All the Reasons We Love Our Partnership & Why You Shouldn’t Do It Anyways
Episode 722: Show Notes
Most people who go into business are usually technicians who are really skilled at one area of the business. Learning to be a leader in your business is the most challenging part of running a business. Here’s the hierarchy we see: you’re a technician, and then hopefully you begin to love sales too. Then, hopefully, you begin to learn and love how to be a leader. If you don’t like sales, then we would say, don’t start a business. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find a way to sell that is in alignment with you, but you do absolutely have to find a way to like it.
During our last Episode 721: How a Partnership Can Make Your Business Go Down in Flames, we talked about all the reasons getting into a partnership is a terrible idea. If you ever want someone to talk you out of getting into a partnership, we’re here for you. That said, we’re dedicating today’s episode to sharing with you why it absolutely works for us. All of these points can make you into a better boss, a better partner, and a better friend. They’ll come in handy for a variety of settings. Honestly, seeking someone to fulfill some of these for you instead of seeking a partner will serve you really well.
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What You Can Gain from Splitting Duties with Your Sounding Board
Because duties are split, there is no one time in the business where one of us is owning all of it. Even if one of us is out for an extended period of time, we get to focus primarily on what we are best at and most passionate about. We can split up ownership of the business; not just with duties, but in owning responsibility for certain areas of the business. That’s not to say that you’re going to like everything your partner does! We love being able to focus on the things that we’re good at. Our partnership allows us to create the jobs that we want to be doing. If you do it right, that enables you to focus on the things you want to develop, while your partner does the same.
Especially if you’re someone who gets hairbrained ideas, it can be enough to just have a conversation about it so that you don’t have to explore things that don’t make sense. Having a sounding board for all the wild and crazy ideas is so nice. Because we’re a partnership, that sounding board has a really keen insight into how an idea would affect things. You could have someone who’s really supportive and enthusiastic, but they don’t know all the reasons you shouldn’t go ahead with an idea. But having someone reflect something back at you who isn’t in the weeds is also really nice. If you’re a verbal processor, having someone you can talk through your ideas out loud with is a huge benefit.
Why a Partner with Different Skills Beats You 2.0
We were not intentional about this at all. In many ways, we were attracted to the similarities between us. But, there are also many differences to how we do things and who we are and that’s what makes our partnership work. If you can bring someone in with different skills, you should! Different perspectives fuel a business.
But if your business already exists and has clients and a product, do not bring on a partner! Hire people instead. It’s so much cheaper to hire someone than it is to bring on a partner. Not just monetarily.
We didn’t know how different our skills were when we first started out, but we’ve also developed different skills out of necessity over time. Celebrating alone, navigating challenges alone, and coming up with ideas alone is very, well, lonely. That’s what takes a lot of people out of business and back into a traditional work setting. Even if you have plenty of people working for you, the difference a partner makes is one that no one else really can. The risk for her is as great as it is for me.
The Most Essential Thing That Our Partnership Has Brought to the Table
Everyone has a life that’s complicated. Trying to figure that out alone is sometimes impossible. Being able to truly turn to the other person, whether you expected the thing to come up or not, and say “I need you to hold up my end of the bargain” is a huge pro. It’s also why we have so much respect for one another. We can only be comfortable to ask for that and know that the other person will give it because we both know that we would do the same thing for the other person. Sometimes it’s a day, sometimes it’s a week, or a month, or even eighteen months. In fact, we’ve done all of the above (and everything in between)!
A huge part of our mission is to help people to create stable enough work environments that if someone needed to step away, the business could still function. Having the right systems in place for the business makes that possible. Having an equal level of responsibility in the business means that we truly communicate this clearly and ask for exceptions only when we need them most. It’s a huge weight off of our shoulders to feel this level of support from one another.
Accountability, Follow-through, and the One Thing That’s Made Our Business Successful
As a solo business owner, it’s really hard to hold yourself accountable. Without outside accountability, projects either end up dwindling, or just taking forever. That’s why we can say that the company we have is only in existence because of our partnership. We expect one another to get shit done, and that expectation helps us both to wake up in the morning and do the things that help us to progress. Even if you have intense follow-through as an individual, things take a whole lot longer when you do them alone. Although we have no hierarchy between us, we feel a lot of accountability to each other at every turn.
Having a partner also means you have someone to talk you off the ledge, or hype you up. You might not realize how important this business is to our livelihood. Boss Project employs both of our spouses. We don’t have big outside sources of income at all. We could never have done this without each other.
That said, all of the things we mentioned today can absolutely come from a non-partner! Do not feel like you have to give 50% of your company to someone in order to get these things. Will it require you to be very communicative about your needs? Yes! If you are craving these things you can get them elsewhere. It is integral that you have clear boundaries. Some of these things would be really toxic to expect of an employee, but can be an extremely meaningful option within a friendship, colleague or peer.
Don’t do the business partnership thing if it’s not right for you — but also don’t expect all these things to come from the same person! That would be equally dangerous. You have listened to the journey of our partnership for many, many years, and in that time we have learned so much! We hope this has given you some insight into how Boss Project operates behind the scenes, and answered some of your questions about whether or not you should get into a partnership. If you have any more questions, or want to discuss anything from today’s conversation, please message us on Instagram.
Quote This
If you’re going to go into partnership with someone, you should find someone who has different skills than you have. Do not find You 2.0.
Highlights
What You Can Gain from Splitting Duties with Your Sounding Board [0:09:24]
Why a Partner with Different Skills Beats You 2.0 [0:15:52]
The Most Essential Thing That Our Partnership Has Brought to the Table [0:21:20]
Accountability, Follow-through, and the One Thing That’s Made Our Business Successful [0:26:48]
Today’s Guest:
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
The Strategy Hour Podcast is a twice weekly show hosted by Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the founders of Boss Project. Join us for semi-ranty biz conversations for service providers looking to ethically grow their agency businesses. Episodes cover everything from lead generation to leadership mindset to team culture and beyond.
Key Topics:
Partnership, Feedback, Accountability, Entrepreneurship, Leadership
