Business Partnerships: Agree Before You Agree

There was a time when I was searching Google for therapy for couples – and I’m not even in a relationship.

Being in a business partnership is tough. Initially, when a business is new, ideas are exciting and dreams are full of hope, a partnership sounds fantastic. Pooling resources to create a better, stronger business is smart.

Then the romance dies, the fireworks phase passes, and the long haul making a relationship work begins.

That’s what happened with Harry and I. Best friends, a great team, and each of us with a common vision and completely different skill sets. We were going to overtake the Internet.

We ended up arguing over 100 petty things, then each in turn feeling guilty and trying to make up. We wondered if we could really do this, have a business together. We tried to find our place, each of us jostling the other to figure out where we belonged and who would do what.

One terrible week, it all came to a head. I put my foot down, Harry put his down, and we faced off. We nearly broke up, to borrow the phrase.

We thought of getting partnership counseling, but the price tag made us change our mind. We didn’t want to toss out our dreams, and we still shared our vision for the business, so… we talked.

We spent the next few days cautiously discussing via email, carefully choosing our words and putting down in writing what we would do, what we wouldn’t, and what we each expected from the other.

Norming, storming, forming… and now we’re performing like a well-oiled machine.

My advice? Before jumping into a business partnership with your life partner, friend, family member, or an entrepreneur you know, sit down. Talk over expectations with each other. Create an agreement for sharing work and profits. Decide who does what and when, and how to split up the money.

Or else you’ll be splitting up, period.

[tags]business partnership, business relationship, working together, couples in business[/tags]