Marketing Advice
How to work effectively with an equal business partner
As much as we’d all like to be Batman and Robin, Mario and Luigi or Torvill and Dean, it takes a lot to manage a business as a partnership. But Colin Sinclair McDermott, The Online Print Coach, explains how you can break through arguments and disagreements to find success in the process.
They provide the spark.
The other person is the action-taker (or the integrator). They are the one who considers the visionary’s idea and asks: “Okay, but how do we actually pay for that?” They are the ones who develop the production workflow, manage the staff, and ensure the orders actually get dispatched on time.
The problem arises when you don’t respect those differences. If the action-taker tries to stifle the visionary, the business ceases to grow. It becomes stagnant. But if the visionary attempts to involve themselves in the day-to-day operations, they cause chaos. They disturb the systems the action-taker has established.
Agree on what matters R
unning a business with a partner can be your greatest asset. It can also be your biggest source of frustration.
It’s a surprisingly common scenario. Two friends start a garment printing shop together. At first, it is exciting. You do everything together. Answering the phones, developing your contacts, printing T shirts, and packing the boxes. But as the business expands, cracks start to appear. Decisions become slower. You begin to feel as though you are pulling in different directions. You might even feel that your partner is holding you back, or, on the other hand, that they are reckless and moving too quickly.
Why does this happen?
People bring different skills and talents to a business. If issues arise, it’s usually because you haven’t clearly identified who is the ‘visionary’ and who is the ‘action-taker’. I observed a pair of co-owners this week who have finally mastered this code. They struggled for a long time. But now, they are thriving in their own skill sets. Creative ideas are flowing, marketing plans are coming together, and the new website developments are being finalised.
They are moving faster than ever because they have stopped stepping on each other’s toes and are pulling in the same direction.
Here is the dynamic they mastered, and it is one I see in almost every successful partnership in this industry.
Visionary vs action-taker
One person is usually the visionary. They are the ones dreaming about the new DTG printer, the new brand identity, or the expansion into a new unit. They have ten ideas before breakfast.
| 16 | January 2026
The co-owners I observed succeeded because they began prioritising what matters most at the moment. They stopped trying to do each other’s roles. The visionary stopped worrying about the production timetable. The action-taker stopped fretting over the long-term marketing plan.
If you are in a small business partnership and feel like you’re constantly clashing, here is a simple tip that helped them. Weekly check-ins.
You need to schedule a non-negotiable meeting once a week. This isn’t just a quick chat while you’re doing other tasks. It’s a dedicated sit-down away from the noise of the shop floor. In this meeting, you should break down the big picture into manageable parts.
The visionary sets the destination. They say, “This is where we need to be in six months.” The action-taker then breaks that down. They say, “Okay, to get there, we need to do X, Y, and Z this week.”
This keeps both of you on track. It reassures the visionary that progress is being made, so they don’t feel the need to interfere. It also provides the action-taker with clear priorities, so they don’t feel overwhelmed by a steady stream of new ideas.
Stay in your lane
Growth doesn’t happen when you are both trying to steer the ship. It happens when one person steers while the other shovels the coal.
Create space to value each other’s strengths. If your partner excels at sales, let them handle sales. If you are more skilled at operations, take charge of the production floor. When you stop competing for control and begin collaborating on the outcome, the friction fades.
Help each other stay on track. Respect the difference between vision and execution. And if you need more accountability to achieve that, you may need a coach for that part.
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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