Having a business partner can accelerate the growth of your agency. 

It means;

• You have someone with complementary skills, someone whose strengths are your weaknesses. 
• You share the workload. Both the actual work and the emotional labor!
• You don’t have to feel so alone. 

But business partnerships also come at a cost;

• Twice the payroll costs. 
• Coordination and communication between partners can slow things down. Especially when roles and metrics aren’t clearly defined from the outset.
• As time passes, and each partner’s goals and needs change, those changes must be reflected in the firm’s strategy and the partnership dynamics. 

Every partnership needs to create a legal agreement about how decisions will be made, money shared, etc., and lawyers are good at documenting those decisions – but does that document alone make a partnership relationship successful?

If you are forming a new partnership:

Investing time to develop clear roles and responsibilities and establish the way you will work together to make decisions can save a lot of time and frustration down the road. 

Each partner needs a “sandbox” that they are responsible for while at the same time having a way for all partners to stay informed of major decisions being made. We want to coordinate each partner’s efforts so that each can make progress independently while maintaining a common vision and direction. 

Our partner formation coaching focuses on learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses and developing your roles so that you can play to your strengths! 

Inquire about partnership coaching for new partnerships.

If you are considering adding a partner to your agency ownership

Adding a partner changes the way you run your business. You can no longer make decisions on your own, pay yourself whatever you want, or change directions without consulting your partner! 

Adjusting to working together can accelerate your growth, especially if you spend a little time in the beginning to establish some ground rules. 

Establishing clear roles and success criteria helps you to stay focused on getting business done and avoid duplication of effort and confusion among the team. 

Inquire about partnership coaching for adding partners.

If you have an ongoing partnership 

Just like any other relationship, business partnerships need care and feeding.

It’s common that the needs, ambitions, and desires of the partners change over time and the nature of the partnership needs to change with them. 

Communication rifts can occur, or egos can rise up, and either will eventually disrupt the growth and profitability of your business!

Inquire about partnership coaching for existing partnerships.