Business Education

My Business Partner is Hiding Clients from Me — How Do I Deal with this Situation?

You’ve just found out that your business partner has been hiding clients from you. Of course, this has a number of important implications including, but not limited to: revenue, reputation, day-to-day operation, and a variety of other issues. All of these, not to mention the breach of trust and value of the interpersonal relationship. It’s a very difficult set of circumstances to deal with, but obviously, you can’t just ignore it. You must take action, not only for your own sake but for the sake of your career and the business at large.

Dealing with a Bad Business Partner Emotions

Anger. Disbelief. Disappointment. Resentment. Shock. Sorrow. You could easily cite any one of these negative emotions because you’ll experience at least one or more of them. Before you do anything at all, it is essential that you understand your gut reaction and the long-term feelings you’ll probably encounter as time goes on. While you will get past this situation, you’ll probably never completely get over it. And, that’s okay.

Not all partnerships or deals work out well. Some just can’t formalize because of extraneous factors affecting the agreement, while others can be impacted by poor communication skills or a lack of flexibility on goals or approaches. This means that it is essential for leaders to stay aware of the state of a pending deal or partnership, especially if there are quiet signs that things aren’t going as well as they’d like. —Small Business Trends

You’ve no doubt experienced difficult circumstances in the past, and this is really no different. While it may be new, it most certainly won’t be the last time. The point being, do not allow pure, raw emotion to dictate your actions. If you give in to your negative feelings, you will make rash, poor decisions that will only make things worse. You need to approach this from a calm and rational perspective. So, give yourself a little time to vent and get those negative emotions out of the way.

How to Deal with a Dishonest Business Partner Who is Hiding Secret Clients

Once you feel calm and collected, you’ll need to methodically approach how you will deal with the situation. Here is a brief but effective guide for the steps you can take to deal with a business partner who has been hiding clients from you:

Learn as much as possible about these clients. This probably won’t be easy or pleasant. If you are able, learn as much about these secret clients as possible. You might even go so far as to contact them yourself under the guise of following up with regular business. The whole idea is to try to get the best picture you can about these secret clients.
Thoroughly examine all the business’ finances. The very next thing to do is look through your business’s financial documents. While these might not reveal anything at all — if your business partner was clever and deceitful enough — it could reveal an unseen pattern that you never detected before. At the very least, you might find some discrepancies, or this revelation will reveal past discrepancies you could not explain before.
Formulate a couple or few separation scenarios. After you’ve done your detective work, it’s time to concentrate on how to best move forward. Since this is such a big betrayal of trust, it’s probably unrealistic to think that you can just patch things up and go on as if nothing has happened. So, you need to formulate at least a couple of ways that you can break up the relationship and do as little damage while causing as little disruption as possible.
Talk to your business partner about ending your arrangement. This will most likely be the hardest part of resolving the situation. If you are able, don’t simply cut off communication and walk away. Instead, talk to your business partner in order to gain an understanding of his or her motivations. Although this certainly doesn’t excuse his or her behavior, it might help you in the future to detect when something’s awry when you otherwise wouldn’t.

What other suggestions do you have for dealing with a dishonest business partner who is hiding something important? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your unique perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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3 Sure-Fire Ways to Exhaust and Infuriate Good Employees

August 5, 2020 No Comments

No manager or business owner sets out to sabotage their employees. But, that’s sometimes the end result, brought on by a number of different behaviors. For instance, it’s well known that holding unnecessary meetings is a great way to agitate and irk team members. After all, they know superfluousness when they’re unwillingly subjected to it. So, it only serves to bother and anger people. But, that’s not the only way entrepreneurs and managers alike aggravate and annoy employees, there are others. Employees’ Needs are Important Your employees’ needs must be met in order for them to respect you. That doesn’t mean giving them everything they want. But, it does mean treating them the same way you’d want to be treated if you were in their shoes. For instance, unclear communication. Being unclear is just as bad as being unkind. Without clarity, you’re not providing ample direction and that is a real source of frustration for your employees. Toxic company culture often starts at the top in the active bad behavior of a senior leader or by those who have supervisory responsibilities. To get the root of the problem follow the toxicity wherever it leads because people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. —Entrepreneur.com Conversely, there’s also such a thing as providing too much detail. It’s the true-life version of drinking from a fire hose. You’re providing way too much information to process. This inevitably results in bewilderment and/or confusion. Unsurprisingly, employees don’t really understand the overall picture because you’re losing them in the minutia. 3 Sure-Fire Ways to Exhaust and Infuriate Good Employees Although the above examples are ways to run down employee morale, three other behaviors will outright cause them to sour. Here are the three ways that entrepreneurs and managers effectively ruin their teams: Micromanaging. This is probably the most hated and counterproductive managerial trait of them all. By not giving people their independence and autonomy, you are disrespecting them. Plus, this stifles them intellectually and creatively. Moreover, it results in feeling unappreciated and resentment builds. In short, there’s nothing good that comes from micromanaging. Making too many changes. While change can be a good thing, and sometimes it’s absolutely necessary, too many changes will only cause chaos. Employees will lose track of what is acceptable and what’s not and will eventually fail to recall the latest policies and procedures and even goals. Being indecisive and too emotional. When you lead with enthusiasm and vision, that’s a great way to get your team members excited. But, If you lead by raw emotion only and worse yet, can’t make a decision at critical moments, you’ve clearly demonstrated your not cut out for a role in leadership. Yes, there will be difficult decisions and times when emotions will run high or low, but you have to stay calm and avoid rash decisions. Or, failing to make any decisions whatsoever. What other managerial behaviors do you think irritate and/or undermine employees? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

You’ve Missed the Tax Filing Deadline (Again) But That May be the Least of Your Problems

April 18, 2025 No Comments

April 15th has come and gone. Now, you find yourself in a regrettable but familiar predicament.

The Corona Virus is a Stark Reminder of How Businesses should Deal with the Flu

March 16, 2020 No Comments

As the coronavirus continues to dominate the news headlines, people grow ever-more concerned about its spread and possible contagion. While the risk of contracting the illness is very slight, it does help to raise awareness about the spread of common infections, like the cold and flu. And, this is something businesses need to be prepared for, particularly when employees start getting sick. Why Illness and Work just Don’t Mix Either an outbreak of a cold or flu strain can wreak havoc on any small business. Worse yet, in more ways than one. First and foremost is of course, the spread of it to other team members. Then, there’s the productivity hit that follows. With fewer people on the job, it’s more difficult to keep up and quality eventually begins to suffer. The threat cold-and-flu season poses to companies isn’t something to sneeze at. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu alone costs U.S. companies $10.4 billion in direct costs including hospitalizations and outpatient visits. The CDC also estimates up to one-fifth of the U.S. population will get the flu in a given flu season, and more than 200,000 Americans will be hospitalized with seasonal, flu-related complications. —Entrepreneur.com Even employees who can power their way through a sickness can’t bring their A game and that can make the difference in key situations. Plus, it encourages people to spread the illness to others without regard to employees’ health. How to Prevent the Flu from Spreading in Your Business The flu or a cold can be devastating to any small business. But, it’s better to handle it in a smart way than trying to go about business as usual. Here are some effective ways the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends businesses prevent the spread of cold and flu in the workplace: Encourage team members to get a flu vaccine. The CDC advises anyone who is 6 months of age and older to get an annual flu vaccine. (Remember, this is just a recommendation and not a requirement.) Develop and stick-with good sick leave policies. Create sick policies which encourage employees to take time off without fear of losing out on compensation or fear of reprisal. Advise sick employees to stay home for enough time. Anyone who gets a cold or the flu should not return to work until at least 24 hours after they get over a fever. This way, they aren’t a continuing source for infecting others. Allow well employees with sick family members to work (at home). Although the CDC says healthy employees with sick relatives can come to work, it’s not always a good idea. For instance, if a child or elderly parent is sick, their head won’t be in the game anyway. Provide proactive, preventative necessities throughout the workplace. Things like hand sanitizer, tissues, hand soap, and more preventative necessities should be readily available, all throughout the workplace. What other suggestions do you have to deal with a cold or flu outbreak in the workplace? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.