Sometimes it is absolutely necessary to find someone to share your burden with, especially as your company starts growing. Unfortunately, a lot of people make the decision to team-up based on mutual interests, which is not as reliable a factor as you might assume. Even though your end goal may be the same, the vision you have (i.e. how you get there) may be completely different, which can result in the downfall of your entire partnership. In order to avoid this, you need to learn how to find the right partner. However, your work doesn’t end there, so here are three methods that can make your business partnership much stronger.
1. Distribute your responsibilities
One of the major problems that occurs in partnerships is that one side either feels left out, or ends up doing too much of the work. The best way to avoid this is to simply distribute your responsibilities so that everyone gets their fair share. This needs to be dealt with at the very start of your partnership, and it won’t hurt to put it all on paper. Of course we are not suggesting that both partners must get exactly 50 percent of the administrative tasks; after all, one of them may have a smaller share in the company or may be involved in a larger number of side projects. You will know that the division is done right once both parties are happy or at least equally unhappy with the agreement.
2. Respect and support
Even if you do have some disagreements with your partner, you should never show it outside of the company or even outside of the meeting room. Every conflict you have needs to stay internal, seeing as how it is vital that, from the outside, you seem unified. Imagine a scenario where you have reluctantly agreed to start a negotiation with another company.
Instead of lamenting over not having things your way, you should accept the decision and focus on making it work. Give your partner your full verbal and logistical support. Show them that your entire company is there to back them up. This is especially important if the meeting is taking place somewhere distant for them. For instance, if the meeting is to take place in NSW, Australia, you could look for a company renting corporate cars in Sydney and hire a luxury executive vehicle to take them to the meeting. Not only will this empower their presence, but will also encourage them to do the same for you in the nearest future.
3. Always be transparent
You must have heard the phrase “the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing”. Well, such a manner of conduct can be simply disastrous for an aspiring business. While most people believe that transparency is all about trust, there is actually much more to it. Coordination is key. If you already made the division of work we suggested in the introduction, no one is expecting you to report every single detail to your partner. But if something comes up that you believe may be vital for them, you need to share it as soon as possible. At the end of the day, transparency can give your business model a considerable boost.
Conclusion
Although it is true that choosing the right partner is half the job, even the most disharmonious of relationships can become more or less productive with the right attitude. Remember that you are running a business, and that your end goals are probably the same, which is already one mutual interest to work with. Who knows, maybe your clashing opinions can even be turned into an advantage, provided that you can leave your ego behind.