turn does not move the business forward. In turn, you guys are just going to end up fighting with each other because the roles are not identified clearly. So make sure you know what each other are doing. Identify that. And for example, you need to also identify that if your partners want out, if they want to exit, if they want to sell their shares, how can they do that? If they're not doing their job, how can you buy them out? If they sign up as a partner and they are super excited, they're super motivated in the first two months. And then afterwards, the third and fourth month, they fall off the track and you try to incentivize them. You try to tell them. You try to inspire them. Nothing works. And what are you going to do? Are you still going to build that business for them? Or are you going to have an option to buy them out? This is the reason why shareholder agreement is so important because it identifies, you know, what are the terms and what is it and how is it that I can buy someone out if something like this happened? A lot of people don't have shareholder's agreement because who would ever think about getting a divorce during the honeymoon? No one does that. But then yet, so many people come to the stage where they do not clearly identify their work and clearly they do not align with each other's vision and values, which is the reason why they want to part ways. And it's very difficult to do so without a shareholder's agreement. To prevent that, identify exactly what you're going to be doing, what your partner is going to be doing, and create that shareholder agreement, which is the reason why with all my businesses, I have a shareholder agreement with my partners, just so that we can have all the ugly, all the difficult conversations right from the beginning. And after that's done, all the focus and all the intention is about building the business, moving it forward, moving the needle. And that's precisely the reason why we're able to grow our business so fast, so rapidly, and so successfully. So there you go. The four secrets that you need in choosing the right partner for your freedom beverage restaurant. First of all, make sure your visions are aligned. At the end of the day, do you want to create something that is super easy, super simple, super stressless? Or do you want to create something much bigger? Have that conversation right from the get-go. The second thing is values. Make sure that you identify how you work, what you believe in, what presses your buttons, and what is it that you truly value. And make sure you have that aligned with your partners if and when you bring them on board. Thirdly, you need to make sure that what do they bring to the table. At the end of the day, you're going to feel unfair if they don't bring anything to the table that you don't have, right? So make sure anyone that you bring on board plays a strategic role in your business because when everyone brings something to the table, that's when you can grow the business like crazy. And you can focus on growing the business and not focus on the flaws of your partners. And lastly, identify what the roles are within the company and have a shareholder agreement because as clear as it gets, you can now actually identify who's accountable for what operations within your business. And if things actually turn out sour, you still have a clause to understand how you can buy your partners out and what are the different difficult conversations to have right from the get-go. So there you go, the four secrets and finding the right partners. I really hope you find value in this. If you want more good stuff, I've actually in the link below created something that I've documented for the last 10 years of my journey from finding locations to getting free rent to identifying a winning matrix of your menu to marketing to your customers, getting the minds of your customers to actually marketing crazy to them to growing a multiple shop chain. Everything within the link below. So check it out in the link below. Otherwise, I really hope you enjoyed this video. Smash the like button, subscribe along the journey and I'll see you guys in the next video.