Ladies Who Launch

by Megan McKenzie and Samantha Macke

Partnerships can make or break a business. Developed and nurtured with the end goals in mind, a partnership that stems from the complementary (not identical) strengths of each member can create a stronger business, more profitability, and the joy of collaboration. Making the common mistakes we have identified below will, at best, stall the growth of your company, and at worst, potentially ruin your business and your friendship.

One of us (Samantha) related her own experience with a partnership when working to open a new charter school. It was a partnership of two women who came together thanks to a mutual passion and shared experiences working in dysfunctional schools. As the school opened and grew, the staff came to realize that it was a partnership that looked a lot like an unhappy marriage, complete with silent treatments, slammed doors, and the “children” playing the sides against the middle. In hindsight, it’s clear what went wrong.

In the beginning, the two women spent hours discussing all of the things they agreed on. They talked about the things they were good at and how that would help the school. They imagined their success over margaritas and brownies. Their families barbecued together, their kids played together on the floor while they wrote mission statements and planned budgets. This strong friendship seemed like the perfect foundation for a business partnership. Unfortunately, in all of the bonding, no one discussed expectations or the exact roles for each partner. Not wanting to rock the happy boat, both women kept misgivings and irritations to themselves. Because these women were building a friendship as well as a partnership, they left out the unpleasant business discussions, and the result was ultimately failure of the business—and the friendship.

In our work at A Virtual Certainty, we’ve realized that this story is not unique. As women, we excel at creating social bonds and relationships. We seek to comfort, support, and communicate. Women also tend to share leadership well. All of this leads to the success of women in business partnerships, which research bears out. However, all of those qualities that make us great partners can also be the cause of failure and disappointment.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

1. Valuing the friend relationship over business contributions. In choosing to partner with someone on a business venture, the tendency is to look to your best friends—the people you know, like, and trust. Keep in mind, though, that you aren’t picking a roommate. While trust and compatibility are important, partner with someone whose strengths complement your weaknesses. Rather than the best friend, go with the best business associate.

2. Focusing on the commonality as opposed to the differences. The reason that partnerships are so beneficial is that the whole can be greater than its parts. If you partner with someone who’s good at all of the same things as you and likes to do all of the same things as you, there will be holes in the business. As women we build relationships by focusing on things we have in common, but this is one relationship that should be built on differences. If you’re an idea person who works well in the abstract, you need a partner who’s detail-oriented.

3. Being too collaborative. Once you’ve found a partner who complements, rather than parallels, your contributions, don’t make the mistake of doing everything together. It’s the ability to collaborate that makes us so good at joint leadership. But if you work on everything together, little will get done. Divide the tasks based on strengths and then separate!

4. Not discussing specifics. The specifics of business can be messy and uncomfortable, and women often look to avoid confrontational situations. But before partnering with someone, you need to sit down and spell things out. What will each person be responsible for? What will happen if a partner is not contributing? How will finances be divided? Write down the answers. By assuring that the partners are on the same page, there will be less cause for misunderstanding and resentment in the future.

5. Failing to anticipate the end. A business partnership is not a marriage, and it’s unreasonable to expect to be in the partnership forever. At the beginning, discuss the end. Plan for how to leave by having an attorney create a buy/sell agreement. It’s also a good idea to plan on regular times to discuss the future. Once a year, perhaps, you should plan to sit down and discuss the trajectory of the business—and your satisfaction in the partnership.

Megan McKenzie, a member of the Chicago Incubator, is president of A Virtual Certainty, a virtual business management and consulting company. Samantha Macke, a member of the Cleveland Incubator, is the company’s project manager. www.getcertainty.com