Are you considering the partnership route in business? Well done but before you put pen to paper—you may need to consider what Zbinites are saying. They have walked the same path and below they share their experiences

Ivainashe Chikondo: Mukasanyatsotaurirana each person’s role muchakuvara.Availability umwe haadi kushanda.Nyaya yekuda kukasira kudya maprofits .Madecisions anoclasher umwe neumwe achida kunzi ndiye mukuru.In other terms partnerships moto unopisa sebarika

Blessing JB: Unbalanced efforts

Sheikh Ishe Anotida Nyakudya

– Vison,

– Control,

– unmatched Customer care,

– unmatched effort,

– unmatched share of profits,

– diverse believe systems

Marceline Zvavanoda: Kutsotsana

Oscar Tapiwa Matembo:Disagreements

Doreen Dube: Unmatched efforts

Tendai Makosa:Ndichaitsanangura kuti yangu what where the causes

Tendai Makosa:Ini ndakaiita ndikanyura some years back,

Emilyn Nantamula:Ini ndikangoziva kuti maproblems anotiwira nguva dzakasiyana ndotoona iri non starter chaiyo.imagine kurwarirwa nemwana imi muine mari inenge ichinzi toda kuzostocker.haa hazvione

Romain Muchs:Greedy, lack of knowledge from partner, no contractual agreement, no vision

Letwin Saungweme

1. When you don’t define how you hire and agree on who joins and after which process panogona kupinda a person who will divide and rule. The organisation will collapse.

2. Lack of leadership skills not understanding kuti if you are both leaders failing to respect each other and backbiting each other in front of staff is like shooting yourself in the leg.

3. When one party is not financially literate and wants to enjoy profits when the project is in infancy.

4. Different belief systems when one partner believes to be successful in bussiness zvinoda kuromba and the other believes in only Jesus to bless the bussiness.

5. When one partner doesn’t value the other instead of just appreciating each other and be at peace, after all mari haigari pane noise kkkk.

Simbarashe Marinda:Decision making against urgency

Tobias Masiyazi:A partnership of single man stay peaceful than the one infiltrated by the #JezebelsAndHoles…

Augustine Mukwenya:Kuroyana

George Chipepera:Haa partnership marwadzo wangu

Ephraim Makara:Different spending models and social needs

Tendai Makosa:Business randakaiyawo ndine partner raive re Cocktail bar, i was 19 mumwe wangu was 40 saka problem hombe yaive pa “AGE” ini ndaiive ne experience pane zvema bar izvi like ma beers anowanika papi kana delta isina ndinobata ani, i was well connected, munwe wangu hapana kana zvaizivikanwa chaingivewo chidhakwa chete but pa mari anga anayo kupfuura ini, saka pama decisions apo painetsa ini using experience ndaimudza zvodiwa iye oti ndine mari kupfura iwe saka ita zvandikuda ini, at one point pa Dstv ndakatomuti lets just subscribe zve super sport iye kwakuisa movies, pamwe pacho ndikmuti lets buy more emptyis dze beer iye akanoyenga ma empty crates saka maone hama dzangu kkkkkk

Blessing Matora: Ma decisions anenge achi clasher and above all, transparency

Venus Maminya

kutsotsana ,

kunyeyana ,

Kuroyana

Kuvengana

1 anonyura chete

Eddington Pindura:Business partnership inogona kuva chinhu chinokurumidza kusimudza… kana kukudonhedza. Zvinoshamisa ndezvekuti mazhinji ematambudziko haasi pamusoro pebhizinesi pacharo — asi pamusoro pevanhu vari mubhizinesi.

Ngatitarisei zvinowanzoitika:

 Kusawirirana paVision

Pakutanga munhu wese anenge achiti “let’s build something big.”

Asi “big” rinorevei?

Mumwe anoda kukura fast, risk achiita leverage.

Mumwe anoda organic growth, achidzivirira zvikwereti.

Kana vision isina kunyatso nyorwa pasi uye kutauriranwa zvakakwana, pakufamba kwenguva munotanga kuenda nzira dzakasiyana.

 Mari ndiyo Inonyanya Kupwanya

Profit sharing disputes.

Capital contributions kusawirirana.

Mumwe kushandisa mari pasina kubvunzana.

Mumwe achinzwa sekuti ari kushanda zvakanyanya asi payout yakafanana.

Transparency ndiyo foundation. Kana ikashaikwa, trust inotanga kupera.

 Roles & Responsibilities Kusajeka

“Ndakafunga kuti ndiwe unoita izvi.”

“Handina kuziva kuti ibasa rangu.”

Kana pasina structure, munhu mumwe anopedzisira aita mabasa mazhinji. Resentment inotanga zvishoma nezvishoma.

Clear job descriptions mu partnership hazvisi zve corporate chete — zvinodzivirira makakatanwa.

 Work Ethic Imbalance

Kana mumwe achipa 100% uye mumwe 50%, kunyangwe pakutanga zvichiita kunge zvakanaka, panosvika nguva zvinoputika.

Consistency inofanirwa kufanana kana pedyo.

 Communication Breakdown

Silent frustration ndiyo inouraya partnerships.

Kana vanhu vasingatauri zvavanonzwa nekukurumidza, zvinhu zvinoungana kusvika zvave emotional explosion.

Regular review meetings dzinobatsira kugadzirisa zvinhu zvisati zvava zvihombe.

 Hapana Legal Agreement

Vanhu vazhinji vanotanga vachiti:

“Tiri shamwari, hazvidi mapepa.”

Asi business haina manzwiro.

Partnership agreement inofanira kutsanangura:

Profit sharing

Decision-making power

Capital input

Exit strategy

Exit clause inonyanya kukosha kupfuura zvese — inodzivirira hushamwari kana zvinhu zvisina kufamba zvakanaka.

 Ego & Control

Ego ndiyo silent killer.

Kana munhu asingadi kugadzirisa, asingadi kubvuma kukanganisa, kana achida control yese, partnership inotanga kuoma.

Mutual respect ndiyo inofanirwa kutungamira.

The end of employment for some was abrupt. No more grants coming—contracts to be terminated in 3-6 months and you have to go home.

Easy to adjust? Not really as some had to be hospitalized due to Blood Pressure complications after being thrown into the fire. Some had become accustomed to regular salaries for years. Taking loans, sending children to private schools—some to foreign universities.

Then all of a sudden from a salary of $5,000 to none. From $1000 to none, and its final.

To make matters worse—most of the skilled manpower,  unable to be shift to the private sector or public sector. So a few left the country to start new lives—but the majority remained—jobless and forced into entrepreneurship.

Some had exit packages but they were not enough with most consumed by paying off loans and trying to adjust to the new life and trying out entrepreneurship.

So what sort of advice can we give to them?

1. Study the entrepreneurship mix: In Zimbabwe relying on one venture is suicidal. Study how one balances short term investments, medium term and long term investments. And this is a new skill and for reference do read our 2022 Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans Book. You could need a consultant for assistance. Miss this topic and you will refer to it with regret.
2. Study the Learning or Experience Curve: The gap between  NGO work vs Entrepreneurship is huge. You are learning from the bottom. You are learning from the bottom how to generate a dollar and it may not be easy. Yes a dollar is hard to generate as there is stiff competition and you need time.
3. Avoid the urgency to maintain previous lifestyle. The urgency will lead to ponzi schemes like sponsoring gomba in gold mining, or anything promising fast returns.
4. Lifestyle adjustment: Very painful but consider areas out of big cities. Big cities like Harare are very expensive for unemployed people. Instead consider relocation to small towns—but maintain Harare contacts for markets access. Bindura, Marondera, Mvurwi, Chegutu, Mrew and Chivu could give you a better life for restarting and slowly rise. Low cost of living and even doing business and then transport products to Harare.
5. Farming highly recommended: First farming helps you with food security—next it helps you find out what suits you. Avoid expecting high returns from the first season. It rarely works that way—and if you succeed from the first harvest—count yourself lucky—but its not guaranteed that follow  on seasons will be the same.
6. Costs of Learning: Avoid delegating work to others till you learn hands on how the business runs. You were a Country Director for a big NGO but if you are to go into farming—Be ready to stay on the farm and get your hands dirty.

Join entrepreneurship forums—do a lot of reading and researches. From our books you also get to learn of experiences from others—the good and the bad. ZBIN provides you with key contacts—and a platform to develop and avoid some of the common mistakes.

Of course there is more to share—but we encourage you to avoid partnerships. You are still new to business, and partnerships  rarely work for newbies.

Wishing you the best—as with time you will find a working formula.