Myths About Business Partnership that Needs to be Busted

by Olivia Miller Freelance Blogger

There is a common conscience among the new business owners about a partnership that they seldom work. The situations and reasons for the fallout between the two partners are way too many. However, this doesn’t mean partnership is not a good idea to start a business.

Even the biggest unicorns in the industry have seen more than one leader. The mantra of their success is open communication, mutual respect, a clear understanding of the roles, and dedication. Still, the people are skeptical about entering the market with a partner on their side.

Here, we have busted some myths about a business partnership to clarify the concept for you.

Team Players

People may take some time before they adjust to a new environment. You cannot expect your partner to come, and all of a sudden act as a team player. Their role in the organization also plays an integral part in determining their part as a team member.

Support is indeed a characteristic of a team player but not helpful every time in a business environment. Diversity in opinions is essential to find a more creative solution to the problems.

Leadership Skills

Psychologically, there are many types of effective leadership styles in our society. Your partner may administrate in a different manner which you may seem weak at first. However, you should wait for the outcome for an opinion.

The years of experience they hold may not help them in a business partnership. We have seen people giving a speech in a room full of people but failing to even communicate in front of a camera. Therefore, you cannot judge their leadership and presentation skills based on some predetermined characteristics.

Process Streamlining

You might think adding a partner in the venture may complicate the business processes. It is true to some extent as every decision is now under the radar. However, the increased complexity comes with transparency in the processes.

They might have some new ideas to streamline the existing structure of the organization. You need an extra pair of hands to solve the complex problem.

Focus on Relationship

Strong relationships among the partners are important for the success of a venture. People may not work to their full potential if they don’t trust the person sitting next to them. Also, transparency and communication are vital for smooth management.

You should give time to know each other on a human level while working in a partnership. There is no need to have forced conversations about topics outside the work. Let the people connect at the speed they feel comfortable with.

Risk Involved

The risk involved is wholly shared by the partners irrelevant of their equity. You are entirely accountable for the actions even if you are a minor owner. Any mistake from the business and you are on the hook same as every other owner.

This means you are equally responsible for organizational needs. You can still apply for loans for bad credit with no guarantor if the organization is facing a cash crunch.

Skill Set

Your partner doesn’t need to have the same level of skill set as you in a particular field. There are plenty of operations in an organization that requires management from the owners. It is beneficial for the organization if they have expertise in some other process.

Let us take an example of a tech startup. You need someone with knowledge of networking and marketing if you are developing the technology. Raising money for the startup is somewhat equal to growing the tech.

Communication

Partners should always know a company’s goals and vision to convey it to anyone interested in it. However, it is non-essential for them to convey the same to every stakeholder. Each partner should be assigned a set of stakeholders to take care of the message the organization wants to explain.

They might know the language to make the stakeholder understand the message. Also, they might belong to two different backgrounds which increases the difficulty in communication.

Efforts on the Work

Never think of promoting someone to partnership level just to make them work harder. A partner needs to take ownership of their work with added responsibilities. These responsibilities will require risk, cash infusion, time, liability, and even more.

Instead of taking such a huge risk, you should introduce a reward system to motivate people. There will be much less stress on them while working for the organization.

Mutual Goals

Partners are intended to have mutual goals for the benefit of the organization. It might be the same in the beginning, but the goals do change with time. Priorities will change because of a change in personal lives.

To conclude, there is a particular risk involved when it comes to the partnership business. The reasons for failure are often one of the myths mentioned above. But there is no way you cannot say for sure that partnership in a business will never work.