3 Secrets to Healthy and Productive Business Partnerships

Business partnerships are like marriages and makes on wonder if it’s enough to make you wonder if it’s even worth getting involved in a business partnership.

The biggest partnership brands include:

• Microsoft – Paul Allen & Bill Gates
• Apple – Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
• P&G – William Proctor & James Gamble
• HP – Bill Hewlett & Dave Packard
• Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg & the Winklevoss Brothers

Here are 3 tips from “partner-preneurs” who’ve kept the clock ticking.

1. Create crystal clear terms

All good partnerships start with a contract.

Ryan Dossey, the founder of Ballpoint Marketing and Call Porter, has been in business with his brother for several years now. He said “The key” to keeping their business partnerships healthy is being “extremely clear at the outset about roles, responsibilities, and terms.” He continues, “If you and your business partner don’t have a clear agreement, then you’re not setting yourselves up for success.”

That contract should include things like…

• Responsibilities for Each Partner.
• Profit Split
• Cost Split
• Ownership Split
• Decision-Making Standards
• Method For Resolving Disputes
• Management Duties For Each Partner

2. Fill each other’s gaps

The goal of a business partnership the reason for building a partnership at all is to create something that’s better than the sum of its parts.

Your friends won’t necessarily make good business partners. And your business partners won’t necessarily make good friends.

Look for someone with a different skillset and temperament than your own, learn how to work with each other, honour each other’s differences, and understand that the two of you are more impactful together than as individuals.

3. Work together first

Work with the person for a while on smaller projects, get to know them, their skill sets, their strengths and weaknesses, their communication style, and their work ethic.

Think of your partnership like a marriage date them first, and if you still like each other, then you can talk about signing a contract.