Business partnership support
I help business co-owners agree on what matters and put it into a Partnership Agreement. After that I stay with you, as the partnership grows and changes.
- 25 years
- commercial litigation
- PCC ICF
- certified coach
- 3 contracts
- legal, managerial, psychological
- Outcome
- a Partnership Agreement
- 8 countries
- clients worldwide
Partnerships rarely fall apart over the numbers
They fall apart over what was never said out loud: who actually makes the decisions, what each partner expects from the business in three years, and what happens if one of them wants out.
- “We are partners on paper, but we cannot agree on anything”
- “Each of us believes they put in more than the other”
- “Nobody really knows who makes the final call”
- “I am afraid to raise it in case the whole thing falls apart”
- “We both feel the tension, and neither says it out loud”
This is for you if:
- you are considering a partnership and want to understand who to join with, and on what terms
- you are launching a business with a partner and would rather agree now than argue later
- the partnership works, but rests on goodwill rather than on clear agreements
- the business has grown, and the old arrangements about shares and roles no longer match reality
- resentment and a sense of unfairness have built up, though there is no open conflict yet
- the terms of the partnership need to change without damaging the relationship
- you are thinking about leaving the partnership and want to do it in a civilised way
I work across three disciplines at once
There are already formats that help partners formalise their arrangements: a session with a lawyer or a mediator focused on shares and responsibilities, or work with a coach about roles and management questions.
The trouble is that partnerships do not break down inside one of those planes. They break down at the seam - where everything is legally in order but humanly unspoken, or the other way round.
- Commercial litigation lawyer, 25 yearsI know how an agreement becomes a document that holds, rather than a page of good intentions.
- PsychologistI see what actually sits behind the conflict: unspoken expectations, fear, the fight for recognition.
- Executive and business coach, PCC ICFI help partners learn to talk to each other so that new disagreements stop piling up for years.
The three contracts
Every partnership holds three contracts at once. My work is to make all three explicit and consistent with one another.
The legal contract
What is written down.
The managerial contract
What is implied in how roles and decisions are distributed.
The psychological contract
What is never said aloud: expectations, resentment, the fear of being treated unfairly.
Partnerships almost never break over the first contract. They break over the third.
This is not a one-off consultation. I am there at the different stages of a partnership: at the launch, through growth, when the terms change, when one partner leaves.
The outcome of our work together is a Partnership Agreement that records not only who owns what, but what you are in this for and how you will handle the hard questions in future.
The main ways we can work together
Define the prospects of the partnership
Align expectations, goals and the vision for the business before the joint work begins.
Find the growth points
Identify new opportunities to grow the business, increase turnover and raise the partners’ own income.
Settle disagreements
Work through the contested questions, restore a working dialogue and reach terms both sides can accept.
Revise the terms of the partnership
Rethink roles, responsibilities and other key terms in light of where the business is now.
Agree the terms of an exit
Set transparent and fair conditions for one partner leaving the business.
Put the agreements in writing
Distribute roles and areas of responsibility, agree the key scenarios and record it all in a Partnership Agreement.
Eight topics that break partnerships apart
We go through them one by one - not as legal wording, but as the real expectations of each partner. The result is recorded in the Partnership Agreement.
- 01
Contributions
Who brings money, property, time, contacts and reputation - and how the intangible part is valued.
- 02
Shares and profit
How profit and losses are divided: equally, in proportion to contribution, or with the work factored in.
- 03
Areas of responsibility
Who owns finance, sales, operations. Where one partner’s zone ends and the other’s begins.
- 04
Decision-making
How decisions are made, who holds a veto, which amounts require both signatures.
- 05
Running costs
Who funds rent, salaries and unforeseen costs when cash is tight.
- 06
Partner exit
The exit mechanism, how the share is valued, payment terms, right of first refusal. The most painful topic.
- 07
Deadlocks
What happens in a 50/50 split when neither partner can force a decision through.
- 08
Review rhythm
How often you revisit the agreements as circumstances change. A partnership is not a one-off document.
Three steps to a document that holds
Online, over Zoom. Partners take part together; separate sessions are added when they are needed.
Diagnostic
A joint or separate conversation with each partner: the real expectations, the worries, the things that usually go unsaid in the room.
Partner dialogue
We work through the difficult topics inside a safe structure, rather than spontaneously and in the heat of the moment.
Partnership Agreement
We record the agreements, roles, shares, responsibilities and future scenarios in writing.
Ways I keep supporting the partnership
The agreement is not the finish line, it is the foundation. The format depends on the situation.
Support through change
A new partner joining, shares and roles shifting, restructuring - without breaking what already works.
Leaving the partnership
A civilised separation: without war, without losing the business, your health or the relationship.
Ongoing support
I stay available as new questions come up - your external anchor of stability.
What people say after working with me
Work with business partners is strictly confidential, so there are no testimonials from it here. These come from other parts of my practice.
- “
Her distinctive approach, combining coaching theory with mediation techniques, allowed me not only to develop as a leader but to think strategically about the problems in front of me.
United Kingdom - “
You only need to hear yourself. Geliya helped me do that. I suddenly saw the situation from another angle, as if walking around the thing that had been troubling me. Having unpacked it, we found our way to a solution.
Spain - “
An excellent facilitator: she held everyone gently to time, steered the process and kept us focused on what mattered.
Russia
Websites
Each area of my practice has its own page - with details, examples and a booking form.
12 questions partners forget to agree on
A checklist worth going through together in one evening. If you answer even three of them differently, you have found your future point of conflict.
- A printable form - filled in by both partners
- Notes on what a difference in answers means
- The structure of a future Partnership Agreement
What people ask before we start
What if my partner does not want to take part?+
We can start with a diagnostic with you alone. It helps you understand the situation and prepare for the conversation. Very often the second partner joins afterwards, once they see this is a structured conversation rather than a list of grievances.
Is it confidential?+
Yes. Everything discussed in individual meetings stays between us and is not passed to the other partner without your consent.
How long does it take?+
It depends on the format: the diagnostic and the partner dialogue usually take a few meetings across three to four weeks. Support through change or ongoing support runs as needed, with no fixed end date.
What if it has already reached formal claims or court?+
I work in those situations too. Part of the work then runs through legal protection of your interests, and part through dialogue - if there is still a chance to keep the business and the relationship intact.
How is this different from couples therapy for business partners?+
The focus here is the business: money, roles, decisions, risk. The psychological part of the work exists so that the business agreements hold, not the other way round.
Do we have to sign a Partnership Agreement straight away?+
No. First comes the diagnostic and the sessions with the partners. The agreement is drawn up only once the terms have genuinely been found and both sides accept them.
An introductory call - free of charge
Write to me in whichever way suits you. I reply personally, usually within a day.
Or leave your details and I will write to you myself