Are Business Partnerships Good or Bad?
One of the things I love about being independent is I don’t answer to others when it comes to making decisions. No corporate board, no chief of this or that, no division director or whatever. The flip side of the luxury of going it alone is of course the scary afterthought that the decisions you make, you own. If it’s a really poor decision, you yourself suffer, and maybe suffer big.
If you’re looking at starting your own business and then pick a franchise, go through all the stuff to make it happen, and it fails, then nice you had all that empowered, self-satisfying stuff, but bummer, when the ship sinks.
I’ve owned and do own, several businesses. Every one of them I have had and currently have, a business partner. I’ve read countless stories on how a business partner can be a bad idea, but the truth is it can be the best decision you ever made. Now it goes without saying that after you decide you need a partner, that the very next biggest thing you will ever do is pick the actual partner. If you think opposites attract and work great, then be prepared if you’re the workaholic and the other is really laid back and more appreciates a bunch of time off. If you’re frugal and the partner likes a lot of trips to network in Las Vegas, then get ready for money issues. The truth is, probably not good to be twins in every way, but a match that is going to work is a must.
My current business partner Rhonda is the perfect partner. We share the motivation to succeed, the desire to step out of the typical box, we both look at finances the same, and we typically approach operations the same. Rhonda’s more centered, I’m on the fringe. She’s more deliberate and steadfast, I can take off in a new direction in a heartbeat. What we do share is the respect for each other’s personality, and the ability to talk through it. When I wanted to buy a coffee plantation in South America, Rhonda is the one who first made the trip. I know better than to send myself. I could have easily been picking beans by the end of the week’s trip. Rhonda came back, we talked through it, and I still have a glimmer of how we can have the best coffee shop you ever visited, yet I’m OK to wait.
Business partners offer the opportunity to bounce the ideas and decisions off each other. That means you make decisions, but they’re shared by two voices (or maybe more if you have a few partners), so the decisions have a way of being filtered through another level of thought processes. I once had 4 partners. Nice going into the venture because two of us had no money. So the two put in all the cash, wrote the start-up checks and we were off. The problem with that arrangement was that neither one of the two partners ever stepped foot in the business in the three years we owned it. After we sold it for a really nice profit, they enjoyed a great ROI. We did all the work but only came out with a small reward. I’m not complaining, but if I have a similar opportunity I will never be a minority partner again.
I love being a business owner and sharing the success is certainly not a problem for me. Actually the model I like best is you find a really compatible partner that shares your vision, respect each other, make mutual decisions, communicate well, and you have the best of the business world. Independent ownership, operation, and excitement, yet the powerful benefit of having the concept of a whole new set of eyes, ears, and experience. Being independent is awesome when things go well, you reward yourself and you’re sitting on the beach reflecting. But, remember, when things go bad the beach is a long, long way away. You know what they say--you have to be extra cautious if you surf alone.
