Making up our mind _____

• That sharing the joys and challenges of running our business is vastly superior to carrying all the burdens on our shoulders, all by ourselves.
• To look for opportunities to see the good in our partner, not just the thorns.
• To see a situation from our partner’s perspective, not just our own.
• To invite an objective third party to see what we cannot see for ourselves.
• To resolve that we deserve a better, an easier, a more fun-filled relationship with our business partner.

IT IS POSSIBLE!  IN FACT, VERY DOABLE!

Hardy

Contact me for an objective look at your situation. (603-763-9770) or Hardy@ThrivingBusinessPartners.com

Tired of the daily squabbles with your business partner?  Feeling discouraged about the relationship in general?  Angry with yourself for entering into the partnership in the first place?

I know exactly how you feel.  There were times when I was so frustrated that I just wanted to give up.  In those moments, I felt like all hope for a successful relationship was lost.

But, what if, for just a moment, you entertain the thought that the problem is not your partner?  What if it’s YOU?

If a wave of denial just washed over you, read on – this is for YOU!

What if:

• it’s YOUR doing?
• the misunderstanding is on YOUR end?
• YOU don’t really know how to communicate with your partner?
• YOU obsess over your partner’s faults, rather than focusing on his assets, strengths & contributions?

Not until I embraced the idea that I actually might have something to do with my problems did I start to see a turnaround.

So, I started by listening – really listening.

• Are you really hearing what your partner is trying to say?
• Are you making a concerted effort to appreciate where he’s coming from?
• Are you trying hard to understand his point of view?

I also tried to listen to how words coming out of my mouth sounded.  How was I coming across?  Was I encouraging?  Accusatory?  Empathetic?

If it’s too unpleasant for you to admit that you might actually be the problem (you’re hardly alone — after all, who wants to admit that?), how about at least starting by being open to the possibility that perhaps BOTH of you are contributors?

I recommend trying to get honest with yourself first.  Stop playing the proverbial blame game.  Shift your thinking.  Instead of dwelling on the “wrongs,” focus on what’s working.  Try to see things from your partner’s perspective.  Stop judging.  Work to understand.

It will help keep your relationship afloat!

Hardy Hasenfuss

April 2011

My recent interview with Jeff and Rick

Hardy: Jeff, you told me that you have the best partnership with Rick that you ever could have imagined.  Tell me how you got here.

Jeff: I was working for another company in the timber frame business, and the desire in me kept growing and growing to start my own company — to work for myself.  I was introduced to Rick by a business friend and we immediately hit it off.  He had his own construction business, working out of his house on his family farm.  He had established relationships with vendors and banks.  We converted one of his barns into a shop.  He used his backhoe to unload timbers, and we used his equipment to hand cut timbers.  I had connections in the timber frame building business.  And ready to go we were.  That was back in 1987.

H: How did you divide up the business?

J: We decided on a 50-50 split on everything from the start.  I was responsible for the design and manufacturing, and Rick for the business end, including finance, legal and insurance.  We both did sales.  Rick continued his Custom Home Construction business part time, but that never bothered me.

I never wanted to have the company named after me, but Rick insisted that it bear my name because I had developed relationships through my many years at a company in our business.  It was so incredibly generous of him.

H: Talk about flash points!  The company name, how to divide the money, what you brought in, what he contributed….

J: For sure.  But there is a lot of generosity from both sides here.  I am not that concerned about the money.  I enjoy what I do.  I make a decent living.  As long as I can pay the bills and work toward my retirement, I’m happy.  I don’t even know what we have in our bank account.  Rick handles it all, and I trust him.  He knows it, and doesn’t take advantage of me.  We trust each other implicitly.  There are times when I make decisions without consulting him, and later we find out that he felt the same way I did.  We often agree without even discussing it.

Rick isn’t spending much time at the company right now.  He has property in Florida, and he goes down there more and more.  Up here, I ski several mornings a week.  But, we’re pretty much always available for each other and speak on the phone at least 2-3 times per week.

H: And you’re still ok with the 50/50 arrangement?

J: Yes.

H: Why does this all seem so easy for you both?

J: We have very similar backgrounds.  We both grew up on a farm. We both went to college, but opted out to pursue careers, and we both ended up in the building business.  With our backgrounds, money and status are not big things for us.

Rick is a real friend, available to me any time for anything, including personal issues I may want to share with him.

H: What kind of challenges has your partnership experienced over the years?

J: We went out of business for a little while in 1991.  I was working without pay while Rick concentrated on his construction business.  We had a couple of vendors hounding us, but we got through the winter and got over the low in a relatively short period of time.  Now, with the recent recession in the housing market, business has turned down quite a bit, but we’re coming along all right.

H: How do you market your product?

J: I do the home-shows, and we have a few independent dealers, but most of our business now comes via the Internet.

H: Did you start out your partnership with any formal agreements?

J: We started with very few – mainly just the incorporation documents.  We didn’t really think much about agreements.  But, we now have a cross-buy agreement, mainly for the protection of our families.

H: Do you ever have in-depth discussions about your relationship and how to build/develop it even further?

J: We don’t have formal discussions as a matter of course.  We just deal with whatever comes up.  If I have a situation where I need Rick’s advice, I ask him.  Again, we usually agree without even talking about it.  I cannot remember a single time when we had a cross word with one another.

————-

H: Rick, what do you see as the secret to your thriving partnership?

Rick: Two things:  1. We don’t compete with each other.  2. We’re good friends.

We have never, ever split hairs over what’s his and what’s mine.  It all works out in the end.  In a nutshell, we trust each other.  What’s mine is his, and vice versa.  We appreciate each other, and we do a lot together because we have a lot of the same interests.  I take the business and legal stuff, I work with the accountant.

J: Which does not interest me at all.

R: It’s interesting: in so many cases, including marriages, it becomes all about the money.  For us, it’s not really about the money.  Yes, you have to have a successful business and be able to pay your people.  But it’s not about being the richest or having the biggest this or that.  We keep this all in perspective. We are really lucky.

H: What about family members working/participating in your business?

R: Neither of us has ever had a family member be a part of the business.  My wife has always been very supportive in all my business ventures, but she has always stayed out of them.  She was very understanding when I had to travel extensively for business.  I have four daughters and Jeff has two.  None of them has ever worked in the business.

H: Thank you both for your observations and insight.

Jeff and Rick truly are some of the luckiest people on Earth!  They possess the rare combination of loving what they do, and loving the people with whom they work.  And when you do what you love, the money often follows.  With their emphasis on work and relationships first and money second, they have realized true prosperity.  They also share a fundamental element necessary in any solid relationship:  trust.  Without it, a foundation crumbles.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they come from similar backgrounds, are easy-going, and maintain positive work/life balances.  But it’s the main ingredients – mutual respect, trust and a genuine love of their work and their friendship – that make this partnership a recipe for success!