Facing Challenges In Long-Term Partnerships

For most small business owners, the partnerships that they form with professional leads can be part of a longstanding relationship that has also grown as the business expanded. At Technalink, we do find that a common trend for start-ups can be strong reliance on several initial professional partners, especially in cases where a mentorship element is present.

Whether it is a business relationship or a personal relationship, these interactions evolve just as people do. In the best case scenario, an established partner grows with an alignment to the small business, and this strengthens the mutual beneficence, even if each party has different goals. It can be very important to understand that alignment is also about the movement of energy through action, and this perspective can also provide a wider view of how outcomes and goals can inter-relate.

 

When Things Stop Being In Sync

Unfortunately, just as with any relationship, business partnerships can also fall apart over time. For small business owners who may have had a long-term relationship with this peer, the process can often be difficult to face. There can be a feeling that the owner is betraying the partner by severing the bond, but there can also be a fear that breaking ties will leave the business owner stranded.

Along with these already daunting points, other emotional factors can also make it hard to realize that a parting of ways will be positive. However, owners can use such resources as:

• Journaling
• Meditation
• Vision boards

These tools can focus the mind and take the emotion out of the situation, so that owners can see the circumstances with awareness. From this point, they are able to enter the decision making process mindfully, which will also allow for a clearer and more beneficial communication.

Expressing with honesty any feelings of lack of alignment also provides a neutral and valid ground for the conversation. Further, it can still show the respect that business owners wish to convey to their partners, even when it is while saying goodbye.