Going into business with someone is much like entering in a marriage. You each have an obligation to one another. You will spend a lot of time together. You will become a legal entity entwined in filing taxes together. Your losses and gains will be your partner’s losses and gains. You will laugh together, go through hard times together, share victories and ultimately have disagreements. Mistakes will happen which will challenge you to find grace for one another. Partnerships are not for the faint of heart. You have formed a bond that cannot be broken easily and even if broken easily the ramifications will feel much like a divorce emotionally and financially. Moral of the story; choose a partner wisely.
As in a marriage there will be times you or your partner make a mistake or have a disagreement. Panic should not set in when times of trouble come. While it may be an indication that your partnership will not work there is no need to jump to conclusions. My business consists of me and one partner. We work truly as a team in complete harmony complimenting each other’s weaknesses and strengths. We are open, calm, and consider each other with each step. We see the big picture and where work is involved we do what is best for the company and not our personal gain. To ensure we would have a strong working relationship we continue to work on our personal relationship. To ensure we would do what was best for our company we set up a mission statement which guides us like the prime directive guided the USS Enterprise on Star Trek. Sounds perfect, right? I do feel blessed to be in this business relationship. However, troubles can arise and how you handle those times of trouble can make or break your relationship.
Not long ago I was working on a new business website and in doing so I made changes which had an unintended effect; we could no longer use our email accounts. I will not go into technical details but this effect could not have come at a worse time as we were in the middle of planning our first big event. My partner relied heavily on her email account as she used it exclusively. I continued to use my back up email so I was not as affected by this occurrence. I felt terrible. She had every reason to bite my head off yet she did not. Yes, I made a mistake but she knew I did not intend on taking any action which would harm her or the company. Bumps in the road will happen and sometimes it will be your fault so grace needs to be given as much as it received.
During that same time my partner lost two outfits which were given to me for an event. I had an obligation to use those outfits and photograph models wearing them as part of the agreement between me and the clothing company. Well, we hit another bump in the road. She felt terrible. I extended the same grace to her which she extended to me when I messed up her email account. Things happen. We all make mistakes and we should not be defined by them.
You will make mistakes. Your partner will make mistakes. When those times happen it is important to stay calm and hang on to the fact that you are in this together and both of you want nothing but the best for your company. While there may come a time when a large mistake cannot be undone or too many mistakes make continuing a business relationship impossible, you need to show grace and give forgiveness and learn to laugh it off because one day it will be you making the mistake. Treat your partner how you would want to be treated. Yes, the golden rule applies in all situations.