By Ellie Batchiyska
Business partnerships are not entirely unlike romantic relationships. At the start, you’re moon-eyed, enamored by your partner’s business acumen, and envisioning a long and prosperous future together. Like any relationship, however, the honeymoon phase soon passes, leaving you to face inevitable turbulence and disagreements.
Unfortunately, as in romantic relationships, not all business partnerships can withstand this turbulence. A time comes in many business partnerships when a partner decides to cut ties.
With so much at stake, it can be hard to call it quits. For this reason, when initially drawing up a partnership agreement, you should always also come up with a dissolution strategy. In other words, how will the business proceed in the event that you part ways? Will you sell it, have one partner buy the other one out?
Not having a dissolution strategy in place can complicate a business partnership breakup more than is necessary. And, if even mediation hasn’t worked to mend any rifts, there are a few signs that signify it’s time to part ways:
1. Your partner is behaving irresponsibly
This is a dangerous one. If your partner has a tendency toward risky and irresponsible behavior, it can seriously jeopardize your and your business’s reputation. This behavior might include gambling, improper conduct with clients and employees, showing up to work intoxicated, and the list goes on.
Before deciding to break the partnership off, always attempt an intervention. If your partner knows just how much is at stake, they might rethink their destructive behavior. However, if your partner refuses to cooperate (or if this is a long-standing habit), it may be time to move on.
Your partner’s actions and attitudes can single-handedly distort the public view of your business, no matter how much PR and damage control you do. At a certain point, you just have to say, “Enough is enough.”
2. They’re not being completely honest
Lying by omission is still lying. So, whether your partner is being blatantly dishonest with you or is just not telling you the complete truth, it’s completely unacceptable. Business partners should always make each other aware of all business dealings and ensure that one another’s operations are legal and ethical.
Not confronting your partner about their untruthfulness could cause you to overlook some seriously damaging facts (tax fraud, insider trading, and embezzlement—to name some of the worst). Even if you don’t suspect your partner of lying, but do suspect them of not telling you the whole truth, the matter should not be approached lightly.
To avoid legal backlash, you should reconsider a partner who is not 100% transparent about their business dealings.
3. Different visions and values
In romantic relationships, different ideas of what the future holds often separate people. Perhaps one partner wants marriage or kids, and the other doesn’t. In business, different visions of a company’s future or ideas of what it should represent can divide partners. It’s important to ensure you’re on the same track while still drawing up your initial partnership agreement.