Whether it’s to make money or just for fun, if you’re doing a serious colab that will take a lot of dedication, there are some things you and your potential partner(s) need to clear up beforehand.

1. Other Priorities

What is most important to you, what is most important to them, and where does your shared project rank among those things?  You want to give about the same amount of darn.  If one person does not give a darn whatsoever, and the other gives advanced darn, problems will ensue.



2. Skills and Interests
What is each person bringing to the table?  Is there overlap?  Talk that over because there could be fighting over who does what.  Are there gaps?  Figure out how you two (or however many people) are going to complete everything that needs to be completed.



3. Communication Style

Some folks like to be kept updated every step of the way.  Others consider this spam and like to only be notified when something concerns them directly.  Keeping someone inundated with more than they want to know and keeping someone in the dark when they’re desperate for info are both recipes for disaster.

4. Purpose
If you’re working towards some tangible goal, then you need practical steps, a system of workflow, and deadlines.  If you’re noodling away at the project just for fun, then, by all means, noodle.  But if people are on different wavelengths here, the noodles will boil over and make a huge mess of the stove.


The basic rule is, if your approach makes a difference as to how your partner has to treat the project, make sure you clear it with them beforehand.

- Tamara Hecht