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FAQ #10:
I am in business with my partner, or spouse. I produce the products and my partner does the sales and marketing. We're beginning to have
conflicts. What should we do?
Go back to the beginning and develop a clear understanding with each
other -- a contract in writing -- about your individual and mutual goals,
roles, areas of responsibility, expectations of each other, hours of work,
how money will be handled, how decisions will be made, how problems will be
solved. If you are really in difficulty now, you may want to enlist the
assistance of a neutral third party or counsellor to help you work out your
agreement.
You may not be equal partners or even have totally the same
goals, so it's important to be clear about that at the beginning. If one
wants to work fewer hours, for example, you may allocate the revenue
proportionately. If one person's work depends on the other keeping his/her
commitments, it's very important to agree how you will handle broken
promises or mistakes. You need a certain amount of flexibility, a lot of
trust, but also clear understandings. Anticipate problems or potential
conflicts, and plan now how you will handle them. Discuss your financial
arrangements in great detail and be sure you agree on how to handle debts
or windfalls, how one partner can get out of the business, when and how to
bring in new partners, etc. Even with a spouse, it is important to set
regular business meetings to discuss how you are doing, both in tangible
results and in your personal relationship.
All the principles of effective team work apply in a business partnership:
common purpose, mutually agreed-upon ground rules, measurable goals, open
honest communication, allocation of tasks, clear processes for decision
making and problem solving, systems for tracking progress and evaluating
results, and good will and intention to make it work. Having fun together
is important, too!
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