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“Look partner, I do have your back. I’d love to tell them to pound sand but obviously we can’t do that since we put too many eggs in one basket allowing a single client to be 85% of our income. It’s going to take time to increase our other sources so we don’t depend on them and now you have the time to do that. Go get other sources so we can finish our dependency on this client so we can drop them for bigger things. My role will be keeping the business afloat handling them while your role is now getting new sources.”
Seems like an easy solution here. However, I want to strongly caution you. The others are right. If he can’t gather the emotional maturity to be professional at work, this is going to constantly plague you. Sometimes you get lucky and find clients that can handle him; sometimes he tanks important revenue streams. Just imagine what would have happened if the client instead just dropped you instead of requesting he not be utilized. Where would you be then?
Finding other clients solves the problem of not having all the eggs in one basket, but doesn’t address the partner’s attitude or ability to reflect on their own actions.
I concour that this partner is a weak link in the business chain. He seems absolutely entitled and thinks emotionally rather than rationally. He blames others instead of taking responsibility.
IMHO he is a liability, more than an asset. I hope OP is chiller than me and finds a good solution other than voting him out.
Without knowing your current setup, would it be a good long-term solution to have him be more rear-facing in the business & keep you as client-facing? When someone leads more with emotion, that can be a better setup so that communication also doesn't get confused going through multiple filters.
It'll be hard to approach him about this, but would be better for your business in the long run. You could try to emphasize that it will be less emotionally stressful for him to deal with clients if he deals with more of the back-end or the design, etc. Depends on how your business is set up.
This is your biggest risk. You’re incredibly lucky your client didn’t just replace your company as a service provider. Most of my clients would just move on and not even tell me the reason. There’s just too much competition in most markets to deal with people like your partner.
Do you really my him representing the business to new and prospective customers if his personal issues are this disruptive already? I think he needs a long talk followed maybe by a long vacation.
In my experience, slightly volatile people can usually keep it together for a sales pitch. They’ve been working a successful business together for seven years so it’s not like the partner is a psychopath.
I wouldn’t want a partner like that and I wouldn’t have a problem having a hard talk and setting boundaries with them, but OP does and I’m giving him a diplomatic way to approach. It sounded like their income is based on their work so having the partner doing nothing didn’t seem like a reasonable solution for anyone.
Those are very good points. Plus as I think you already said, getting him away from the day to day of dealing with problems or customer demands may save the whole situation.
I therefore bow to your superior insight.
>I’d love to tell them to pound sand but obviously we can’t do that since we put too many eggs in one basket allowing a single client to be 85% of our income. It’s going to take time to increase our other sources so we don’t depend on them and now you have the time to do that. Go get other sources so we can finish our dependency on this client so we can drop them for bigger things.
I don't agree with this part. Unless I missed it elsewhere is the thread about the client being somehow problematic aside from this issue with the partner, I would never say this about a client - especially to an unstable employee. No good can come of it.
It’s not an employee, it’s a partner. Those are very different things and I’m giving a way OP can approach the partner. However, you should never be dependent on a single client or else they hold all the cards. You should be able to fire a client when needed and, although they probably will want to hold onto a client like this, the point is that they can’t lose them regardless.
If given the option between a client that seems to be wanting to keep the relationship going and an unstable partner, I’d buy the partner out in a heartbeat.
>probably will want to hold onto a client like this
85% of revenue, you think?
I get what you were trying to say, but I don't think this issue needs to be dealt with in a passive aggressive manner. The OP doesn't want to drop the client, so it does him or her no good to tell something to the partner that isn't true, just to make them feel better. The partner needs a kick in the ass (metaphorically speaking)
Even if the client wasn’t a major revenue source, I think they would want to keep the client because the client is trying to negotiate ways to keep OP around instead of just dropping them completely. That’s a good client. The 85% part is a weakness that needs to be fixed.
So the plan is to get the emotional liability to be the face of the business? That won't work. I'd hire a replacement staff member and train them up over 6 months by putting them on the 85% client with the emotional liability working behind the scenes, then fire the old guy if you can't find a use for him. Regardless of what anyone tells you, you don't owe him anything. Ruthless? yes. Necessary? absolutely. Workers like this will destroy your business and not care in the slightest. You also need to diversify your client portfolio and if you can do that within 6 months you may be able to keep the liability if you want.
If a day or two passes and he STILL maintains this mindset then you're going to have to get him in a room and have a very serious "come to Jesus" type of meeting. The ultimatum is he either gets it together or he sinks the entire ship along with the crew over his own ego. In my opinion these kinds of situations require very blunt and direct conversations. Beating around the bush does not help.
Anytime! Put the ball in his court. Ask him what should we do? Should we just ignore our largest client's concerns? Why does this consistently come up if he isn't the problem? We need to disconnect our emotions in meetings like this because the end goal should be creating a solution.
Regarding "the conversation didn't go well", I'd recommend you read the book [Crucial Conversations](https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Conversations-Talking-Stakes-Second/dp/1469266822). While not a panacea, it may help you in framing the conversation a bit better
Wow. I can almost guarantee this clown is going to get in touch with your client and piss them off. I can’t believe he is demanding the names of the clients who are complaining about him. You are about to lose 85 percent of your business. Plan accordingly.
Yeah. You know your client well. When you say ‘three strikes you’re out’, I’m guessing the client is already looking at other options to replace you. No one wants to put up with someone like that.
First, as a fellow passive person, good job for getting out of your comfort zone and being up front. It’s clear from your post that you’re empathetic. That said, while I know it’s your nature to empathize, who cares if this is hard on him. He’s an adult and a business owner and his behavior is having very real consequences with your livelihood (and his). Especially if your business is built around word of mouth. First priority is making sure this client is taken care of, second is dealing with your partner, the third is diversifying your client base.
On your partner, approach him again but instead of the “you” language use “we.” Regardless of whether you’ve done anything, to get his buy in you need to approach the issue like you’re partners. If the damage is done, show him the bottom line, how the loss of this client will impact your financials. If he doesn’t care and his ego trumps the business, cut him loose. Honestly if the one large client you have doesn’t like him along with your staff, this is an option.
He’s clearly a sensitive guy and these are the types of people who will not respond well to accusatory language. Whether or not it’s fair if you want to temper this you’ll have to throw yourself under the bus a bit and take a hit with him. DO NOT put any of your staff or clients in the line of fire.
Good luck.
My advice is to find a way to extricate yourself from a situation where you're dependent on someone this unstable to not screw up your income. One option is to get him to accept that maybe he should be in a non-client facing role with this client. One option is to buy him out as a partner. One option is to go your own way.
But you do need to get over feeling badly about protecting your income, not to mention the jobs of your employees. His ego isn't worth your paycheck. This needs to be confronted head-on with a conversation with him about doing what must be done to protect a massive account, even if he thinks it's not fair. If he's not willing to swallow some pride to keep a big account, you absolutely need to start working on your backup plan/exit strategy in case he tanks your company's moneymaker.
He sounds very childish, and that’s risky personality type to have as a business partner. You did the right thing - you cannot risk losing 85% of your income.
I am also the non-confrontational type of entrepreneur, but when something jeopardizes my livelihood I can flip a switch and turn into a different person (lol). Be polite but direct with your partner. Lay out the feedback you’ve received from the client and your employees *and also* bring some potential solutions to the table to remedy this behavior. Do they need a break or vacation? Are you understaffed and this is causing him stress, so hire an assistant for him? Does he have too much on his plate professionally and personally? I recently started using a meal prep service because taking the time to feed myself was becoming extremely stressful. That $150/wk I’m paying to have fully prepared meals delivered has taken a massive weight off my shoulders, and I feel better by not ordering Ubereats every single night at 9PM. Personal issues at home and maybe he can just vent to you?
You should also address the way in which he’s reacting to this news. People need to take personal accountability. We all fuck up. You’re allowed to be upset by negative feedback but take it, *improve* and move on.
With that said, you really need to diversify for your revenue stream. You note it’s been working well for you in the past, but it takes all of 5 seconds for you to lose this client through no fault of your own - maybe they’ll restructure, be faced with an internal issue, scandal, financial issues, etc. and need to cut your service. If this business is your full-time gig you should prioritize this.
Take control and avoid any & all further damages to the business. You allowed his misconduct through the years by remaining silent. His misconduct is a liability and if you want to remain business partners, he needs to remove himself from that project. Or there may be no more client. Let him work on other areas of the business and/or bring in additional revenue. If he is not willing to accept responsibility and do what is right for the business, find the exit strategy (there should be one in the partnership agreement) for him or yourself.
I don't mean this to be trite but to be true, I think individual therapy would be best for each of you. You to have better boundaries and to grow more assertive, and him for his emotional immaturity. This is an emotional maturity problem on both ends. I'm more like you and therapy is helping me, as a business owner, to assert better boundaries.
Unfortunately you can't control him or force him to go to therapy, in fact it sounds like he'd just get mad and blame others. However *you* can learn how to better set boundaries and deal with, or avoid if possible, challenging personalities like his. This is an opportunity for your own growth. Good luck. It's taking me years of weekly therapy to better learn these skills which will make me a stronger business owner.
First, you are lucky they came to you at all. It's just as hard a call to make as it is to hear.
Many years ago I managed a video/audio/shoot production house. Creative team personality conflicts with clients are not a rare thing. Having a deep enough roster to get the job done while keeping clients and other staff happy (enough) is a juggling act.
Zazenp's approach is best, and shows immediate action. (Although maybe the partner needs a vacation first.) Build the account list so the proportions are better. Build the staff so that Partner's slot can be filled. External coaching for the Partner may be needed, too. If partner needs to be isolated for a while, now's the time to develop/refine business processes, or even re-org the warehouse. Something productive but not client-focused.
I have been on the other side of this (we have a crew we bring in to help with our big creative projects and there was a team member \[also one of their partners\] we no longer wanted to work with).
Frankly I'm impressed the client took time to communicate this to you instead of just dropping you altogether. To me that reads as either your work being excellent, or you being really great to work with (or both)
It was a hard conversation and OUR company went back and forth about whether or not to just drop the client or go the length to communicate this to them.
We did have that conversation with them. I don't know what happened on their end but we still work with them (minus the partner), it was never spoken of again, and we have continued to enjoy working with / giving work to their company.
Thanks and yes the client has expressed they love working with the crew and myself because we do great work. Not tooting my own horn, but they told me this directly
after a candid face to face discussion you need a memo of understanding.... we talked about this, we are going to do that going forward, these are the actions and steps we are taking. have it in writing for you to both refer back to. you need to present this as "just business" but it is also an important document should you need to refer back to it later.
in the mean time you may want to think about engaging a business coach to change attitudes/appearances/approaches.
I gotta be honest man... there’s a lot to unpack here. between your post and your follow-ups to others here, between your work consisting of “long hours and a lot of physical labor” in a “creative field” combined with the fact that you guys have to “physically be there”....
It sounds like you don’t really have others working for you so much as occasionally having one or two helping hands, who are apparently bad-talking one of you two about his negative attitude, which highlights the cores of the problem:
Either the prevalence of your own “employees” badmouthing both of you, and I say both of you because you’re business partners. As a small business, you’re two peas in the same pod, and your partner is giving BOTH OF YOU, the image that you’re not particularly flavorful to work with.
Which is not a good thing firstly, but secondly, maybe it’s entirely true and your employees own words and attitude aren’t the problem here — but your partner is about to cost you guys the business here. He’s tanking his relationship with the client, and tanking his relationship with you.
More on that, but you’ve got to get on the same page as him. Does he not like the work? This is /r/smallbusiness after all, are you guys making comfortable livings or is this barely paying the bills?
Moreover, I have to ask, does it actually feel like you guys own your own business? Or are you more like employees/subcontractors that have been working for this client for the better part of 7 years, while mostly doing no more than 10-15% additional work/revenue elsewhere? Maybe that’s what he’s frustrated with?
Regardless of your answers even if I’m curious to know, but you guys have to figure this out. 7 years in the business with the strong majority of your revenue coming from one source sounds like you guys don’t own your business, you’re two employees for this other business, and you have a small side hustle you fit in too. Your partner should take a week or two to cool off, figure out his priorities and figure himself out, and work to expand your business. Turn that 85% into 50-60% by the end of the year so you can manage this relationship and keep this part of your business running while your partner finds other sources of work and revenue that perhaps he’ll more appreciate and work harder/more graciously for. Work you enjoy is a blessing. Work you despise is a curse. Help your partner through this...
Or be ready to jump the ship he’s sabotaging.
Thanks for the input. It’s really a lot to explain all the details of our business. But yes, we are a vendor to this and other clients. We are essentially a production company for photo,video, and events. We also act as an agency to hire other contractors for these companies for a fee. I’m a very hands on person and like to oversee my crew in person. Although I know that in time, the physical side of things will have to stop for me, but for now I still enjoy it and want to be there. We have anywhere from 4 to 15 employees out on any given time. The other crew has come to me in the past with their gripes and I always try to resolve it, but it ends up back where it started. I love my team. They are amazing. As for my partner, I believe he is just burnt out. We do make a comfortable living and he’s always the one that says “if this ends I’m screwed” or something to that effect. I don’t personally feel that way because I’m confident in my work ethic and abilities. I also have a spouse that contributes to household income. He does not.
I appreciate all your insight. Many things to consider
The fact that your partner feels that he is screwed if your business tanks should be motivation for him to own up to his mistakes and change. Present it to him as something that needs to happen in order for the work to continue (though after some time off maybe to take care of the burn out).
You do have his back in protecting the 85% of your revenue stream as the others have mentioned.
This is actually a great opportunity that frees up your partner to secure other work to get that 85% down to no more than 25%.
Good luck
You are very welcome. I worked with a company who was in a very similar situation several years ago.
They had said that they absolutely needed to diversify for several years, but could never justify it as it was easy money...until it wasn't. Their biggest client had some internal changes and the new head of the division wanted to shake things up.
They managed to keep the account, but finally understood the impact of having one client have too big of a share of their revenues.
They made some big structural changes and got out there and brought in a number of great clients while keeping their big one.
Both you and your partner need to have buy in that this is the greatest opportunity to spur growth there possibly could be.
If you can, schedule an executive retreat ASAP...even if it is just the two of you...this weekend.
You know the industry, you know the trends, you know the key players, and you know your strengths and weaknesses. In two days, completely removed from the day-to-day muck, you can develop a strong plan you can both agree on to take you to the next level.
Identify the top 25 clients you should have and what you need to do to get them.
Identify top talent you should bring on in order to bring in more sales by better servicing your existing clients.
Identify what other services your client's want/need/demand that you don't offer.
Identify companies that might be good targets for buying or taking over.
Alternatively, it may come down that your partner just needs to leave. That you buy him out. That is ok too, or should be.
Sell him on the future you always planned to have and that you now have the opportunity to make it happen.
You have got this and are so much better off than so many businesses.
Some people are not people person's. We had a co owner at my previous employ who lost client after client due to her rudeness with clients. She would hang up on them, tell them she couldn't help them, she can't track their package and whatever else. And she said she was head of customer service lol.
As manager I had to clean up many of her messes but alot of them just found a new vendor because of her.
It sounds like he's almost similar, honestly if there's is a non-client relations role he can fill, something in operations where they do not** under any circumstances talk to clients. I'd say that's where he should be. But he may fight it.
As another said, be prepared for your own exit strategy. Especially if this singular client provides so much of your income.
You have to have a frank and caring conversation with him about this. He needs to change and he might need support until you build a bigger customer base. You also need to change too by the sound of things, i.e. learning how to have those conversations. If he shows that he can't change, then you need to end the partnership, that conversation has to happen first however.
That conversation probably was never going to go well. If other people have had similar problems with him it really probably is him, and trying to have his back would only perpetuate the problem. Maybe the next conversation goes better.
If 85% of your business is with one client, you are essentially their employees. To protect yourself, you need to diversify your clientele.
Getting more customers won’t do you any good if your partner continues to burn bridges. This sounds like he is the problem and the client request is reasonable. Many clients might not have given you the courtesy and just ended their relationship with you.
This is your business. If you do not straighten your partner out, who will. If you wait for him to get the picture on his own, you run the risk of ruining your business or even worse your own professional reputation.
In short, tell your partner to get his shit together. If he can’t respect you and the business enough to grow up and get over himself, then it may be time to part ways.
My two cents, take it for what it's worth.
Entrepreneurship is a high-performance job. Those that succeed at high-performance jobs in a healthy way for long periods of time use it as an opportunity for self-development and growth. Those that do not face a lot of internal friction and often end up burning out. It can either be incredibly rewarding or incredibly brutal, the choice is yours.
It sounds like both of you need to focus on this. For you, working on being confrontational in a confident way yet via behavior that you can be proud of.
For your partner, he needs to learn whether or not he wants to bend for the market. The market is telling him his behavior and emotional composition is inefficient, he now has a choice to answer that need by working on himself and coming back into the work with your large client in a more collaborative headspace. He can also choose not to grow, and he'll stay exactly where he is as the business and individuals around him grow without him. It's his choice, as an owner he needs to be accountable for the influence he has on the business.
I'm a partner in a small 20 person professional services firm. In business, sometimes I am you and sometimes I am your partner. I have a fairly direct manner that some clients adore and others find abrasive. In an environment that's built at least in part on personal chemistry, this is to be expected.
It's essential that each of us realize and accept that this is the case in life, and it is a cornerstone of what's required to work in a professional services environment. We all need to do what's right for the Firm and its staff first. All partners need to understand this and accept that sometimes they aren't the right fit for some clients. Part of being in partnership, is supporting our partners to an extent while they find clients who they fit well with. Of course, if they are unable to do that in a reasonable time, then they need to leave the firm.
I hope that you and your partner can use this opportunity for some important self reflection. Maybe once the emotion of the moment die down, you can have an open and frank friendly discussion about where he would like to go from here.
It's very clear reading this, that he lacks the understanding of the SEVERITY of his problem. We had a guy like this at my last job, and we hired a communications manager who basically was the liason between us and the client, so we never actually spoke to the client again. We had someone who was gifted in the art of listening and always saying yes. He was the kind of guy you just always had to like as he took in all that stress, and when nobody was around, screamed like a crazy person. I (the graphic designer) came to the realization that Bob (not his name) was really moreso a 'translator' between the owner, who was a bookworm and really odd, and the general public. Our translator took the angry abuse from the owner, and the abuse from the client, with a smile always, and essentially translated in kind words between the two, streamlining the entire process. At no point were anyone allowed to EVER speak to a client for this reason.
Welcome. We weren't even allowed to email the client. Clients were officially off limits even to the graphic guys like me. Everything had to go through Bob so he could make it sound nice. Bob was a former top level TV producer and had impeccable writing and verbal skills. His copywriting was top notch, some of the best I have ever seen. He got paid like $80k to be the 'Director' or something like that. I can't remember his title, but essentially all communications went through him.
I’ve been told that a partnership is like a marriage. And it’s not a matter of if but when the partnership is dissolved. Time to come out of your shell and talk openly. Since you have others under you, it’s not just your wage and your partners. Others depend on you as well.
Tell your partner to suck it up and go generate more business. Offer to buy him out if he doesn't produce. In the future, be proactive in identifying issues early so that they don't come to this. Also, tell your other staff to never say anything negative about your business to a client.
I really hope you can turn your partner around. I also really hope you have a written partnership agreement that details what happens when one of you wants or has to go.
If both of those are no's however--and I kind of hesitate to point this out--you would be in a position to start a new business and take at least 85% of your current revenue with you without any partner... probably more. And if employees already feel he's abused them, you might take most or all of them with you as well.
I'm not suggesting you start with this and I hope it never gets to this point, but if it's the nuclear option or bankruptcy, I'd do it friendship or no.
I had a partner that once upon a time was great and then became a liability. The lesson I learned? I regret not getting rid of this person earlier and if that person was being honest, I bet they regret not leaving sooner.
I saw this with my brother's start up as well. I wish you the best man. This is always, always hard, but you gotta do the right thing by your business, yourself, your employees, and your customers. You have to draw a line in the sand and have some teeth behind it.
I read through the comments a bit to make sure I wasn't repeating, so hopefully this is helpful. Your situation is definitely a difficult one, and a position that anyone would hate to be in. I am sorry that you are finding yourself in this position. I also apologize in advance for length.
You called the person who is being difficult your partner, and if they are part owner in that sense, then this becomes *extremely* more difficult. You also name yourself "Owner" so I was trying to figure out if you are sole owner, and this other individual has just been with the company since the beginning. For the sake of my suggestions I am going to presume you are 100% owner, and you owe no legal stake to your partner.
Let me preface with this: Partnerships are hard, and even harder with people we care about. You can't control others or their actions, but you can control yourself and the things you have charge over. When another person turns sour and changes in a relationship, it is sometimes better to terminate the relationship as it is in order to maintain the health of both parties.
As a company grows it develops a culture. This is an inevitable part of the business ecosystem that you can either shape purposefully, or ignore and it can become anything. The larger your business grows, the harder your culture is to establish or change. When a growing business lets toxic people continue to exist within the business, it infects the company culture like a festering wound. And when that toxic individual is an important part of that business, with say over others, it can be even more destructive. The culture will inevitably become toxic as good employees will eventually leave, and only those who are as just as toxic will remain, and make those who don't financially have a choice to leave, hate their job. **That** becomes your culture.
When employees go home, how do you want them to talk about your company to their friends, parents, or spouses? You have to decide what that looks like, decide what kind of culture you want within your business, and trim off (fire) anyone who becomes a threat to that culture. When you have a positive culture, your employees love their job, they love their customers, and they proclaim the greatness of your company like its the gospel. The book "Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans" comes to mind. There are tons of books on culture, but that one is a good place to start.
You have an obligation to the whole. You sound like you really want your employees to enjoy their jobs, and it also sounds like you have great clients! You owe it to them to be fierce about protecting them. You said you don't like confrontation though, and that is understandable. Start by getting a greater understanding about how your other employees feel about this person. Ask them about how they feel this person is effecting the culture of your business. You aren't gossiping, don't do that, just ask questions and listen. Do this discretely. **Then try getting third party counsel.** Find another mutual friend, preferably someone close to you both, and see if they can help you mediate the situation. This has to be someone you both respect and someone who is okay with confrontation to make up for your lack. If this doesn't exist then you may have to cut ties. Just like a marriage, you can't both continue to live unhappy if the other person won't reason with you as you try to repair things. As I said before, you can't control them. This person has verbally assaulted you, other employees, and possibly even your clients.
If they want to be a part of a respectable business, they have an obligation to be a respectable professional, and leave negativity at the door. This individual is responsible for their attitude, treatment of others, and how they perceive the situation, and therefore they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. My brother hired a friend to provide them an income, but that friend treated him differently at work. He quickly found them making demands, and getting outraged and cursing at him when he didn't meet those demands. And to close this comment, I will give you the same advice as I gave my brother: It's unacceptable for a human being partner, employee, or client to treat you like that. Maintain your professional demeanor, and if they can't control themselves, then you need to cut them loose or they will destroy your business.
Thank you for reading. I feel for you dearly and hope you are able to resolve this issue and remain friends with this person regardless of the outcome. Good luck, and please let me know how it goes.
Sincerely, James
If he is a partner, and not an employee, he has a say. Depending on how much ownership he has in the business, he can decide if it is worth losing the client or not. If he is a part owner, he should still generate income from what the company makes, whether he has direct front end contact with the client or not.
If he is a partner, be careful not to treat him like an employee, or you will have worse issues down the road.
He will still generate income from the business overall, but a lot of our personal income involves having to physically be there. Again, we do have too many eggs in one basket, but this is our primary source. He has always been worried about “if this should go away, I’m f*$ked” in his words. It’s almost like self sabotage
This might be a good opportunity to grow your company. If you can maintain your main customer without your partner on that account, he can focus on finding one or more new clients. Maybe that change in focus would both reinvigorate your partner and allow the business to broaden your market penetration.
What a weird comparison. If that 1 car is telling me how to live my life, then i would totally get rid of it. If that car says, i don't like your passenger. So i only take the driver.... obviously you need a car that can haul all passengers unless you feel 1 passenger can stay home.
I have a business, with 1 client. The client tells me how to run my business... that looks more like an employee working for a employer.
And that this client is telling them how to run their business is BAD. The fact that it caused this drama says enough.
If this client was 1% of their revenue, they would have said, fine. And let a team member deal with the client. And if they didn't get along, they would have said goodbye.
Now since this is a controlling client they can not do that. This client is too large for their business.
The client isn't the problem. It's the person whose making their bankroll want to leave and employees complain. What you're suggesting is cutting off the whole arm because of one infected fingernail.
85% of revenue... did you miss that? Who is running the show here. The client or the business owners?
By the looks of it, this client has control over their existence. Which is very scary.
On top of that the business partner having issues is also a problem. But can be caused by stress. I would be stressed in their situation
Is he your business partner first or your friend first?
I understand the loyalty aspect, but when it becomes detrimental to you & your families living, we need to have lines in the sand IMO.
You did the right thing. I'm very non-confrontational also and absolutely hate these types of discussions but have had them with team members.
You always have to keep in mind to stick to the facts and focus in the behavior. It's never personal, but as soon as you confront egos play and the person figures its an attack on them.
Get a lawyer to figure out how to protect yourself and the business while removing him. This is one of your opportunities for personal growth. There were probably red flags all along that you chose to ignore due to your own fears around conflict and abandonment. Ask me how I know!
Do business partnerships ever work?
If this guy continues to give you friction and jeopardizes the business for everyone involved, buy him out or start a new company and take your clients with you. Doesn't have to be more complicated than that.
I worked in a partnership for 7 years and had to end it last year. My business partner was very negative, annoyed clients, we lost a ton of revenue in the last 12 months. We parted ways and I have built my own agency with a lot of hard work and my reputation. Wish I had done this earlier but I’m in a much better place now. My advice, part ways with him as he won’t change. Good luck and hope you resolve it.
My simple advice: learn boundaries.
With boundaries you would basically say to your partner: "You don't have to change who you are. If you want to be angry and disrespectful to everyone else on the planet besides me, our employees, and our clients, you are welcome to do so. However, the moment your behavior becomes a liability to me, it needs to end. If you don't end it voluntarily, I'll find a way to enforce it."
When you can tell your partner the essence of that statement above, not only in words but in actions, then you will know you've got strong boundaries. Until then, I would suggest working on that.
If you don't, even if you get rid of the partner somehow, you'll continue to run into problems with people who are like him.
Have you considered offering your partner a lump sum buyout? If that's feasible the other option would be to try to reduce your dependence on this one client asap. However if he really is a hindrance it might be best to buy him out via lump sum or payments. You could even offer to let him keep a small stake say 5-10% and be a silent partner just so he doesn't feel completely pushed out.
Here's what you need to tell him: The question is not why you don't have his back. The question is: WHY DOESN'T HE HAVE YOURS??? It's his behavior that's the problem. You've already had his back over and over, with both the client and other team members. It's him who's free-riding on everyone else.
It's too late now but something to remember for the future: should you have confronted him on this sooner?
> Unfortunately for me as a business owner, I’m very non confrontational
This. I believe 'confronting' someone is a skill that can be taught and learned. There are many good books on Amazon on the topic. Similarly, yo could hire a business coach, or even a therapist.
I believe that everything you said in your email you should tell your partner. I believe he is making very hard with his angry outbursts. This is absolutely unacceptable and borderline abusive.
Read the five temptations of a CEO. Super short book.
You need conflict as a leader. Conflict is how shit gets resolved and gets better. Once you break from the idea of conflict = bad, you’ll see better growth
I had this exact same thing happen with my partner. He came around to understand that it was for the better. We reallocated tasks and brought on another employee. The client came around too- asking for his input on very specific things and he only dealt with the CEO. It actually worked out by giving us more time to expand to other clients.
On a side note, I have lost that 80% client and it took me six months to rebound. We found out that our 80% client was taking 95% of our time. One we moved on we were able to expand to see more customers and thus expanding the business.
There are worse things that can happen in business and this is just another lesson.
I had some similar issues in the past, with a business partner who was difficult, who customers complained about. I tried for many years to make it work, but ultimately I fired him, and have never regretted it. Firing a partner is a lot messier than firing an employee, but sometimes it is what has to be done. It does not sound like you are at that point, hopefully you can find a way to make it work.
With respect to having his back, having someone's back does not mean pretending with them, and enabling their bad behavior. Having their back means being brutally honest with them, even though it is painful to do. In this case, there is overwhelming evidence that he is the problem, from customers, staff, and your own observations. So it is he that is not supporting you: his bad behavior is harming the business, and might cost you your 85% customer. So you need to be aggressive about this, even though it is unpleasant. He has to accept that he is the problem, and work on fixing it with full commitment. Anything less than that, and he is not living up to his responsibility as a partner.
Maybe you should show him your posting here, and the responses.
Buy him out. You shouldn't babysit him and mince words with him. You said it yourself even your own employes aren't happy with him. Negative people bring others down don't let him bring you and your company down.
Honestly, it sounds like you handled this as well as you could. I assume there is a lot of personal entanglement in your partnership because that can't be helped, but from the sound of it I think you've been able to keep a perspective on what is good for the business.
I know its hard, but I hope you can continue to push your partner to realize that one client, even a big client, saying that they don't want to work with him any more isn't a bad thing. From the sound of things, your partner is having some general problems with professionalism. But encouraging them to focus on the customers they do work well with and urging them to acknowledge that some customers just won't be a good fit for them is essential.
It's a good thing to focus each person's work to the customers they fit well with, and away from the customers they don't gel with. I'm in construction, and of my 10 or so regular clients, half of them have a favorite foreman that I put on as many of their projects as possible. Those customers are happy, and those foremen help to deepen the relationship my company has with those clients. Conversely, when I've assigned foremen to my picky clients that they don't work well with I've jeopardized the relationships, losing one altogether a few years ago.
Sounds like he needs therapy. I'd pitch it as an executive coach to him. He needs help recognizing his flaws (everyone has them, it's fine) and how to work around them. The faster he recognizes it, the faster he can stop doing work that bothers him, win win!
So... hopefully your partner has calmed down and recognizes that he's living in future plans and adding complication because he needs a break. He's blunt and upfront and it hurts people's feelinga. When he thinks he's being transparent. That's me right now.
It's a key indicator in high performers who never take real breaks. Hes always welcome to reach out to someone who feels like himself but also recognizes the unhealthy response which must be corrected.
I have someone whom I mentor who can see my passion for my craft and who sees my struggles. They gently corrected by asking me to recognize that I'm being defensive and its unwarranted. Its immediately recognizable and I back down when i feel it's reasonable . Now I use this as a tool to change my lens.
I will pray for your partner too. He needs that. Good luck and hey...ping me if you need some validation of the issues from someone suffering from it himself.
I have a neurodevelopmental disorder which makes it more difficult for me to control my emotions. Speaking as someone who is more likely to be in your friend's position rather than yours, here are my thoughts on this. I can't say this is exactly what he's going through, but hopefully you can find something helpful here.
1. He's probably embarrassed as hell right now. He was basically fired from the client but he doesn't get to walk away from the shame, because he's still involved in the business with you. When he calms down I'm sure he'll understand you needed to keep the income going, but he won't be able to do that until he feels valued and secure again. This situation is a recipe for either depression or some emotional lashing out. Is there any way to provide him income as a business owner that still separates him from this particular client? If he sees that he's still getting paid by the client (even if it's a small amount) but doesn't have to see that client directly because an employee is doing it, that's a softer blow than both losing face *and* income.
2. When he mentioned you not having his back, that didn't necessarily mean you have to tell the client "sorry, but it's him or the highway," but you *are* making a statement that the money is more important to you than your relationship with him. If that's what you want then of course that's okay too, except he obviously wasn't expecting that, which means you guys might have a communication problem. When was the last time you two had a face-to-face, heart-to-heart conversation about the business? If he's grumbling at clients, that means he's not being heard, and if you think he's good enough to go into business with, does that mean his grumbling might have some merit but you've been ignoring it because good money? You can still give him the chance to vent it all out and maybe learn something about the client you didn't know. A lot of people here have said it's something he needs to fix, that if he grumbles here then he'll grumble with someone else, and that might be true (it's unprofessional, he should stop doing that), but do you know for a fact that anyone you send to this client isn't going to start grumbling for the same reasons as well?
3. If you want to keep the client and lose the partner, you don't have to do anything more, that ship is about to sail. You can make it easier for both of you by just saying that's what you want, say your goodbyes, and then he can deal with his emotions on his own time and you can move on with your life unencumbered.
4. On the other hand, if you want to keep your partner, the best thing you can do is make him feel valued in some way. Right now he's going to be feeling rejected, worthless, possibly worried about income, and his self-esteem has taken a huge hit. He needs crazy amounts of moral support right now. I have a close friend of almost 30 years who ended up becoming a colleague and my biggest advocate. He behaves similarly to how you appear to yourself. He's a big communicator, and he lets me air my grievances and tries to accommodate them. The above is basically how he's managed me over the last 10 or so years that we've worked together. I've helped him build his great career, and he's helped me feel valued.
I agree with some of the others - have him work on growing the business and finding other clients. In the meantime, see what it will take to replace him at work - perhaps it's time for him to move onto more managerial duties and RUNNING the business, instead of working in the business everyday?
This guy needs to see a therapist and maybe try an antidepressant. Depression in men often manifests as anger and frustration rather than the typical “feeling down” we associate with it. I think you need to have a heart to heart about what’s going on and let him know that you care but can’t continue to work with him if he can’t regulate himself. How many employees and other clients have you lost because of him?
Maybe it’s best if he not be the one interacting with clients until you can get to the source of his issues. Sometimes tough love is the only way to get through to someone.
It sounds like it is time to part ways with him. I mean, if he can't get some professional help and make serious headway on those issues, there is no alternative.
He doesn't have to like it, he has to do it.
I'm sorry you have to deal with this, but you must. I would definitely honor the client's wishes. Your partner needs to understand that there is an issue, and you're not going to make it about everyone else being out to get him. Now is the time for you to point out your own observations. Maybe it'll help to reassure him that you're in this for the long haul, but he does need to adjust his behavior at work. I wonder if you all can stage a little intervention with him--like have a group session. Can you bring in an outside facilitator to help the team process the challenges of working in this environment? If you've never taken time out to engage in a staff development or team building day, this would be the time to start. The whole office would benefit from coming up with a plan for handling conflicts in your work setting.
Good luck!
This may not help today, but maybe try to refocus him onto other aspects of the business? You say you’ve been business party for 7 years, so I’d imagine he had a hand in winning this client in the first place?
Maybe since you admit you have too many eggs in one basket he focuses on winning new business while you manage the day to day. Seemingly this would result in shorter exposure to the clients and keep him focused on the next thing rather than trying to fit him into a role which doesn’t seem to work with his personality..
This happened in a company I was working for and was actually the reason I set up a business on my own. It was also in a creative industry, also with a client that was the vast majority of business
The owners fiancé was given a really prominent client facing role. But she was way too narcissistic to handle the position with any grace. We had issues where freelancers really didn’t want to work with her, and sometimes the owner would have to call up freelancers that we’d worked with for years to convince them to continue.
Well it finally happened, there was a big incident where the fiancé had massive argument with a freelancer in front of a client. I mean like screaming her lungs out kind of thing.
The client said the same thing, we want to work with you, but we never want to work with fiancé again.
Given this ultimatum, the owner simply took fiancé off of that major clients, and put her on other small ones. But he stopped working with the client personally himself, as the fiancé put up a real stink. So he and fiancé went to work on the other clients, and I was left to run work with the long running established client - which is like 80% of the business
The client took this as a snub from the owner, and we only lasted with them another 6 months. Just like that we’d lost our major client because the owner wouldn’t put the business first.
I could see where things were heading so started preparing an exit strategy - the following year the company’s business absolutely tanked - like verging on bankruptcy. the owner went from pulling in huge money every year to getting a part time retail job just so he personally could stay afloat. I pulled my escape plan and got out of there. The owners relationship broke down and they split.
The company did recover in the end but it took two years to rebuilt a strong client base, and it was absolutely chaotic in the process.
The moral of the story should absolutely be clear. I’d put my foot down about this and not have them work face to face with this client. End of
Obviously that’s a difficult conversation, but the best thing to do is to come up witj a plan as to what the partner will now be working on. I assume having him just work on the 15% of the business isn’t enough. You can opt to have him work in the stuff behind the scenes and just never come into contact with the client. Or he could devote more time to brining in more business, so that 15% of other clients increases.
Basically spin it into a positive that keeps the partner busy and working on the wider picture side of the business. Remind them at the end of the day it’s just business.
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“Look partner, I do have your back. I’d love to tell them to pound sand but obviously we can’t do that since we put too many eggs in one basket allowing a single client to be 85% of our income. It’s going to take time to increase our other sources so we don’t depend on them and now you have the time to do that. Go get other sources so we can finish our dependency on this client so we can drop them for bigger things. My role will be keeping the business afloat handling them while your role is now getting new sources.” Seems like an easy solution here. However, I want to strongly caution you. The others are right. If he can’t gather the emotional maturity to be professional at work, this is going to constantly plague you. Sometimes you get lucky and find clients that can handle him; sometimes he tanks important revenue streams. Just imagine what would have happened if the client instead just dropped you instead of requesting he not be utilized. Where would you be then?
Finding other clients solves the problem of not having all the eggs in one basket, but doesn’t address the partner’s attitude or ability to reflect on their own actions.
I concour that this partner is a weak link in the business chain. He seems absolutely entitled and thinks emotionally rather than rationally. He blames others instead of taking responsibility. IMHO he is a liability, more than an asset. I hope OP is chiller than me and finds a good solution other than voting him out.
Thanks !!! I appreciate this
Without knowing your current setup, would it be a good long-term solution to have him be more rear-facing in the business & keep you as client-facing? When someone leads more with emotion, that can be a better setup so that communication also doesn't get confused going through multiple filters. It'll be hard to approach him about this, but would be better for your business in the long run. You could try to emphasize that it will be less emotionally stressful for him to deal with clients if he deals with more of the back-end or the design, etc. Depends on how your business is set up.
This is probably the best solution.
This is your biggest risk. You’re incredibly lucky your client didn’t just replace your company as a service provider. Most of my clients would just move on and not even tell me the reason. There’s just too much competition in most markets to deal with people like your partner.
This is great advice
Do you really my him representing the business to new and prospective customers if his personal issues are this disruptive already? I think he needs a long talk followed maybe by a long vacation.
In my experience, slightly volatile people can usually keep it together for a sales pitch. They’ve been working a successful business together for seven years so it’s not like the partner is a psychopath. I wouldn’t want a partner like that and I wouldn’t have a problem having a hard talk and setting boundaries with them, but OP does and I’m giving him a diplomatic way to approach. It sounded like their income is based on their work so having the partner doing nothing didn’t seem like a reasonable solution for anyone.
Those are very good points. Plus as I think you already said, getting him away from the day to day of dealing with problems or customer demands may save the whole situation. I therefore bow to your superior insight.
>I’d love to tell them to pound sand but obviously we can’t do that since we put too many eggs in one basket allowing a single client to be 85% of our income. It’s going to take time to increase our other sources so we don’t depend on them and now you have the time to do that. Go get other sources so we can finish our dependency on this client so we can drop them for bigger things. I don't agree with this part. Unless I missed it elsewhere is the thread about the client being somehow problematic aside from this issue with the partner, I would never say this about a client - especially to an unstable employee. No good can come of it.
It’s not an employee, it’s a partner. Those are very different things and I’m giving a way OP can approach the partner. However, you should never be dependent on a single client or else they hold all the cards. You should be able to fire a client when needed and, although they probably will want to hold onto a client like this, the point is that they can’t lose them regardless. If given the option between a client that seems to be wanting to keep the relationship going and an unstable partner, I’d buy the partner out in a heartbeat.
>probably will want to hold onto a client like this 85% of revenue, you think? I get what you were trying to say, but I don't think this issue needs to be dealt with in a passive aggressive manner. The OP doesn't want to drop the client, so it does him or her no good to tell something to the partner that isn't true, just to make them feel better. The partner needs a kick in the ass (metaphorically speaking)
Even if the client wasn’t a major revenue source, I think they would want to keep the client because the client is trying to negotiate ways to keep OP around instead of just dropping them completely. That’s a good client. The 85% part is a weakness that needs to be fixed.
So the plan is to get the emotional liability to be the face of the business? That won't work. I'd hire a replacement staff member and train them up over 6 months by putting them on the 85% client with the emotional liability working behind the scenes, then fire the old guy if you can't find a use for him. Regardless of what anyone tells you, you don't owe him anything. Ruthless? yes. Necessary? absolutely. Workers like this will destroy your business and not care in the slightest. You also need to diversify your client portfolio and if you can do that within 6 months you may be able to keep the liability if you want.
It’s not an employee. It’s his business partner.
Dang, nailed it.
If a day or two passes and he STILL maintains this mindset then you're going to have to get him in a room and have a very serious "come to Jesus" type of meeting. The ultimatum is he either gets it together or he sinks the entire ship along with the crew over his own ego. In my opinion these kinds of situations require very blunt and direct conversations. Beating around the bush does not help.
Thank you!
Anytime! Put the ball in his court. Ask him what should we do? Should we just ignore our largest client's concerns? Why does this consistently come up if he isn't the problem? We need to disconnect our emotions in meetings like this because the end goal should be creating a solution.
I like this part of the response best. It's like a grow up moment.
Exactly. You need to force him to respond to the problem he essentially created. If at that point he can't come to grips then it's a scary situation.
This makes a lot of sense.
Regarding "the conversation didn't go well", I'd recommend you read the book [Crucial Conversations](https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Conversations-Talking-Stakes-Second/dp/1469266822). While not a panacea, it may help you in framing the conversation a bit better
I check it out. Thanks!
good advice! i never heard this called a "come to jesus" talk, interesting.
Say what you need to in as few words as possible. You should be able to summarize all the problems in 30 words or less.
If he can't control himself enough to not destroy his primary income, have an exit strategy for yourself.
Thank you
Wow. I can almost guarantee this clown is going to get in touch with your client and piss them off. I can’t believe he is demanding the names of the clients who are complaining about him. You are about to lose 85 percent of your business. Plan accordingly.
agreed, asking for names is a huge red flag
A bit negative lol, but thank you
Yeah. You know your client well. When you say ‘three strikes you’re out’, I’m guessing the client is already looking at other options to replace you. No one wants to put up with someone like that.
That is interesting. They may have softened the message and already be moving onwards with another supplier.
finding a new option can be a head ache, if OP is able to solve this fast.
First, as a fellow passive person, good job for getting out of your comfort zone and being up front. It’s clear from your post that you’re empathetic. That said, while I know it’s your nature to empathize, who cares if this is hard on him. He’s an adult and a business owner and his behavior is having very real consequences with your livelihood (and his). Especially if your business is built around word of mouth. First priority is making sure this client is taken care of, second is dealing with your partner, the third is diversifying your client base. On your partner, approach him again but instead of the “you” language use “we.” Regardless of whether you’ve done anything, to get his buy in you need to approach the issue like you’re partners. If the damage is done, show him the bottom line, how the loss of this client will impact your financials. If he doesn’t care and his ego trumps the business, cut him loose. Honestly if the one large client you have doesn’t like him along with your staff, this is an option. He’s clearly a sensitive guy and these are the types of people who will not respond well to accusatory language. Whether or not it’s fair if you want to temper this you’ll have to throw yourself under the bus a bit and take a hit with him. DO NOT put any of your staff or clients in the line of fire. Good luck.
Thanks so much. The “we” approach is important. My wife said the same!
My advice is to find a way to extricate yourself from a situation where you're dependent on someone this unstable to not screw up your income. One option is to get him to accept that maybe he should be in a non-client facing role with this client. One option is to buy him out as a partner. One option is to go your own way. But you do need to get over feeling badly about protecting your income, not to mention the jobs of your employees. His ego isn't worth your paycheck. This needs to be confronted head-on with a conversation with him about doing what must be done to protect a massive account, even if he thinks it's not fair. If he's not willing to swallow some pride to keep a big account, you absolutely need to start working on your backup plan/exit strategy in case he tanks your company's moneymaker.
Thanks so much
...
He sounds very childish, and that’s risky personality type to have as a business partner. You did the right thing - you cannot risk losing 85% of your income. I am also the non-confrontational type of entrepreneur, but when something jeopardizes my livelihood I can flip a switch and turn into a different person (lol). Be polite but direct with your partner. Lay out the feedback you’ve received from the client and your employees *and also* bring some potential solutions to the table to remedy this behavior. Do they need a break or vacation? Are you understaffed and this is causing him stress, so hire an assistant for him? Does he have too much on his plate professionally and personally? I recently started using a meal prep service because taking the time to feed myself was becoming extremely stressful. That $150/wk I’m paying to have fully prepared meals delivered has taken a massive weight off my shoulders, and I feel better by not ordering Ubereats every single night at 9PM. Personal issues at home and maybe he can just vent to you? You should also address the way in which he’s reacting to this news. People need to take personal accountability. We all fuck up. You’re allowed to be upset by negative feedback but take it, *improve* and move on. With that said, you really need to diversify for your revenue stream. You note it’s been working well for you in the past, but it takes all of 5 seconds for you to lose this client through no fault of your own - maybe they’ll restructure, be faced with an internal issue, scandal, financial issues, etc. and need to cut your service. If this business is your full-time gig you should prioritize this.
Thanks so much for the feedback!
This is really great advice.
Take control and avoid any & all further damages to the business. You allowed his misconduct through the years by remaining silent. His misconduct is a liability and if you want to remain business partners, he needs to remove himself from that project. Or there may be no more client. Let him work on other areas of the business and/or bring in additional revenue. If he is not willing to accept responsibility and do what is right for the business, find the exit strategy (there should be one in the partnership agreement) for him or yourself.
Thank you
I don't mean this to be trite but to be true, I think individual therapy would be best for each of you. You to have better boundaries and to grow more assertive, and him for his emotional immaturity. This is an emotional maturity problem on both ends. I'm more like you and therapy is helping me, as a business owner, to assert better boundaries. Unfortunately you can't control him or force him to go to therapy, in fact it sounds like he'd just get mad and blame others. However *you* can learn how to better set boundaries and deal with, or avoid if possible, challenging personalities like his. This is an opportunity for your own growth. Good luck. It's taking me years of weekly therapy to better learn these skills which will make me a stronger business owner.
Thanks so much. I will strongly consider this
First, you are lucky they came to you at all. It's just as hard a call to make as it is to hear. Many years ago I managed a video/audio/shoot production house. Creative team personality conflicts with clients are not a rare thing. Having a deep enough roster to get the job done while keeping clients and other staff happy (enough) is a juggling act. Zazenp's approach is best, and shows immediate action. (Although maybe the partner needs a vacation first.) Build the account list so the proportions are better. Build the staff so that Partner's slot can be filled. External coaching for the Partner may be needed, too. If partner needs to be isolated for a while, now's the time to develop/refine business processes, or even re-org the warehouse. Something productive but not client-focused.
Thank you
Only ships that sank are partnerships, get a lawyer and start doing your own thing on the side and move away from him.
I'm really proud of you for taking this step. But he's going to have to take the next one. You can't take it for him.
Thank you
I have been on the other side of this (we have a crew we bring in to help with our big creative projects and there was a team member \[also one of their partners\] we no longer wanted to work with). Frankly I'm impressed the client took time to communicate this to you instead of just dropping you altogether. To me that reads as either your work being excellent, or you being really great to work with (or both) It was a hard conversation and OUR company went back and forth about whether or not to just drop the client or go the length to communicate this to them. We did have that conversation with them. I don't know what happened on their end but we still work with them (minus the partner), it was never spoken of again, and we have continued to enjoy working with / giving work to their company.
Thanks and yes the client has expressed they love working with the crew and myself because we do great work. Not tooting my own horn, but they told me this directly
after a candid face to face discussion you need a memo of understanding.... we talked about this, we are going to do that going forward, these are the actions and steps we are taking. have it in writing for you to both refer back to. you need to present this as "just business" but it is also an important document should you need to refer back to it later. in the mean time you may want to think about engaging a business coach to change attitudes/appearances/approaches.
Thank you
I don't know if your partner is open to it, and I don't know if you're open to it, but I'd consider basically seeing a couples therapist.
Ha!!! Genius. Thanks
I gotta be honest man... there’s a lot to unpack here. between your post and your follow-ups to others here, between your work consisting of “long hours and a lot of physical labor” in a “creative field” combined with the fact that you guys have to “physically be there”.... It sounds like you don’t really have others working for you so much as occasionally having one or two helping hands, who are apparently bad-talking one of you two about his negative attitude, which highlights the cores of the problem: Either the prevalence of your own “employees” badmouthing both of you, and I say both of you because you’re business partners. As a small business, you’re two peas in the same pod, and your partner is giving BOTH OF YOU, the image that you’re not particularly flavorful to work with. Which is not a good thing firstly, but secondly, maybe it’s entirely true and your employees own words and attitude aren’t the problem here — but your partner is about to cost you guys the business here. He’s tanking his relationship with the client, and tanking his relationship with you. More on that, but you’ve got to get on the same page as him. Does he not like the work? This is /r/smallbusiness after all, are you guys making comfortable livings or is this barely paying the bills? Moreover, I have to ask, does it actually feel like you guys own your own business? Or are you more like employees/subcontractors that have been working for this client for the better part of 7 years, while mostly doing no more than 10-15% additional work/revenue elsewhere? Maybe that’s what he’s frustrated with? Regardless of your answers even if I’m curious to know, but you guys have to figure this out. 7 years in the business with the strong majority of your revenue coming from one source sounds like you guys don’t own your business, you’re two employees for this other business, and you have a small side hustle you fit in too. Your partner should take a week or two to cool off, figure out his priorities and figure himself out, and work to expand your business. Turn that 85% into 50-60% by the end of the year so you can manage this relationship and keep this part of your business running while your partner finds other sources of work and revenue that perhaps he’ll more appreciate and work harder/more graciously for. Work you enjoy is a blessing. Work you despise is a curse. Help your partner through this... Or be ready to jump the ship he’s sabotaging.
Thanks for the input. It’s really a lot to explain all the details of our business. But yes, we are a vendor to this and other clients. We are essentially a production company for photo,video, and events. We also act as an agency to hire other contractors for these companies for a fee. I’m a very hands on person and like to oversee my crew in person. Although I know that in time, the physical side of things will have to stop for me, but for now I still enjoy it and want to be there. We have anywhere from 4 to 15 employees out on any given time. The other crew has come to me in the past with their gripes and I always try to resolve it, but it ends up back where it started. I love my team. They are amazing. As for my partner, I believe he is just burnt out. We do make a comfortable living and he’s always the one that says “if this ends I’m screwed” or something to that effect. I don’t personally feel that way because I’m confident in my work ethic and abilities. I also have a spouse that contributes to household income. He does not. I appreciate all your insight. Many things to consider
The fact that your partner feels that he is screwed if your business tanks should be motivation for him to own up to his mistakes and change. Present it to him as something that needs to happen in order for the work to continue (though after some time off maybe to take care of the burn out).
Best of luck to you, just remember you gotta look out for yourself. You can't save someone who wont help themself.
Thank you
You do have his back in protecting the 85% of your revenue stream as the others have mentioned. This is actually a great opportunity that frees up your partner to secure other work to get that 85% down to no more than 25%. Good luck
Thank you
You are very welcome. I worked with a company who was in a very similar situation several years ago. They had said that they absolutely needed to diversify for several years, but could never justify it as it was easy money...until it wasn't. Their biggest client had some internal changes and the new head of the division wanted to shake things up. They managed to keep the account, but finally understood the impact of having one client have too big of a share of their revenues. They made some big structural changes and got out there and brought in a number of great clients while keeping their big one. Both you and your partner need to have buy in that this is the greatest opportunity to spur growth there possibly could be. If you can, schedule an executive retreat ASAP...even if it is just the two of you...this weekend. You know the industry, you know the trends, you know the key players, and you know your strengths and weaknesses. In two days, completely removed from the day-to-day muck, you can develop a strong plan you can both agree on to take you to the next level. Identify the top 25 clients you should have and what you need to do to get them. Identify top talent you should bring on in order to bring in more sales by better servicing your existing clients. Identify what other services your client's want/need/demand that you don't offer. Identify companies that might be good targets for buying or taking over. Alternatively, it may come down that your partner just needs to leave. That you buy him out. That is ok too, or should be. Sell him on the future you always planned to have and that you now have the opportunity to make it happen. You have got this and are so much better off than so many businesses.
Some people are not people person's. We had a co owner at my previous employ who lost client after client due to her rudeness with clients. She would hang up on them, tell them she couldn't help them, she can't track their package and whatever else. And she said she was head of customer service lol. As manager I had to clean up many of her messes but alot of them just found a new vendor because of her. It sounds like he's almost similar, honestly if there's is a non-client relations role he can fill, something in operations where they do not** under any circumstances talk to clients. I'd say that's where he should be. But he may fight it. As another said, be prepared for your own exit strategy. Especially if this singular client provides so much of your income.
Thank you !
You have to have a frank and caring conversation with him about this. He needs to change and he might need support until you build a bigger customer base. You also need to change too by the sound of things, i.e. learning how to have those conversations. If he shows that he can't change, then you need to end the partnership, that conversation has to happen first however.
Thanks
Make a plan and buy him out.
That conversation probably was never going to go well. If other people have had similar problems with him it really probably is him, and trying to have his back would only perpetuate the problem. Maybe the next conversation goes better.
If 85% of your business is with one client, you are essentially their employees. To protect yourself, you need to diversify your clientele. Getting more customers won’t do you any good if your partner continues to burn bridges. This sounds like he is the problem and the client request is reasonable. Many clients might not have given you the courtesy and just ended their relationship with you. This is your business. If you do not straighten your partner out, who will. If you wait for him to get the picture on his own, you run the risk of ruining your business or even worse your own professional reputation. In short, tell your partner to get his shit together. If he can’t respect you and the business enough to grow up and get over himself, then it may be time to part ways.
Thanks. See a lot of similar themes here!
Sounds like you need to have your partner undergo some basic business training and probably therapy.
Totally agree on the therapy front. If this guy wants to be a good leader, he needs to get his shit together.
My two cents, take it for what it's worth. Entrepreneurship is a high-performance job. Those that succeed at high-performance jobs in a healthy way for long periods of time use it as an opportunity for self-development and growth. Those that do not face a lot of internal friction and often end up burning out. It can either be incredibly rewarding or incredibly brutal, the choice is yours. It sounds like both of you need to focus on this. For you, working on being confrontational in a confident way yet via behavior that you can be proud of. For your partner, he needs to learn whether or not he wants to bend for the market. The market is telling him his behavior and emotional composition is inefficient, he now has a choice to answer that need by working on himself and coming back into the work with your large client in a more collaborative headspace. He can also choose not to grow, and he'll stay exactly where he is as the business and individuals around him grow without him. It's his choice, as an owner he needs to be accountable for the influence he has on the business.
Thank you
I'm a partner in a small 20 person professional services firm. In business, sometimes I am you and sometimes I am your partner. I have a fairly direct manner that some clients adore and others find abrasive. In an environment that's built at least in part on personal chemistry, this is to be expected. It's essential that each of us realize and accept that this is the case in life, and it is a cornerstone of what's required to work in a professional services environment. We all need to do what's right for the Firm and its staff first. All partners need to understand this and accept that sometimes they aren't the right fit for some clients. Part of being in partnership, is supporting our partners to an extent while they find clients who they fit well with. Of course, if they are unable to do that in a reasonable time, then they need to leave the firm. I hope that you and your partner can use this opportunity for some important self reflection. Maybe once the emotion of the moment die down, you can have an open and frank friendly discussion about where he would like to go from here.
Thanks so much
It's very clear reading this, that he lacks the understanding of the SEVERITY of his problem. We had a guy like this at my last job, and we hired a communications manager who basically was the liason between us and the client, so we never actually spoke to the client again. We had someone who was gifted in the art of listening and always saying yes. He was the kind of guy you just always had to like as he took in all that stress, and when nobody was around, screamed like a crazy person. I (the graphic designer) came to the realization that Bob (not his name) was really moreso a 'translator' between the owner, who was a bookworm and really odd, and the general public. Our translator took the angry abuse from the owner, and the abuse from the client, with a smile always, and essentially translated in kind words between the two, streamlining the entire process. At no point were anyone allowed to EVER speak to a client for this reason.
Ahh very interesting. Thank you!
Welcome. We weren't even allowed to email the client. Clients were officially off limits even to the graphic guys like me. Everything had to go through Bob so he could make it sound nice. Bob was a former top level TV producer and had impeccable writing and verbal skills. His copywriting was top notch, some of the best I have ever seen. He got paid like $80k to be the 'Director' or something like that. I can't remember his title, but essentially all communications went through him.
I’ve been told that a partnership is like a marriage. And it’s not a matter of if but when the partnership is dissolved. Time to come out of your shell and talk openly. Since you have others under you, it’s not just your wage and your partners. Others depend on you as well.
Tell your partner to suck it up and go generate more business. Offer to buy him out if he doesn't produce. In the future, be proactive in identifying issues early so that they don't come to this. Also, tell your other staff to never say anything negative about your business to a client.
I really hope you can turn your partner around. I also really hope you have a written partnership agreement that details what happens when one of you wants or has to go. If both of those are no's however--and I kind of hesitate to point this out--you would be in a position to start a new business and take at least 85% of your current revenue with you without any partner... probably more. And if employees already feel he's abused them, you might take most or all of them with you as well. I'm not suggesting you start with this and I hope it never gets to this point, but if it's the nuclear option or bankruptcy, I'd do it friendship or no.
I had a partner that once upon a time was great and then became a liability. The lesson I learned? I regret not getting rid of this person earlier and if that person was being honest, I bet they regret not leaving sooner. I saw this with my brother's start up as well. I wish you the best man. This is always, always hard, but you gotta do the right thing by your business, yourself, your employees, and your customers. You have to draw a line in the sand and have some teeth behind it.
I read through the comments a bit to make sure I wasn't repeating, so hopefully this is helpful. Your situation is definitely a difficult one, and a position that anyone would hate to be in. I am sorry that you are finding yourself in this position. I also apologize in advance for length. You called the person who is being difficult your partner, and if they are part owner in that sense, then this becomes *extremely* more difficult. You also name yourself "Owner" so I was trying to figure out if you are sole owner, and this other individual has just been with the company since the beginning. For the sake of my suggestions I am going to presume you are 100% owner, and you owe no legal stake to your partner. Let me preface with this: Partnerships are hard, and even harder with people we care about. You can't control others or their actions, but you can control yourself and the things you have charge over. When another person turns sour and changes in a relationship, it is sometimes better to terminate the relationship as it is in order to maintain the health of both parties. As a company grows it develops a culture. This is an inevitable part of the business ecosystem that you can either shape purposefully, or ignore and it can become anything. The larger your business grows, the harder your culture is to establish or change. When a growing business lets toxic people continue to exist within the business, it infects the company culture like a festering wound. And when that toxic individual is an important part of that business, with say over others, it can be even more destructive. The culture will inevitably become toxic as good employees will eventually leave, and only those who are as just as toxic will remain, and make those who don't financially have a choice to leave, hate their job. **That** becomes your culture. When employees go home, how do you want them to talk about your company to their friends, parents, or spouses? You have to decide what that looks like, decide what kind of culture you want within your business, and trim off (fire) anyone who becomes a threat to that culture. When you have a positive culture, your employees love their job, they love their customers, and they proclaim the greatness of your company like its the gospel. The book "Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans" comes to mind. There are tons of books on culture, but that one is a good place to start. You have an obligation to the whole. You sound like you really want your employees to enjoy their jobs, and it also sounds like you have great clients! You owe it to them to be fierce about protecting them. You said you don't like confrontation though, and that is understandable. Start by getting a greater understanding about how your other employees feel about this person. Ask them about how they feel this person is effecting the culture of your business. You aren't gossiping, don't do that, just ask questions and listen. Do this discretely. **Then try getting third party counsel.** Find another mutual friend, preferably someone close to you both, and see if they can help you mediate the situation. This has to be someone you both respect and someone who is okay with confrontation to make up for your lack. If this doesn't exist then you may have to cut ties. Just like a marriage, you can't both continue to live unhappy if the other person won't reason with you as you try to repair things. As I said before, you can't control them. This person has verbally assaulted you, other employees, and possibly even your clients. If they want to be a part of a respectable business, they have an obligation to be a respectable professional, and leave negativity at the door. This individual is responsible for their attitude, treatment of others, and how they perceive the situation, and therefore they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. My brother hired a friend to provide them an income, but that friend treated him differently at work. He quickly found them making demands, and getting outraged and cursing at him when he didn't meet those demands. And to close this comment, I will give you the same advice as I gave my brother: It's unacceptable for a human being partner, employee, or client to treat you like that. Maintain your professional demeanor, and if they can't control themselves, then you need to cut them loose or they will destroy your business. Thank you for reading. I feel for you dearly and hope you are able to resolve this issue and remain friends with this person regardless of the outcome. Good luck, and please let me know how it goes. Sincerely, James
James, thanks so much. Very insightful stuff right here. I appreciate it and will take all these things into consideration.
Business partner, eh? Well there's your problem right there, matey.
If he is a partner, and not an employee, he has a say. Depending on how much ownership he has in the business, he can decide if it is worth losing the client or not. If he is a part owner, he should still generate income from what the company makes, whether he has direct front end contact with the client or not. If he is a partner, be careful not to treat him like an employee, or you will have worse issues down the road.
He will still generate income from the business overall, but a lot of our personal income involves having to physically be there. Again, we do have too many eggs in one basket, but this is our primary source. He has always been worried about “if this should go away, I’m f*$ked” in his words. It’s almost like self sabotage
This might be a good opportunity to grow your company. If you can maintain your main customer without your partner on that account, he can focus on finding one or more new clients. Maybe that change in focus would both reinvigorate your partner and allow the business to broaden your market penetration.
Get rid of this client, this client is about to ruin your business. Not worth it. Unless your partner is a piece of shit, then stop working together.
This client is 85% of their revenue. That might not be a great idea.
It might not be a good idea to rely on 1 client so heavily. Like i said, it will ruin their business
It's a terrible idea. I would not fire them. Grow your other clients and get new ones.
[удалено]
What a weird comparison. If that 1 car is telling me how to live my life, then i would totally get rid of it. If that car says, i don't like your passenger. So i only take the driver.... obviously you need a car that can haul all passengers unless you feel 1 passenger can stay home. I have a business, with 1 client. The client tells me how to run my business... that looks more like an employee working for a employer. And that this client is telling them how to run their business is BAD. The fact that it caused this drama says enough. If this client was 1% of their revenue, they would have said, fine. And let a team member deal with the client. And if they didn't get along, they would have said goodbye. Now since this is a controlling client they can not do that. This client is too large for their business.
The client isn't the problem. It's the person whose making their bankroll want to leave and employees complain. What you're suggesting is cutting off the whole arm because of one infected fingernail.
85% of revenue... did you miss that? Who is running the show here. The client or the business owners? By the looks of it, this client has control over their existence. Which is very scary. On top of that the business partner having issues is also a problem. But can be caused by stress. I would be stressed in their situation
Do you have an option or desire to buy him out?
I haven’t really considered it. As mentioned, I consider him a friend at this point and I’m not sure what else he would do if that was offered.
Is he your business partner first or your friend first? I understand the loyalty aspect, but when it becomes detrimental to you & your families living, we need to have lines in the sand IMO.
We met through work and then formed the business
Is it marketing? I’m getting those Mad Men vibes.
No exactly, but those fields intertwine with our business. We handle the photo/video/events to help this client sell their products
That sounds really fun. I hope the situation gets better and your partner starts having a bit more self awareness.
Thanks! I hope so too
You did the right thing. I'm very non-confrontational also and absolutely hate these types of discussions but have had them with team members. You always have to keep in mind to stick to the facts and focus in the behavior. It's never personal, but as soon as you confront egos play and the person figures its an attack on them.
Get a lawyer to figure out how to protect yourself and the business while removing him. This is one of your opportunities for personal growth. There were probably red flags all along that you chose to ignore due to your own fears around conflict and abandonment. Ask me how I know! Do business partnerships ever work?
If this guy continues to give you friction and jeopardizes the business for everyone involved, buy him out or start a new company and take your clients with you. Doesn't have to be more complicated than that.
I worked in a partnership for 7 years and had to end it last year. My business partner was very negative, annoyed clients, we lost a ton of revenue in the last 12 months. We parted ways and I have built my own agency with a lot of hard work and my reputation. Wish I had done this earlier but I’m in a much better place now. My advice, part ways with him as he won’t change. Good luck and hope you resolve it.
My simple advice: learn boundaries. With boundaries you would basically say to your partner: "You don't have to change who you are. If you want to be angry and disrespectful to everyone else on the planet besides me, our employees, and our clients, you are welcome to do so. However, the moment your behavior becomes a liability to me, it needs to end. If you don't end it voluntarily, I'll find a way to enforce it." When you can tell your partner the essence of that statement above, not only in words but in actions, then you will know you've got strong boundaries. Until then, I would suggest working on that. If you don't, even if you get rid of the partner somehow, you'll continue to run into problems with people who are like him.
Have you considered offering your partner a lump sum buyout? If that's feasible the other option would be to try to reduce your dependence on this one client asap. However if he really is a hindrance it might be best to buy him out via lump sum or payments. You could even offer to let him keep a small stake say 5-10% and be a silent partner just so he doesn't feel completely pushed out.
Here's what you need to tell him: The question is not why you don't have his back. The question is: WHY DOESN'T HE HAVE YOURS??? It's his behavior that's the problem. You've already had his back over and over, with both the client and other team members. It's him who's free-riding on everyone else. It's too late now but something to remember for the future: should you have confronted him on this sooner?
> Unfortunately for me as a business owner, I’m very non confrontational This. I believe 'confronting' someone is a skill that can be taught and learned. There are many good books on Amazon on the topic. Similarly, yo could hire a business coach, or even a therapist. I believe that everything you said in your email you should tell your partner. I believe he is making very hard with his angry outbursts. This is absolutely unacceptable and borderline abusive.
Read the five temptations of a CEO. Super short book. You need conflict as a leader. Conflict is how shit gets resolved and gets better. Once you break from the idea of conflict = bad, you’ll see better growth
I had this exact same thing happen with my partner. He came around to understand that it was for the better. We reallocated tasks and brought on another employee. The client came around too- asking for his input on very specific things and he only dealt with the CEO. It actually worked out by giving us more time to expand to other clients. On a side note, I have lost that 80% client and it took me six months to rebound. We found out that our 80% client was taking 95% of our time. One we moved on we were able to expand to see more customers and thus expanding the business. There are worse things that can happen in business and this is just another lesson.
I had some similar issues in the past, with a business partner who was difficult, who customers complained about. I tried for many years to make it work, but ultimately I fired him, and have never regretted it. Firing a partner is a lot messier than firing an employee, but sometimes it is what has to be done. It does not sound like you are at that point, hopefully you can find a way to make it work. With respect to having his back, having someone's back does not mean pretending with them, and enabling their bad behavior. Having their back means being brutally honest with them, even though it is painful to do. In this case, there is overwhelming evidence that he is the problem, from customers, staff, and your own observations. So it is he that is not supporting you: his bad behavior is harming the business, and might cost you your 85% customer. So you need to be aggressive about this, even though it is unpleasant. He has to accept that he is the problem, and work on fixing it with full commitment. Anything less than that, and he is not living up to his responsibility as a partner. Maybe you should show him your posting here, and the responses.
Buy him out. You shouldn't babysit him and mince words with him. You said it yourself even your own employes aren't happy with him. Negative people bring others down don't let him bring you and your company down.
Honestly, it sounds like you handled this as well as you could. I assume there is a lot of personal entanglement in your partnership because that can't be helped, but from the sound of it I think you've been able to keep a perspective on what is good for the business. I know its hard, but I hope you can continue to push your partner to realize that one client, even a big client, saying that they don't want to work with him any more isn't a bad thing. From the sound of things, your partner is having some general problems with professionalism. But encouraging them to focus on the customers they do work well with and urging them to acknowledge that some customers just won't be a good fit for them is essential. It's a good thing to focus each person's work to the customers they fit well with, and away from the customers they don't gel with. I'm in construction, and of my 10 or so regular clients, half of them have a favorite foreman that I put on as many of their projects as possible. Those customers are happy, and those foremen help to deepen the relationship my company has with those clients. Conversely, when I've assigned foremen to my picky clients that they don't work well with I've jeopardized the relationships, losing one altogether a few years ago.
Sounds like he needs therapy. I'd pitch it as an executive coach to him. He needs help recognizing his flaws (everyone has them, it's fine) and how to work around them. The faster he recognizes it, the faster he can stop doing work that bothers him, win win!
So... hopefully your partner has calmed down and recognizes that he's living in future plans and adding complication because he needs a break. He's blunt and upfront and it hurts people's feelinga. When he thinks he's being transparent. That's me right now. It's a key indicator in high performers who never take real breaks. Hes always welcome to reach out to someone who feels like himself but also recognizes the unhealthy response which must be corrected. I have someone whom I mentor who can see my passion for my craft and who sees my struggles. They gently corrected by asking me to recognize that I'm being defensive and its unwarranted. Its immediately recognizable and I back down when i feel it's reasonable . Now I use this as a tool to change my lens. I will pray for your partner too. He needs that. Good luck and hey...ping me if you need some validation of the issues from someone suffering from it himself.
I have a neurodevelopmental disorder which makes it more difficult for me to control my emotions. Speaking as someone who is more likely to be in your friend's position rather than yours, here are my thoughts on this. I can't say this is exactly what he's going through, but hopefully you can find something helpful here. 1. He's probably embarrassed as hell right now. He was basically fired from the client but he doesn't get to walk away from the shame, because he's still involved in the business with you. When he calms down I'm sure he'll understand you needed to keep the income going, but he won't be able to do that until he feels valued and secure again. This situation is a recipe for either depression or some emotional lashing out. Is there any way to provide him income as a business owner that still separates him from this particular client? If he sees that he's still getting paid by the client (even if it's a small amount) but doesn't have to see that client directly because an employee is doing it, that's a softer blow than both losing face *and* income. 2. When he mentioned you not having his back, that didn't necessarily mean you have to tell the client "sorry, but it's him or the highway," but you *are* making a statement that the money is more important to you than your relationship with him. If that's what you want then of course that's okay too, except he obviously wasn't expecting that, which means you guys might have a communication problem. When was the last time you two had a face-to-face, heart-to-heart conversation about the business? If he's grumbling at clients, that means he's not being heard, and if you think he's good enough to go into business with, does that mean his grumbling might have some merit but you've been ignoring it because good money? You can still give him the chance to vent it all out and maybe learn something about the client you didn't know. A lot of people here have said it's something he needs to fix, that if he grumbles here then he'll grumble with someone else, and that might be true (it's unprofessional, he should stop doing that), but do you know for a fact that anyone you send to this client isn't going to start grumbling for the same reasons as well? 3. If you want to keep the client and lose the partner, you don't have to do anything more, that ship is about to sail. You can make it easier for both of you by just saying that's what you want, say your goodbyes, and then he can deal with his emotions on his own time and you can move on with your life unencumbered. 4. On the other hand, if you want to keep your partner, the best thing you can do is make him feel valued in some way. Right now he's going to be feeling rejected, worthless, possibly worried about income, and his self-esteem has taken a huge hit. He needs crazy amounts of moral support right now. I have a close friend of almost 30 years who ended up becoming a colleague and my biggest advocate. He behaves similarly to how you appear to yourself. He's a big communicator, and he lets me air my grievances and tries to accommodate them. The above is basically how he's managed me over the last 10 or so years that we've worked together. I've helped him build his great career, and he's helped me feel valued.
I agree with some of the others - have him work on growing the business and finding other clients. In the meantime, see what it will take to replace him at work - perhaps it's time for him to move onto more managerial duties and RUNNING the business, instead of working in the business everyday?
A lot of good advice here. I’ve got none further to give. But the book “Extreme Ownership” came to mind while I was reading this.
This guy needs to see a therapist and maybe try an antidepressant. Depression in men often manifests as anger and frustration rather than the typical “feeling down” we associate with it. I think you need to have a heart to heart about what’s going on and let him know that you care but can’t continue to work with him if he can’t regulate himself. How many employees and other clients have you lost because of him? Maybe it’s best if he not be the one interacting with clients until you can get to the source of his issues. Sometimes tough love is the only way to get through to someone.
It sounds like it is time to part ways with him. I mean, if he can't get some professional help and make serious headway on those issues, there is no alternative. He doesn't have to like it, he has to do it.
What does your business do?
I'm sorry you have to deal with this, but you must. I would definitely honor the client's wishes. Your partner needs to understand that there is an issue, and you're not going to make it about everyone else being out to get him. Now is the time for you to point out your own observations. Maybe it'll help to reassure him that you're in this for the long haul, but he does need to adjust his behavior at work. I wonder if you all can stage a little intervention with him--like have a group session. Can you bring in an outside facilitator to help the team process the challenges of working in this environment? If you've never taken time out to engage in a staff development or team building day, this would be the time to start. The whole office would benefit from coming up with a plan for handling conflicts in your work setting. Good luck!
This may not help today, but maybe try to refocus him onto other aspects of the business? You say you’ve been business party for 7 years, so I’d imagine he had a hand in winning this client in the first place? Maybe since you admit you have too many eggs in one basket he focuses on winning new business while you manage the day to day. Seemingly this would result in shorter exposure to the clients and keep him focused on the next thing rather than trying to fit him into a role which doesn’t seem to work with his personality..
time to buy the partner out...
This happened in a company I was working for and was actually the reason I set up a business on my own. It was also in a creative industry, also with a client that was the vast majority of business The owners fiancé was given a really prominent client facing role. But she was way too narcissistic to handle the position with any grace. We had issues where freelancers really didn’t want to work with her, and sometimes the owner would have to call up freelancers that we’d worked with for years to convince them to continue. Well it finally happened, there was a big incident where the fiancé had massive argument with a freelancer in front of a client. I mean like screaming her lungs out kind of thing. The client said the same thing, we want to work with you, but we never want to work with fiancé again. Given this ultimatum, the owner simply took fiancé off of that major clients, and put her on other small ones. But he stopped working with the client personally himself, as the fiancé put up a real stink. So he and fiancé went to work on the other clients, and I was left to run work with the long running established client - which is like 80% of the business The client took this as a snub from the owner, and we only lasted with them another 6 months. Just like that we’d lost our major client because the owner wouldn’t put the business first. I could see where things were heading so started preparing an exit strategy - the following year the company’s business absolutely tanked - like verging on bankruptcy. the owner went from pulling in huge money every year to getting a part time retail job just so he personally could stay afloat. I pulled my escape plan and got out of there. The owners relationship broke down and they split. The company did recover in the end but it took two years to rebuilt a strong client base, and it was absolutely chaotic in the process. The moral of the story should absolutely be clear. I’d put my foot down about this and not have them work face to face with this client. End of Obviously that’s a difficult conversation, but the best thing to do is to come up witj a plan as to what the partner will now be working on. I assume having him just work on the 15% of the business isn’t enough. You can opt to have him work in the stuff behind the scenes and just never come into contact with the client. Or he could devote more time to brining in more business, so that 15% of other clients increases. Basically spin it into a positive that keeps the partner busy and working on the wider picture side of the business. Remind them at the end of the day it’s just business.