Business partnerships in retail businesses need to be created and managed with care and a close attention to detail.
A poor partnership can kill a business whereas a good partnership can help the business soar beyond expectations. Most important, it can help the business weather tough times … and in retail today there are plenty of those.
So, how do you create a good business partnership? Here are five foundations we think are key to a good partnership as experience by many others.
1. Share a common goal.
That is, goals for the retail store in terms of what you want from the business. Business partners need to have aligned business goals. This will guide better decisions, facilitate fewer disagreements and help create a more focused overall operation.
The goals of the owners / partners will guide almost all key management and operational decisions. If, for example, the goal is to start the business and achieve certain sales and then sell the business then the decisions will reflect this. If, on the other hand, the goal of one partner is to create a job for themselves then their exit strategy is completely different.
It is okay to disagree on the common goal. It may take time to reach common ground. Simply talking about the need for a common goal and discussing what it could be is good for the partners and the business.
2. Communicate well, openly and honestly.
Business partners need to be close to each other, communicating regularly and honestly. This allows them to build trust and develop a better understanding for each other.
It is vitally important that potential partners work at this level of relationship before they are actually in business with each other.
Treat everyone equally.
3. Specialise.
Retail business partners tend to work well when they each have a different area of the business for which they are responsible. If you take this approach it means trusting the other partner implicitly.
Specialisation by partners also unlocks additional management resources for the business. This can strengthen its operation and give it greater flexibility.
4. Support each other.
Business partners can easily undermine each other with a comment to employees here or there. The business does not benefit from such gossip. Business partners must put their partnership ahead of all other relationships.
Support can be enhanced through regular business partner catch ups.
5. Document the relationship
This is the most important aspect of a retail partnership. Get a lawyer involved and develop a written partnership agreement documenting the financial, management and operational relationships. Also, ensure that the exit strategy for the business as well as for any partner in the business is properly documented to the satisfaction of the partners.
A good business partnership can make a retail business great. Invest time and money long before you go into a business with a partner to get the relationship right and you will find that the business life is more enjoyable and success for all involved.
Get the partnership right and the business and partners will benefit. It is worth working on.
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