A partnership in your
business can be one of the most important aspects of how you succeed in the
world of modern interior design. But,
like many marriages, a partnership can be a challenge many of us might want to
reconsider. Whether or not you decide to
create a partnership and how you go about finding just the right partner is
both a delicate and challenging question.
A partner can bring money, talent, management skills or additional
clients. All of these things are important
for your business and should be considered when selecting a partner. This is also the type of choice you don’t
want to make over a “speed dating” type of evening with a few drinks. You must first decide what it is you’re
looking for in a partner and who you know who might fit in with your
plans. You will want to meet a number of
times for each of you to present ideas and thoughts about why the partnership
will work and how it will be structured.
There are as many ways to structure a partnership as there are days in
the year. One of the easiest ways to
start is with a standard contract either found on the internet or through your
attorney. Then, as the conversations
progress, each party will add or delete items in the contract that are
beneficial or unattractive to each. And,
partnerships can be more than two people.
You may have even decided to make each member of your firm a
partner. Again, it’s up to you. Whatever you decide make sure you create an
exit strategy that doesn’t require the sale of the business to remove a partner
or allow him or her to leave.
Leaving, of course, can be
one of the hardest parts of partnerships.
What do you do when the partner who has been bringing in the most business
decides to leave? Either to create his
or her own business or simply to retire from the business. What happens when the partner most adept at
contract negotiations departs for greener pastures? Or your budget and accounting whiz partner
takes a powder? Don’t think in terms of
replacement only. Each of these
situations requires you assess the changed needs of the partnership and what might
now be best for your business. You may
find you aren’t looking for the same type of partner who just left. Your needs and the needs of the business will
have changed somewhat over the years and now might be the best time to evaluate
each partner in the firm and whether or not they have lived up to
expectations. Indeed, a review like that
should probably happen every year or two at the most. It’s so easy to let things go along without a
review every once and a while. Beware,
however, letting your business slip into complacency. To remain competitive you need to remain vigilant. With that vigilance comes the added burden of
timely evaluations of the current situation.
So, you might not find exactly the same type of partner that is leaving
or has left your firm, you might just find the newest and best partner for this
particular cycle of your business.
Your are right marriage partner may challenge my success....
Posted by: Owner Financed Homes | February 09, 2010 at 08:19 AM