Whether you’re looking for a business partner to cut costs or to begin a succession plan, you’ll want a strategy in place to ensure the relationship is long lasting.

Vetting a business partner can be compared with dating, says April-Lynn Levitt, coach with the Personal Coach in Oakville, Ont. You’ll want to invest time early on to find the right match, just as you would in a marriage. The more prepared you are for the partnership, the better able you’ll be to face any potential obstacles.

Here are four tips for choosing a partner:

1. Compare values
An ideal business partner will share similar philosophies and beliefs as well as possess a complimentary skill set, Levitt says. So, you should find out ahead of time whether your core values are aligned.

For example, you don’t want to find out at the last minute that you’re partner has a laissez-faire attitude toward business hours while you’re spending long days at the office.

This can cause a lot of friction because there isn’t an equal amount of effort going into the business, Levitt says. Each of you should take the time to develop your individual business philosophy, and then decide whether they’re in harmony with one another.

2. Create a shared vision
In the “dating” phase of a partnership, you need to have discussions around how you both envision the future to play out. Start by describing some of your goals and how you plan to work toward them. You’ll also want to consider how you’ll make important decisions and split costs, Levitt says. It’s better to work out the details in advance than figure them out on the fly.

3. Meet the team
Any team members who are involved in the partnership should be consulted beforehand, Levitt says.

“Sometimes, I see people partner up without input from their team, and then find out later that the other person isn’t a good fit,” she says.

Try out the partnership on a trial basis to see how easily everyone works together. You can even create an informal partnership for a couple of joint projects.

4. Find someone you truly like
A win/win partnership is in which you’re friends and strong business partners. It’s always best if you truly enjoy each other’s company, Levitt says. Ideally, you want a business partner that you can happily grab a drink with after work.

Just be careful that you’re not solely choosing a partner based on this reason, Levitt adds, because your partnership can easily collapse if you don’t share the same values