There are several advantages to partnering with other businesses and entrepreneurs, but maintaining those relationships can be much more difficult than expected. When entering into business agreements, both parties must be on the same page about what is expected from the relationship and how the goals will be reached.
Here are five tips on how to ensure that your business partnership thrives
1) Sit Down for Regular Meetings
Whether you sit down once a year, every six months, or somewhere in between, having regular meetings is key to sustaining your business partnerships.
In these meetings, each party should have an opportunity to voice any issues they may have with the partnership and share how they see those problems being resolved.
2) Address Issues Promptly
Many business owners try to sweep problems they are having with their partners under the rug or hope that the problem will work itself out over time.
If you address the problem immediately, then both of you will have more time to develop a satisfactory solution for everyone. If one of the partners tries to wait it out, this could allow them to get their house in order without your input.
3) Maintain Equal Power in All Decisions
When entering into a business partnership, you should always aim for an even distribution of power to avoid future conflict.
Even if your partner is very good at their job, it’s important that you are heard equally during meetings and that you don’t defer too much decision-making to them because of their expertise in their specific role.
4) Clear Communication
In any successful business partnership, it’s necessary to have open lines of communication. This means being transparent about what you want from the relationship and ensuring that your partner has a clear understanding of how they fit within your company.
When one party does not share information with their partner willfully and gives them incorrect or incomplete information when asked for it, this creates a lot of confusion and can result in hard feelings.
5) Work Out Clear Rules of the Road
Every business partnership should have a set of rules that both partners follow to ensure fairness.
These rules should be laid out before either party begins working towards their shared goals so that everyone is on the same page throughout the relationship.
The most important part of maintaining a business partnership is open and frank communication. If you follow these five tips, you should be able to share your ideas with your partner clearly and avoid any major problems down the road.