Have a candid conversation with your business partner to ensure success.
To have a productive, positive relationship between business partners, it's essential to have an honest, thorough conversation about goals, responsibilities, timelines, and modes and amounts of communication. By creating an agreement and addressing each of these issues, the partnership will run smoother and both parties can agree on run the business and what they expect of the other person.
Instructions
1. Start the conversation by discussing short- and long-term goals. By defining these goals, business partners will be on the same page. Define monthly, yearly, and 5-year goals so both parties have a clear vision of what's expected and will be motivated to stay on task.
2. Outline each person's responsibilities. Define every aspect of running the business and every task that must be accomplished on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Then assign these responsibilities based on each partner's strengths and weaknesses so each person knows exactly what he must accomplish. This exercise will also help both parties with time management and prioritization.
3. Schedule regular meetings so any issues can be addressed quickly, efficiently and early. Partnerships can be destroyed by misunderstandings and resentment. Regular weekly or monthly meetings provide a designated time to bring up issues and brainstorm solutions.
4. Determine the amount of communication you expect from each other, especially if you won't see each other every day. Consider whether you expect your partner to check in regularly, and whether you should produce a weekly progress report. Discuss your communications options, including emailing, faxing, texting, speaking on the phone, or chatting online. Decide these communication-related matters so both parties are in agreement.
5. Follow up your initial conversations by creating a legal document that thoroughly and accurately records these and any additional decisions. You can find many online services that provide free or inexpensive business partnership agreements that you can both sign before a notary or other witnesses. Websites such as LawDepot.com, GetFreeLegalForms.com, and SmallBusinessNotes.com all offer free forms that can assist you with this step.
