My clients know my position on business partnerships, however, let’s explore the pros and cons.
Pros:
- share responsibility
- share finances
- time out for holidays
- brainstorming opportunities
- financing of purchasing of a business or refinancing it down the track
Cons:
- change of vision from the original one by one of the parties
- too many partners
- bullying partners
- partners wantng to leave
- finding out misappropriation of funds or resources by the other partner
- one party becoming unstable
- the partner’s life partner having a vested interest in your business, even if they split up in their relationship
- wanting to take over the business solely, but, the other party doesn’t want to sell
- arguing with each other
Whatever your initial intentions are, you must be aware of the pitfalls and ensure that you discuss all of those pitfalls and how you would resolve them if you were in that space.
Partnerships are not for everyone, and just like life partners, things can drift, so, when combining finances with relatives or strangers, you must be prepared for a change in the situation.
As a business coach, I deal with these issues all the time.
If you are thinking of getting into a partnership or you are already in one and want to discuss the above further, please give me a call.
