It can take time to find the right business partner. Once you finally find them, everything may initially seem like it’s going so well that you couldn’t envision any strife emerging between you.
Emotions such as resentment and distrust can snowball, though. There are a few different reasons these feelings emerge.
You can’t get them to sign a partnership agreement
It’s not uncommon for individuals to enter into an informal relationship with one another at the earliest stages of their business. At some point, business associates aim to formalize their relationship, though.
If the person you’ve been collaborating with seems unwilling to take that next step and formalize your relationship as business partners, you may want to reassess moving forward with them.
You realize you both have different visions
You’re likely familiar with the fact that many people will put on one face during the “honeymoon” stage in your relationship, only to start showing their true colors once they have your relationship formalized or locked in.
It can be hard to come to terms with the fact that your business partner only cares about profits and not your company’s core values of respect, for example. What starts as a small difference of opinion can quickly grow to be a much larger one that inhibits your company’s growth.
Differences in work ethics
Many business partners enter into their relationship with one another with the expectation that they’ll equally split their workload. It can breed resentment among the business partner carrying the bulk of the weight if their partner doesn’t seem to be doing their share of the work. Strife can result from this.
You may feel as you’re trapped into a relationship with a business partner who no longer seems like a good fit for you, but it’s unlikely that’s the case. You’ll want to carefully review your partnership agreement (if you have one) to understand what your rights are to dissolve your business arrangement. You may also want to gain a better perspective on how to best walk away from your business relationship if you don’t have an operating agreement in place.