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Five Keys to a Successful Partnership
Published on 01/27/2009
When it comes to the government contracting market, it is often fruitful for prime contractors to build working relationships with small, disadvantaged, and disabled veteran-owned businesses (SBE/DBE/MBE/WBE/DVBE). Through these partnerships, prime contractors can easily meet their SBE/DBE/MBE/WBE/DVBE utilization requirements on federal and state-funded projects. In order for a partnership to be fruitful for all parties involved, however, the relationship must be functional. To help ensure that your partnership is successful DBE Goodfaith has compiled a list of five recommendations to keep in mind.

Make the goals of each party clear at the beginning. Before considering partnering, each party should determine, through deliberation with their potential partners, what they expect out of their working relationship. A healthy partnership begins with open and honest lines of communication, and it should continue through the whole relationship. Without a free flow of information between the prime contractor and their partner, details and expectations for various projects may be overlooked or inappropriately assumed - creating problems at job sites and for the partnership's management.
  1. Commit to the partnership. A successful partnership will not function properly unless both parties are committed to making it work. This means accepting that each partner can teach the other and has an equal say in how the relationship will be managed.
  2. Take the time to evaluate the status of the partnership. Find time to meet your partner's representatives at regular intervals throughout the year to review the status and productivity of your partnership. These meetings can help the businesses correct practices that are not beneficial to the partnership or adjust to the demands of the dynamic procurement market.
  3. Promptly resolve any issues. Conflicts will indelibly arise between partners; however, there is a proper way to deal with such issues. If problems do begin to occur, it is imperative that they are dealt with promptly, fairly, and impersonally. Do not look to place blame; rather, focus on resolving the problem at hand. Additionally, when attempting to resolve disputes, both parties must understand that each has their own business interests and find a solution that is win-win for each partner.
  4. Engage in team building activities. Interactions off the job site are just as important as those on it. Partners can take turns hosting social events so that employees of both businesses can become more acquainted with each other. For example, partners can compete in friendly softball games or host barbeque get-togethers. A partnership should not only be economically beneficial, but enjoyable.
Partnering can be beneficial to prime contractors and SBE/DBE/MBE/WBE/DVBE firms, and the steps listed above should help to ensure that your business's future partnerships are a success!

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