{"id":2411,"date":"2013-12-15T05:00:04","date_gmt":"2013-12-15T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/?p=2411"},"modified":"2015-11-17T10:08:12","modified_gmt":"2015-11-17T18:08:12","slug":"great-business-partnerships-key-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Business grows through partnerships &#8212; sometimes just for a brief transaction and sometimes for life.\u00a0 Despite the false cliche that &#8220;nice guys finish last,&#8221; my experience has been that being able to forge good partnerships forges keys to long-term success.\u00a0 This is because very little happens over night.\u00a0 It always takes more time and more people that one would prefer to accomplish anything of substance.\u00a0 And, it takes time and relationships to form great partnerships.\u00a0 A better phrase should be the &#8220;Best Partners Finish First.&#8221;<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2418\" src=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Partners-Mason-293x300.jpg\" alt=\"Business Partners\" width=\"293\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Partners-Mason-293x300.jpg 293w, https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Partners-Mason-146x150.jpg 146w, https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Partners-Mason.jpg 603w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 293px) 100vw, 293px\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>I have been blessed with wonderful business and personal partnerships.\u00a0 I think my first business partnership was a childhood business in Cody, Wyoming, with my brother and Jess McGee (I&#8217;m 44 in green) in the classic lemonade stand and the more entrepreneurial shoe shine business below.\u00a0 I formed a partnership with a college friend, Kevin Watters, and others to do an Internet start-up in 1994.\u00a0 We had a team of core partners at Student Advantage during our venture-capital raise and subsequent IPO in the late 1990&#8217;s.\u00a0 My high school friend and business partner, Tim Veitzer, and I have had a wonderful partnership since acquiring the National Holistic Institute in 2003 and managing it for 10 years &#8212; so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>At my investment fund, Greybull Stewardship, I enjoy tremendously\u00a0my partnerships with the management teams at the companies in which we&#8217;ve invested \u00a0&#8212; it is my favorite part of that endeavor.\u00a0 And, I have a wonderful set of partners who have provided capital to the Greybull Stewardship fund.<\/p>\n<p>I have yet to have a partnership turn sour &#8212; I hope it never happens.\u00a0 Sometimes one can learn more from failures than from successes, so maybe I have some important lessons yet to learn.\u00a0 Nonetheless, here are some thoughts that I think are good to think about as we all try and be great partners.<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2427\" src=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Shoe-Shine-Business-Partners-small-229x300.jpg\" alt=\"Shoe Shine Business Partners\" width=\"229\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Shoe-Shine-Business-Partners-small-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Shoe-Shine-Business-Partners-small-114x150.jpg 114w, https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Shoe-Shine-Business-Partners-small.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Make Yourself a Great Business Partner<\/h2>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Focus on alignment and communication up front.<\/strong>\u00a0 Making sure that goals and values are aligned up-front saves a lot of energy later.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Always do more than your fair share.<\/strong> \u00a0The best advice I ever got about being a partner is to try and do more than what you may think is your fair share.\u00a0 This is for a simple reason of information asymmetry: we always know more about what we are doing than what our partner is doing.\u00a0 If we aren&#8217;t careful, we can fall into the trap of thinking that we are doing more, simply because we are more aware of our work.\u00a0 Thus, I find it to be a healthy attitude to strive to do more than expected in each partnership and feel good about that.\u00a0 That is a great way to eliminate the worry that you are doing too much or aren&#8217;t getting a fair shake.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enjoy the work of investing in the partnership.<\/strong>\u00a0 Every relationship is work, and you want the work of investing in the partnership to be enjoyable &#8212; whatever that is for you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Communicate.\u00a0<\/strong> Things can go sidewise easily as soon as we start assuming things or wondering about things.\u00a0 Communication helps all as we all know and understand better what is happening with the other person.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Give each other space.<\/strong> \u00a0Let each partner have some space, responsibility, and freedom.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Partnerships can create tremendous efficiencies.<\/strong>\u00a0 Partnerships are so much work, it is important to get the benefit &#8212; efficiencies &#8212; and the leverage of having partners.\u00a0 Having a partner means that you should be able to divide and accomplish more. \u00a0I like how some large companies often have co-CEO&#8217;s so that twice as many customers feel that they have a direct line to the CEO.\u00a0 Of course, some things require the brain power of all partners and it is more enjoyable to do it together.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Have complementary skills when possible.<\/strong> \u00a0Everyone always gives this advice and it is correct. \u00a0I, however, have not been good at this in my endeavors. \u00a0I think it is because I find myself being friends with people with similar interests.\u00a0 Complementary skills can be keys because they help leverage the partnership and they help each partner to have his or her own space.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Have a way to make decisions.<\/strong>\u00a0 There is no right way to make decisions, but establishing a culture around decision-making is important.\u00a0 If you have to rely on the legal documents, you have already failed.\u00a0 Some partnerships defer to the partner that is most passionate (Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.benjerry.com\" target=\"_blank\">Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.popupgelato.com\" target=\"_blank\">Ice Cream<\/a>). \u00a0Some people defer to the partner in their areas of expertise. \u00a0Some partnerships want consensus for any major decision. \u00a0There is no one perfect answer, but it is important to be on the same page about how your partnership will make decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There aren&#8217;t many things in business more important than partnerships.\u00a0 Many things worth doing require multiple people rowing in the same direction.\u00a0 Improving our skills on how to be a good partner could be the most important skills to all of our long-term success.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Posts<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Investment Fund, Business Model | Business Investment Returns | Business Blog\" href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/venture-capital-risk-adjusted-investment-returns\/\">Avoid risks with better partners<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Increased Investment, Business Financing &amp; Funding | Appointment Scheduling Software | Business Blog\" href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/appointment-plus-best-appointment-scheduling-software\/\">Partners lead to more investment growth<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Raising Capital Requires The Right Fit and Timing | How To Raise Capital\" href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/raising-capital-is-about-fit-and-timing\/\">Partnerships for fit and timing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Unique Businesses, Strategy | Business Financing &amp; Funding | Blog For Business Owners\" href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/investment-business-force-for-good\/\">Great\u00a0partners are a force for good<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zemanta-pixie\" style=\"margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"postmeta_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"postmeta classifications small\"><span class=\"post_categories\">Categories:<a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/category\/financing-funding\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Business Financing &amp; Funding<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/category\/hr-culture-is-strategic\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Culture Is Strategic<\/a><\/span><br \/><span class=\"post_tags\">Tags:<a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/ben-cohen\/\" rel=\"tag\">Ben Cohen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/business\/\" rel=\"tag\">Business<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/business-growth-opportunities\/\" rel=\"tag\">Business Growth &amp; Opportunities<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/business-partner\/\" rel=\"tag\">Business partner<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/culture\/\" rel=\"tag\">Culture<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/employee-ownership\/\" rel=\"tag\">Employee Ownership<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/financial-services\/\" rel=\"tag\">Financial Services<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/greybull-stewardship\/\" rel=\"tag\">Greybull Stewardship<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/hr\/\" rel=\"tag\">HR<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/human-resources\/\" rel=\"tag\">Human Resources<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/jerry-greenfield\/\" rel=\"tag\">Jerry Greenfield<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/national-holistic-institute\/\" rel=\"tag\">National Holistic Institute<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/ownership\/\" rel=\"tag\">Ownership<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/partnership\/\" rel=\"tag\">Partnership<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/strategy-2\/\" rel=\"tag\">Strategy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/tag\/venture-capital\/\" rel=\"tag\">Venture Capital<\/a><br \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Business grows through partnerships &#8212; sometimes just for a brief transaction and sometimes for life.\u00a0 Despite the false cliche that &#8220;nice guys finish last,&#8221; my experience has been that being able to forge good partnerships forges keys to long-term success.\u00a0 This is because very little&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[285,221,79,283,41,58,240,13,40,82,284,172,286,282,31,15],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success - Growing a Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you looking to grow your business and don&#039;t want to do it alone? Look for a great business partner and earn the keys to success.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success - Growing a Business\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Are you looking to grow your business and don&#039;t want to do it alone? Look for a great business partner and earn the keys to success.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Partners-Mason.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@masonlmyers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@masonlmyers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mason Myers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/\",\"name\":\"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success - Growing a Business\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-15T13:00:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-11-17T18:08:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/efbf4e28b9f46a9b2ae855d03197ab3f\"},\"description\":\"Are you looking to grow your business and don't want to do it alone? Look for a great business partner and earn the keys to success.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/\",\"name\":\"Mason Myers Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/efbf4e28b9f46a9b2ae855d03197ab3f\",\"name\":\"Mason Myers\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87932f33f3b27a6574032d65b17644d1?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87932f33f3b27a6574032d65b17644d1?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mason Myers\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/author\/mason-myers\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success - Growing a Business","description":"Are you looking to grow your business and don't want to do it alone? Look for a great business partner and earn the keys to success.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success - Growing a Business","twitter_description":"Are you looking to grow your business and don't want to do it alone? Look for a great business partner and earn the keys to success.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Partners-Mason.jpg","twitter_creator":"@masonlmyers","twitter_site":"@masonlmyers","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mason Myers","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/","url":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/","name":"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success - Growing a Business","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-15T13:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2015-11-17T18:08:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/efbf4e28b9f46a9b2ae855d03197ab3f"},"description":"Are you looking to grow your business and don't want to do it alone? Look for a great business partner and earn the keys to success.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/great-business-partnerships-key-success\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Great Business Partners Give You Keys to Success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/","name":"Mason Myers Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/efbf4e28b9f46a9b2ae855d03197ab3f","name":"Mason Myers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87932f33f3b27a6574032d65b17644d1?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87932f33f3b27a6574032d65b17644d1?s=96&r=g","caption":"Mason Myers"},"url":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/author\/mason-myers\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2411"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3404,"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411\/revisions\/3404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}