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I love my new business partner. She works out of Denver, I work in Alaska. She loves to do the things that I don’t - such as crunching numbers and making spreadsheets and analyzing statistics. We are so different in so many ways. If we were a married couple, I’m not sure which of us would be the wife and which one of us would be the husband, but we are clearly different enough that like in any marriage, we have to be cognizant of our relationship.

Some of the things I think we do well include

1. Praising each other. We both make sincere efforts to give kudos to one another. “That budget was great!” I say. “You really came up with some awesome ideas!” she’ll say.

2. Appreciating each other. Besides the genuine praise, I also state how much I appreciate her. I just get this incredible urge sometimes to blurt out “I really appreciate you!” and she replies “I appreciate you, too. Group hug!” And I chuckle as I imagine we do a quick virtual hug across the miles.

3. Listening thoughtfully. When I find myself multi-tasking, I try to stop, take a moment, then pay closer attention to what my business partner is saying. We both deserve that kind of undivided attention.

4. Apologizing quickly. If we get up on the wrong side of the bed or snap before our morning coffee, we apologize without hesitation before proceeding with the business at hand.

But like in any marriage, there are challenges as well. Some areas where we probably could improve include

1. The need to pinpoint the error. I think we are both perfectionists and in our attempts sometimes to identify exactly where something went wrong, one of us ends up feeling like we’re suddenly the one to blame. We both tend to say “Mea culpa” but there are times when we are both tired and frustrated and probably shouldn’t even be worrying so much about who did what or said what and focus more on the solution.

2. The need to control the technology. Maybe this is more something I’m guilty of than her, but I really want to use the software I like to use and am too stubborn to switch even though it may not be ideal for everyone. Then again, she is just as stubborn but she does have a point that we should use the most widely used software instead of my favorite open source substitutes in some cases.

3. The way we communicate by email. Our communication styles are vastly different, and we need to figure out how to better convey our messages to each other without coming across as curt or annoyed. In our haste, we tend to abbreviate sentences which then makes it harder to understand the emotions behind something. I often think she is mad at me when she isn’t. She sometimes misses what I’m trying to say because I infer it rather than state it. She says she isn’t good at inference. Maybe we should just both agree that we will never use emails as a gauge for what each other is feeling because email is too inaccurate when it comes to conveying emotion.

Like any marriage, our business partnership is a lot of give and take. But one thing we don’t scrimp on is mutual respect. I think that is the foundation of our friendship as well as our business partnership, and like in marriage, that respect bolsters and solidifes everything else we say and do.

What are your secrets to a successful business partnership?