You came up with the idea of a new business. Your best friend knows how to put it into practice. The two of you have done all the research, you know it can work. Slowly but surely you are venturing into making it an official partnership.
What can be easier? A business venture with your best friend. You have known each other for so many years, this will be a breeze… Hold on!
You are about to embark on a very complicated journey. Don’t rush into it. A Business Partnership is not a friendship. In fact, nothing can ruin a friendship easier than trying to run a business together. It’s one thing to spend social time together, it is another world to be consistently on the same page in making business decisions that influence your pocket and your future.
5 Tips to ensure you are doing the right thing
- A business partnership is a lot like a marriage and nowadays you wouldn’t venture into a marriage without a solid contract no matter how much in love you are, would you? Make sure all the paper work is in place. Rather spend the time and money now to draw up a solid contract stipulating exactly who will be responsible for what aspect of the business and giving detail of how expenses and profits will be divided, than to try to resolve the conflict later when your spoken agreement doesn’t work that well anymore.
- Do a personality assessment with your potential partner. Yes, you might have known him for years, but do you really know how he reacts under stress or what his management style is? If you know his temperament and you know your own, it will help a lot to ensure that you work well together, supporting each other and not trying to undermine one another. (You can do an online temperament assessment )
- Put your mission, vision and core values on paper. Make sure you are on the same page. Two partners with different core values can create havoc in a business, but if you both agree on the core values from the start as well as where you want to go with the company, you have something to fall back on when the going gets tough. Ensure that you keep on track by having a regular revisit of the mission, vision and values with your partner.
- Discuss beforehand how you are going to resolve any conflict that might arise between the two of you. Too many companies suffer daily because the owners/business partners have unresolved issues between them.
- Practice the three A’s…. Acceptance, Appreciation and Accountability. Accept your partner for who they are from the start. Do not try to change them in any way. Appreciate your partner’s strong points and express your gratitude for their involvement. It’s also good to know what your own and your partner’s languages of appreciation are. The better you know yourself, and your partner, the better you will learn to appreciate each other and work together. Be sure there are methods and strategies in place to ensure transparency and open communication between the partners. These are the cornerstones of accountability.
