Building any form of business partnership takes a significant amount of energy and time for such relationships to last. A lasting business relationship is an integral part of business success but a lot of people do not quite understand the importance of this business concept.
When starting a partnership, you are bound to make some few mistakes here and there but that should not deter you from pushing forth and setting a business partnership. That is why this post has put together some of the top tips to help you if you are thinking of starting a business with a partner and you intend to start on the right foot. Let’s go.
1. Define your roles explicitly
This is to ensure that you do not overlap in your roles while conducting your business. In the initial stages, it is important for you to identify any shared goals and values and carve out your explicit responsibilities. Ensure that all parties understand their roles and stick to them. However, at the same time, it is important to understand that these roles are bound to change over time so watch out and make any possible adjustments.
2. Regular communication is key
For many people starting business partnerships, the aspect of communication may seem too obvious but it is quite vital in the success of a partnership. At one point or another, differences are bound to occur and how you handle these differences is what will bolster your business relationship forward. Identify communication strategies that work for all of you and stay true to them. This will call for a high level of openness and mutual trust between or among partnerships.
3. Take a proactive approach
It is wiser to avoid business disputes rather than spend a lot of your time solving them. Taking a proactive approach essentially means that you take the necessary steps to identify and eliminate any potential issues beforehand to avoid a culmination of ugly disputes.
Just as mentioned earlier, communication is key and it goes a long way in ensuring that all of you are on the same page on things, If you see better solutions, go ahead and offer your partner some help in filling in gaps and ask questions wherever necessary for avoidance of doubt. Furthermore, take that extra step of seeking the wise counsel of a commercial litigation lawyer in Sydney to guide you through these and many other steps.
4. Discuss any long-term goals you have upfront
All of you in that partnership have long-term goals that you hope to achieve. Have a sit-down and discuss these goals together. Find out if they are similar or compatible. Even if you disagree on a few things, which is only human of you, you should ensure that you have a shared vision and find a way of working together to achieve these goals without necessarily falling into unnecessary disputes.
5. Write down everything
During your discussions, it is only wise to ensure that you put down everything you discuss, not because you do not trust each other, but because you wish to avoid in possible misunderstandings.
It may be a little challenging to keep track of things you discussed verbally, but when you write it down, you will always have a point of reference to minimise cases of miscommunication.
6. Let go of expectations
Of course, you are starting something new and you have expectations. When starting a business with a partner, you need to go in with an open mind, never assume and always strive to be realistic.
Always look to accept the way your business partner is rather than how you want them to be because, in the end, people are just only who we think they are basing on what kind of interactions we have had with them.
If you have some sort of preconceived expectations about your partner, more often than not, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Save yourself the pain and let go of the expectations.
Bottom line
You can gain the most out of setting up a business partnership if all of your endeavours to communicate properly, respect each other, avoid disputes and above all staying transparent with each other. If both you feel like the partnership will not be a win-win for you, it will be a good idea to break away before things go south. Do not forget to seek consult from a commercial litigation lawyer in Sydney in case you need any help.
About the Author
Maryn Mcdonnell is a creative content writer. She spends her days working closely with many entrepreneurs and creative thinkers internationally. Her interests include travel, self-improvement, and technology. Find Maryn on Twitter @MarynMcdonnell
