The Business Divorce

A business partnership is every bit like a marriage, and needs to be approached with the same thoughtfulness and consideration. When all is going well, everyone is happy and everything falls into place, but when problems arise, relationships can go downhill fast. Before you know it, the lines of communication dissolve, and people get nasty.

There are a number of factors that can cause business partnerships to fail, but more often than not, the reason is a lack of due diligence in choosing the right individual or company culture to begin with. In order to weather the ups and downs of long-term business cycles, the chemistry and balance of the business partnership must be right.

Remember these key points when choosing a business partner:

1. Have a similar work ethic.
2. Spell out the balance of power.
3. Have clear guidelines how decisions will be made.
4. Have a five year plan.
5. EVERYTHING to do with finances needs to be addressed, discussed and legally ironed out.
6. Address legal exit strategies for buying each other out if one or the other chooses to dissolve the relationship.
7. Keep communication lines open and don’t allow resentment or frustration to build.

Building a business is never easy because there are so many stresses involved. Pick your battles and learn to overlook the little things that don’t affect the true success of the business.

Most importantly, make a promise to follow your mother’s advice. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. More than likely, you will both move on to other business ventures, and in the end, you will find that the business world can be a very small place.