As an entrepreneur, you must have considered choosing between solopreneurship and a business partnership. However, have you ever wondered why do partnerships fail and what the factors are that healthy partnerships entail? Ramon Ray, keynote speaker and business expert, shares his insights about factors that guarantee partnership failure.
Solopreneurship vs. business partnership
Deciding whether to be a solo entrepreneur or enter into a business partnership is a personal choice that depends on various factors, including your goals, strengths, weaknesses, risk tolerance, and vision for your business.
Take time to get clarity on your business goals and vision. Are you confident in your ability to achieve it independently? Does having a business partner on board add considerable value or support to your vision? Also, consider your risk tolerance. Know that while you have full control over your business decisions as a solo owner, you also need to assume all the risks and responsibilities. Is this something that aligns with your risk tolerance?
More importantly, reflect on the workload and responsibilities you are willing to handle. While you have the autonomy to make decisions and manage all aspects of your business as a solo business owner, it can also be overwhelming, as you may have to handle all the responsibilities on your own. In a business partnership, the workload and responsibilities can be shared among partners, allowing for a more distributed approach.
Ultimately, the decision to be a solo entrepreneur or enter into a business partnership depends on your unique circumstances and preferences. However, before you reach a conclusion, it’s important to know why do partnerships fail and what some important benchmarks of healthy partnerships are.
Why do partnerships fail – 11 reasons you may fail your business partner
If you seek healthy partnerships, it is important to strive for healthy and constructive relationships based on trust, communication, and mutual respect. Here
1 Lack of genuine mutual admiration
If you wish to enter into a longstanding and profitable business partnership, make sure that you genuinely like and admire each other.
2 Clashing interests or working style
Ever noticed how people in some of the most successful and healthy partnerships also exhibit a healthy vibe? Healthy partnerships are based on similar interests or working styles, mutually agreeable values, or aligned goals. Wish to avoid finding out firsthand why do partnerships fail? Choose a business partner you share a comfortable synchrony with.
3 Lack of trust
It can’t be denied that trust is the foundation of any successful and healthy partnership. A lack of trust between business partners, be it in matters of money or vision, can erode the relationship and lead to its failure.
4 Taking themselves too seriously.
For a healthy partnership, Ramon recommends taking the work seriously, but never taking oneself too seriously. If the business partners place their ego and pride over everything else, the partnership is likely to end in an unfavorable manner. Remember, mindset is everything, so it’s important to consider and compare each other’s mindset and beliefs.
5 Lack of continued growth
Business partners in successful partnerships acknowledge the need to constantly upgrade and evolve as needed to help the business scale. Why do partnerships fail? Oftentimes, business partners fail to grow together for a mutually desired outcome.
6 Failure to improvise.
A partnership requires commitment and effort from both partners to thrive. Healthy partnerships require the understanding that sometimes things just don’t work out the way they were planned or predicted. However, can the business partners rise to the occasion and be ready to improvise in an unpredictable situation? If one or both partners are not willing to invest the necessary time, energy, and effort, the partnership may falter.
7 Lack of mutual respect
Do you and your potential or existing business partner have mutual respect and admiration for each other? Lack of respect for each other can be why partnerships fail in the first place.
8 Failure to coordinate and act on one’s own strengths.
Partners in healthy partnerships recognize their own and each other’s strengths. They know their lanes and trust each other to bring out their best capabilities in order to scale the business. For example, a partner who specializes in sales tactics can focus on applying these, while the other partner who understands content strategy can highlight their strength in order to grow the business together.
9 Failure to collaborate
Why do partnerships fail? Lacking the ability to switch lanes and being too rigid in one’s designated role can be major reasons. Indeed, it’s important to be able to know one’s unique strengths and capitalize on them, but partners in successful business partnerships can also show up in support of each other and make up for any shortfall.
10 Lack of clarity on what’s important
Healthy partnerships are based on absolute clarity regarding each goal and the actions and commitments required to achieve every milestone. Poorly communicated goals or a breakdown in communication can lead to misunderstandings, misaligned expectations, and unresolved conflicts in a business partnership.
11 Inability to deliver high value.
Healthy partnerships rely on shared values toward the fulfillment of a shared vision. Partnerships often succumb to pressure and distrust when one of the business partners fails to deliver the promised value consistently.
Takeaway: Why do partnerships fail?
It is important to remember that successful and healthy partnerships require ongoing effort, communication, and mutual respect from both partners. It is not advisable to intentionally sabotage a partnership, as this goes against the principles of ethical and respectful relationships.
If you are experiencing difficulties in your business partnership, seeking professional help or engaging in open and honest communication with your partner is often the best approach to resolving conflicts and fostering a healthy partnership.
