The Matchstick Test — Choosing the Right Business Partner

It’s told that long ago, a barbecue restaurant owner was looking for a partner to join his business. He came to an agreement with a potential candidate and invited him to the restaurant to discuss the partnership.

After their meeting, the owner told the guest he would give him an answer the next day.

The following day:

Owner: “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can be partners.”
Candidate: “May I ask why? Please, I insist on knowing.”
Owner: “Yesterday, while we were sitting and talking, every time you wanted to light a cigarette, you used a matchstick… even though the charcoal right beside us was already burning. You could have lit your cigarette from that. I’m sorry — I don’t partner with people who waste.”

Now, this isn’t a story about stinginess. The real message is about compatibility with your partner.

When you choose a partner for your business:

1. Don’t just look at who has money.

2. Don’t be swayed by the overly confident “know-it-all.”

3. Don’t pick someone just because they’re a relative, acquaintance, or friend.

A good partner is someone whose values and habits align with yours. This means you need to meet not once, but several times, to truly understand their personality and working style.

Golden advice: The worst partner is someone who expects to take profits in the second month of investment — avoid them at all costs.

In the restaurant world, never let a partner run the business if they have no proper experience. It’s always better to hire a qualified manager to fill that role.

And most importantly — never enter a partnership without a written, legal, and notarized contract.

Another golden piece of advice for free: The partnership agreement should be strictly between you and your partner — no relatives involved in the business. No brothers, sisters, parents, children, spouses — they should all remain customers, nothing more.

— Eyad