Tips to maintain a thriving business partnership
Like all relationships, business partnerships must be cultivated with intention in order to remain healthy, productive, and resilient over the long term.
Regardless of whether you’re just beginning your partnership or you’ve had a business partner for years, the following tips will help you create and maintain a fulfilling professional relationship.
Establish a strong foundation for the partnership
Most people tend to rush into partnerships because they’re so convicted by their business idea and end up bypassing essential early conversations. The way you start a business partnership can have a long-term impact on how the relationship functions, so you want to make sure you’ve taken the time to talk about how you’ll structure the relationship, handle conflict, and run the business.
The following questions will help you determine whether you’ve established a solid foundation for your business partnership:
Have you talked openly about your strengths and weaknesses?
Have you had hard conversations around money, profit sharing, etc?
Do you have a business partnership agreement?
Are your roles and responsibilities clearly defined?
Do you have a plan for mitigating conflict?
Have you aligned on your mission, vision, and values?
Are you clear on your communication styles and mediums of communication?
Are you prepared for potential worst-case scenarios?
Have you talked about you will set and maintain boundaries with each other?
If you’re further along in your business journey, re-visiting the questions above can be a powerful annual practice to keep your partnership strong.
Tell each other what you really think and feel
You’d be surprised how many people avoid telling their business partners about their true desires and private fears. While it may feel more comfortable to conceal your needs and opinions in the short term, this will only lead to greater conflict down the road. As one of my favorite relationship specialists Mark Groves says, “If a truth burns down a relationship, a family, or a community, it was only ever held together by lies.” If vulnerable conversations feel difficult in your business partnership, consider scheduling a weekly “vulnerability meeting” whereby you practice being honest and getting to the root of your business tensions and personal differences.
Know how you both like to give and receive support
If you’re familiar with the 5 Love Languages, you’ll know that there are various ways people prefer to give and receive love in romantic relationships. Similarly, in business partnerships, there are many ways to encourage your partner and help them reach their goals. The following prompts will help you understand how you need to be supported by your business partner and vice versa:
When you’re having a rough day, what typically makes you feel better?
What keeps you motivated? What makes you feel unmotivated?
How can your business partner better support you?
What feels unreasonable or uncomfortable to ask for?
It can also be beneficial to consider ways in which you’ll surprise and delight your business partner. Can you bring them a coffee from their favorite local shop, tackle a task that’s been bogging them down, or get them a gift card to the movies? Moments of surprise and appreciation will keep both partners feeling valued in the relationship.
Spend time away from your business having fun
When was the last time you and your business partner took some time off and had a blast together? Running a business can be a lot of work and fun is a profound way to re-energize the partnership and return to the business fresh. If you’re feeling stagnant or disconnected from your business partner, consider doing something that will get you both laughing. You might sign up for an escape room together, get tickets to a local comedy show, or enroll in an archery lesson. It doesn’t have to be fancy, as long as you’re having a good time and enjoying each other’s company.
When both partners are committed to creating and maintaining a thriving partnership, the entire business will benefit. If you’re walking the entrepreneurial path and want to be more intentional with the way you approach your business and the people you work with, Bedside Business Plan is a guided journey designed to help you build a foundation for lasting success.
