Proven Business Relationship Agreement

6 More Key Questions – Part 3

By DC Cordova

Will this really help you make more money, be happier and have more fulfillment? If you’ve ever been in a relationship before – whether business or personal – you know how to have a good relationship. Very few know how to have a great relationship.

Anthony Robbins, the world-renowned success teacher and Money & You^® graduate, says it best. Your success is determined by the quality of the questions you ask. If you’ve read my previous two posts on creating a profitable business agreement (read the first Post here: Proven Business Relationship Agreement – Part 1 and the second Post here: Proven Business Relationship Agreement – Part 2), you’ll quickly realize that I outlined a series of questions for you to ask yourself and to ask your potential business partner(s).

Now we’re getting even more detailed and focused on some specifics. I find many people don’t want to deal with these. And I would ask you to take a look and see if you really applied these questions to your relationships in business, would you have more clarity? Would your planning change? What I’ve seen over the last 30 plus years is that what it takes to be an entrepreneur – not just an entrepreneur, but a successful builder of businesses that grow and thrive – is these questions are inherently a part of the way of thinking or planning.

If these posts make you think, GREAT! I’m having an impact on you. Now we’re going to take a look at the next 6 Key Questions you need to ask yourself in creating a success business relationship…

10. Know your partner

___ We have discussed and know if there are…

___ Habits they currently have and have had in the past that we might want to know about.

___ Complaints and “stories” from their past

___ Any bankruptcies and/or negative business dealings?

___ What they learned from those experiences?

___ Which ones were they able to correct?

___ If they blamed another person?

___ Were they able to take responsibility for it?

11. Personal responsibility and integrity

___ We know that personal responsibility and integrity underlies all successful partnerships and organizations. When these two distinctions are equally important to each member, everyone knows they are personally responsible for what is happening in their own lives.

___We agree not to blame and take full responsibility for our part when things don’t go the way “they are supposed to”…

___ We know going into this agreement that when we hear repeated blaming of others or constant justification of self, then we can pretty well predict the future.

12. When Money is Involved – The GREED Factor

___ We understand that a business relationship is similar to a marriage and we both are hoping that all is going to work out great. We know that it can actually get more intense when large amounts of money are made and that it can bring up negative and limiting subconscious beliefs about money, success and prosperity.

___ On the other hand, for some, the more money they make, the more the greed factor comes into play and our styles could change;  if we have blocks to having lots of money we get greedy.

___ To prevent the effects of any of these changes, we have written agreements in place and are constantly in communication with each other, because we know that maintaining alignment is essential.

___ We have met with our Professional Accountant or successful Tax Lawyer who has given us advice as to what to do with future profits.

___ What percentage of it to be reinvested in the business?

___ How much to be saved?

___ How much each of us should be taking out as profit?

___ We have met and decided in advance how the profits will be disbursed in the short and long term.

___ We agree to re-visit this and update it every six months.

13. Making Long Term Decisions

___ We see ourselves working with each other at least five, ten, twenty years from now, but if not, we have put together an “exit” agreement as well as another agreement for the possible sale of the share of the business to the other partner.

14. More than two partners

___ If there are going to be more than two partners, if any one of us is hesitant to do something, we agree to honor that person because we don’t have total alignment.

___ If this doesn’t work we agree to get the advice of a third party we all trust.

15. Personal Decisions

___ We have discussed that if one of the partners decides to get married (or divorced) what will happen with the spouse in terms of the business.

___ If one of us decides to have a child, we have discussed how it is going to affect our participation?

___ We know what each partner is personally committed to and what the business represents for them.

Wow! I actually enjoy writing these because I know this is what works. Now, ask yourself: Do these questions make sense? If I’m going to create a business with another partner, does it make sense to know the answers to these questions? Ask yourself, what if I didn’t know the answers and wasn’t prepared? Could I lose my interest in the business?

So, I’d like to have some of your feedback – We still have 5 more Keys to creating a Successful Business Agreement – and I’d like to know your thoughts. What has worked for you in business? What has caused upsets?

I look forward to sharing the next and final segment with you. Until then, I challenge you to take these questionnaires, print them out and actually go through the checklists.

And I’d like to give you a gift: Your Personal Entrepreneurial Strategy

With loving thoughts,

DC Cordova

photo credit: Tracy O