I have had a business partner for last 7 years and with good communication and clear boundaries, a partnership can work well with a multitude of benefits. There are a few key ingredients to a successful partnership:
#1 Define your jobs. This may seems like a no brainer, but the problem in many partnerships is that both partners are good at the same thing. You don’t need a partner if you can do it all! In my company, I headed up the sales division and my partner headed up the operations division. There was a clear division of responsibilities. If there was a problem in either of our divisions we could consult the other, which we did many times. But, we didn’t step on each other’s toes because we both knew that we couldn’t do the other’s job as well as she could.
#2 Remember that there is more then your business that you have to nurture. Having a business partner is like another marriage. It’s important that you do fun things together, too. It’s good for the two of you to remember that you are individuals that have a life outside of your business. My partner and I would make an effort to take a day and go shopping and have lunch every month. This was good for us and good for our business. You want to like who you work with everyday!
#3 Make certain that your stake in the company is proportionate to your investment. That means that if you each own 50% of your business, you each put in an equal amount of working capital to get the business started. This is important because if one partner has less money invested and less equity in the company, he/she will most likely not be working as hard as you are. This work inequity is often times where the resentment rears it’s ugly head.
Partnerships have received a bad rap. But, if you know who you’re going into business with, and follow these 3 rules, chances are you will have a successful partnership.
