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The traditional wedding vow is a romantic take on the idea of commitment. For better or worse, the wedded partners promise each other to stay faithful and dedicated to the union. The idea is that, ultimately, while there might be dark and difficult days, their commitment to making it work is precisely what preserves the relationship.
The business world, however, has a similar understanding of relationships. Indeed, business partners also need to display commitment and dedication to hold their relationship together. More importantly, they have to know from the start that, while the partnership is built on the expectation of success, there will be hectic and challenging times. But for better or worse, they agree that the union of their skills and mindsets is what is going to drive the business further. Partners who succeed are those who stay together through thick and thin.
Be prepared for uncomfortable discussions
A partnership is a promise of joining forces to aim further and higher. But, while the partnership might sound seamless in theory, in practice, it can be a bumpy road until you get to know and understand each other. Therefore, you need to be ready for criticism and complaints as you work to figure out the best way to move forward. But don’t let complaints get in the way of your collective success. On the contrary, take criticism onboard. Deal with your partner feedback in the same way you would if it came from your customers. Learn from it and discover the key to improve your relationship. Sooner or later, things can go wrong, even in a close partnership. But engaging in an honest conversation keeps the heart of your partnership beating; and as you do, you learn to get your objectives and approaches back in sync.
You need to go out of your way to meet them
Your partnership needs to exist beyond the boundaries of the office. Your partner is not just a cog in the machine. He’s a friend in the business world. You need to work to maintain this friendship, and ultimately, you need to be ready to engage socially. A catch-up lunch during the week is an excellent way of deepening your connection, especially if you are comfortable talking about your personal life and challenges. Discussing kids, showing each other pictures of the latest home improvement project, or even planning an evening out together can help to reinforce your bond. Why not train together too? If you want to keep it business-like, you can opt for golfing – you’ll find plenty of affordable equipment on rockbottomgolf.com, if you’re not an enthusiastic golfer. Similarly, if you live in the same area, why not schedule your running routes together or join the same gym? In short, there are plenty of options to see each other outside of the office environment.
It should be a win-win relationship
Business partners are brought together by one crucial goal: They want to launch a successful product, service or event. In other words, regardless of the friendship connection that might be between you, your top priority is to ensure that you both bring something indispensable to the project. It’s no surprise that partners who come from different backgrounds work well together: They have complementary skills. The combination of your understanding for each other and your specific expertise makes the partnership stable and effective. More often than not, one partner brings the designing and creative skills while the other delivers the operational and logistical side of the business.
Think long-term at all times
There is no denying that building a business partnership that can thrive in the modern market is tough. For a start, your collaboration is unlikely to hit the ground running. You will need time to establish the rules of working together and creating toward the same goal. As you both come from different backgrounds and experience paths, aligning your strategies can take time and effort. But in the process, you learn to develop a consistent message across the board and to define your long-term goals, as per entrepreneur.com. You will need to keep the long-term objective in mind to stay focused and go through demanding and challenging times.
You need a hit
Last, but not least, your common project needs to attract customers. The primary purpose of working together is to generate a new source of income. Two people who appreciate each other and work toward one unique objective can still fail to build a successful partnership if they can’t sell their product or service.
Just like the wedding bond, your partnership needs to stay united through thick and thin. But, unlike marriage, your business partnership requires a profitable goal to justify its existence too. Making it work as partners is as much about hitting the market as understanding each other.
Growing Forward 