The right way to part ways with a business partner if you need to

The right way to part ways with a business partner if you need to

Partnership breakups are a common thing when it comes to successful startups.  One of the partners may think that the business needs to be going in one direction while the other thinks it needs to go in another.  This normally happens within the first few years of the startup being successful because both parties want to expand and make the business better, but you might butt heads in the process.  Think about it, the chances of you breaking up with your partner hover between 20% and 30% each year.  That's higher than the divorce rate for the USA lol   If you're running a successful company from the beginning, it will be tougher on you if you start to see hard times, and this will start putting a wedge between you and your business partner.  You will need to know how to deal with this situation before it happens, and that's what I'll go over in this discussion


Prepare for the unexpected

You'll need to be professional about everything and not get over heated when talking, texting, or emailing the business partner you're wanting to break up with.

In the present you may have a great relationship with your business partner, but that won't always last.  You will need to keep friendship and business relationships separate, and that's no easy task to do.

Partner splits aren't a new thing at all, think about Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founders of the mighty Facebook.  They split not long after the company started to get investors, and it was a big PR nightmare because Eduardo wasn't labeled as a co-founder.  Of course Eduardo got a really nice golden parachute when they split, so he shouldn't complain too much since he's set for life and so are his children and grand children   But it does suck when you do have to split up due to differences in opinion or lack of action.

People change all the time, just like businesses, and you need to be prepared for it.  You can never get too close with your business partner because it could end up resulting in a split and now you have a ton of mutual friends that you have to awkwardly hang out with together.  To avoid this, you will need to have something written up and signed, like a partnership agreement, that states what will happen in case of partnership split.  This will ease the tension when you do end up splitting because it's already been written in a document that you both signed.

A random occurrence of a problem will rarely end in a split up because it could have just been a basic mistake that snowballed and neither of you caught it in time, but it didn't kill your business.  When you are having these little problems happen over time, multiple times, then there should be a red flag going up. 

Some of the most common signs that a break up is coming, are...


1. Someone doesn't carry their own weight
When one person is doing much more than the other, it leads to resentment towards the person who isn't doing as much.  Of course this could be completely fabricated within the one persons mind who thinks they are doing more, but usually it's true.  I've actually ran into this problem before and I'm really glad I had a partnership agreement which was also a contract that would allow us to split up if the other wasn't performing their tasks.

When one person is doing most of the work and the other is not, it always feels like one person is working so the other can enjoy a vacation.  It's not a great feeling watching your partner buy new shoes, clothes, games, etc. when you're busting your butt to make as much money as possible for the company.

You will need to keep a balance when it comes to the tasks that need to be done.  You will have to estimate how long something takes and divide the time evenly.  You cannot divide the amount of tasks evenly because one person could finish in a day while the other might finish in 2 weeks.  It's just not a fair compromise unless the tasks that take longer can only be done by the one person because the other doesn't have the skill set to complete them.  I've had this happen when I had a partner who was mainly the programmer and designer.  I would do everything that didn't revolve around design and programming since he could do all of that, which split out time evenly since his couple of tasks took longer than a single one of my 40 tasks.


2. Your partner(s) always disagree on business decisions
Now if you go into a business partnership thinking that you will never disagree, then you're going to split ways sooner rather than later.  Disagreements are going to happen because you're both owners and you have a slightly different vision that you want to play out. 

If your partner is constantly disagreeing with you and not letting you get any sort of handle on the business that you co-founded, it's time for a break up.  Your partner will either let up on the reigns or he will be working by himself on his own project because he's too much of a control freak to be in a partnership with you.


3. Different work habits create problems sometimes.
When you're talking with a friend and both have the same idea, then start up a company, you're likely going to have much different work habits.  Sometimes this is a big problem because one person could be more lazy than the other and this starts to devolve into one person feeling like they're doing more work than the other while in reality the "lazy" person may just be working smarter or they're spreading their work across a longer time span that the "hard worker".  This is where work styles comes into play when a split might be on the horizon.

Some people will want consistency while others just go with the flow and do what they think is right at the time.  Neither of these work processes are wrong, but putting them together is never a good thing when each person has a different view on how to do the work.



Doing a Clean Split

When the tensions are high, a split is inevitable, but this doesn't mean that you can't have a clean split.  Business arrangements between you and your partner will usually impact how much money you're making and your security as well, but you need to separate your personal feelings from how your business is ran and even split up if it comes to it.  If you do end up on the verge of splitting up, but it's inevitable, use these quick tips to help keep it professional at all times:

Only talk when you're calm and relaxed
You will feel frustrated, betrayed, hurt, etc.  and you cannot talk with your business partner when you feel these ways.  You will need to give it some time and accept that the split is going to happen regardless of how you feel.  You will need to be calm and relaxed when doing the talking so that you don't blow up on your "partner".  Being calm and relaxed will also help you negotiate the split because you're not seeing the partner as the enemy.

Figure out your priorities

1. What parts of the business are most important to you. 
2. What are the financial consequences of buying out your partner. 
3. Are you the one who should be leaving or are you the one who should be buying out your partner.
4. Can you operate this business alone and still be successful.

There are many things you need to think of after the split, so you might as well write them down before that day comes so you can cope with them if it ever does happen.

Enlist some professional help
Now I'm not referring to a shrink, I'm talking about a financial planner or attorney to come in and help you out with the split up.  Since they are a 3rd party, they won't have any affiliation with the company other than you contacting them for help to run the whole procedure.  Of course the attorney or financial planner will be biased towards you, but that's a good thing becuase what they hell would you be paying him for if he just handed everything over to your partner lol.



A partner split is a tough thing to handle because you may have become friends with the partner over time and now you need to split ways.  I try not to get too attached to my business partners just in case something like this ever does happen.  I talk with them, joke around, but I rarely hang out with them outside of a digital space like Skype, discord, or even a casual meetup when we're in the same area.  I'll always keep it professional and friendly, but I won't schedule time with them outside of work hours just so I don't have a rough time splitting if it ever does happen.

Some of you may be different, but that means you haven't gone through a tough business split up because one person isn't doing the work or someone just keeps butting heads with you lol.



In Conclusion:
A partner split is a rough thing to do even if you follow everything I wrote above.  If you ended up becoming friends with your partner, your friendship will suffer a serious blow.  You may lose that friend and a few other friends that they brought in because of course some people are going to be biased and childish, which means they will side with the other guy/girl after the break without hearing what happened.  All you can do is hope for a mutual split where both parties agree to everything and nothing happens afterward.  I can tell you that you will need to never partner up with that person again unless you have an iron clad business agreement on what needs to be done and by who



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Razzy