A Business Partnership is Like A Marriage: Here’s 7 Ways to Keep it Thriving

A business partnership mirrors a marriage in so many ways, and they both end in divorce … often. In fact, first marriages end in divorce 40% of the time and business partnerships dissolve anywhere from 25-50% of the time depending on the source (Carta, Harvard Business Review). A business partnership can cause problems in a business or it can become your secret weapon.

My business partner and I have been close friends since our junior year of high school; we were friends long before we went into business together. When we did launch M&R Marketing, we said we would always be 50/50. Sound like marriage?

A few years into running our business, we came across the first client going through a partnership divorce. And we’ve seen it every year since. We quickly realized how important it was to protect our relationship. As your business grows, so does the complexity and stress, and when co-founders aren’t on the same page, with clear lanes of responsibility and trust in the decision making ability of the other person, trouble is around the corner. When partners are not aligned, it can stall growth, deteriorate the culture of your company, and provide a model for how everyone can treat their colleagues.

If the owners regularly second-guess each other, employees will see that behavior as acceptable. If the owners can’t agree on a direction, their leadership team will struggle to move forward. If the owners don’t trust each other, that lack of trust can spread throughout the organization.

But the opposite is also true.

When business partners are aligned, they create stability throughout the organization. They can move faster, make better decisions, leverage their individual strengths, and provide the consistent leadership their team needs.

Businesses are fragile. Partnerships are fragile. Marriages are fragile.

My business partner and I are both married and we understand it takes work to keep relationships healthy. Over the years, we’ve understood the work required to keep us on the same page and I’ve identified 7 things we do to keep us aligned:

1. Weekly Lunch: We have a standing weekly lunch on the calendar that we rarely miss. The conversation is rarely just about business, which helps us maintain the friendship that existed long before M&R.
2. Time Outside of Work: We intentionally spend time together outside the office, including with our families. Our friendship extends beyond the business, and we want to keep it that way.
3. Clear Lanes of Responsibility: Being 50/50 owners doesn’t mean we need to be involved in 100% of the decisions. We have clearly defined responsibilities, and just as importantly, we give each other the freedom to own those responsibilities without constantly being second-guessed.
4. Mutual Trust: Neither of us has to question whether the other is fully committed to the business. That trust allows us to make decisions independently, give each other the benefit of the doubt, and work through disagreements without questioning each other’s intentions.
5. Removal of Pride: It doesn’t matter whose idea it was or who gets the internal or external recognition. What matters is that it got done and the business is better because of it. We’re building the same company, not competing against each other.
6. Respect for Each Other’s Abilities: We have different strengths, personalities, and approaches to solving problems, and those differences make us better. We’ve learned that just because one of us would do something differently doesn’t mean it’s the better approach.
7. Healthy Communication: When something isn’t clicking between us, we talk about it rather than allowing frustration to build. Healthy partnerships aren’t defined by the absence of disagreements but by the ability to work through them without damaging the relationship.

Protect the Partnership, Not Just the Business

Nearly 20 years into our entrepreneurial journey, I’m convinced that our partnership has been one of M&R’s greatest strengths.

We’ve built a company together, navigated difficult seasons, celebrated milestones, and experienced the challenges that come with growing an organization from two people working out of a spare bedroom into an established agency. And we’ve done it while maintaining a friendship that started long before we ever imagined owning a business together.

That’s something I don’t take for granted.

I’ve watched business partnerships deteriorate, and I’ve seen how those disagreements affect employees, clients, families, and the companies the founders worked so hard to build. I’ve also experienced the advantages of having a partner you trust, respect, and genuinely enjoy working alongside.

Having someone to share the responsibilities of ownership is valuable. Having someone who knows the history of the business, understands the sacrifices required to build it, and shares your commitment to its future is even more valuable. But none of that happens automatically. I think entrepreneurs sometimes spend so much time protecting their businesses that they overlook the importance of protecting the relationships behind them. They establish financial controls, develop strategic plans, build leadership teams, and create processes designed to help the company grow.

All of those things matter, but the relationship between business partners deserves the same level of intentionality. Nick and I have invested nearly two decades of our lives into building M&R. We’ve worked hard to create a business we’re proud of, surrounded by a team we’re grateful to lead. But I also hope that when our time running M&R eventually comes to an end, we’re still getting together for our weekly lunch.