In a Partnership, Make Clear the Division of Responsibilities

The one thing that really discouraged me about partnerships is the tendency of a partner to not respect the division of responsibilities.

In the partnership that I was in, my responsibility was marketing and public relations. My partner, without my knowledge, contracted with a newspaper for an ad that obligated us for payment. The ad was poorly written and the contracting price was not negotiated properly. But, we were stuck with it.

My advice as a consultant to any one starting a partnership is to make sure that the division of responsibilities is clearly delineated in the partnership agreement. And, by the way, if there is no written agreement, then no partnership.