4 Very Different Types of Relationships That Must Be Healthy for You to Succeed Career and the rest of our lives are intertwined. An unhealthy relationship in either makes it hard to be successful and happy in both.
By Kimanzi Constable •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The relationships in your life can take your business to new levels of success, or they can make you want to quit entrepreneurship entirely. Often, we struggle in our business, and different areas of our lives, and don't make the connection to what's going on with the relationships in our lives. We overlook for a problem that's right in front of us.
Each one the many different types of relationships in our lives has an effect on the level of success in our business. To create success, you have to understand these relationships and learn how to handle the situations that have the potential to become roadblocks later. Here are the four major types of relationships that can have a positive or negative affect on your business.
1. Romantic relationships.
This may not be the most important type of relationship, as it relates to your business, but it is one that has the greatest impact on your attitude and mindset. Each of us longs to spend our lives with someone we love and love is a feeling that can take you through an emotionally gambit.
It's important to choose a romantic partner that understands you and will understand what it means to be with an entrepreneur. The life of an entrepreneur is not for everyone and has broken up a few relationships along the way. If you are with someone who doesn't understand, their attitude can affect how much time you spend in your business and how you appear to your customers mentally, physically and emotionally.
Related: Nancy Reagan Proved the Power of Partners in Leadership
2. Friendships.
Good friends support you and help push you towards your goals. Bad friends try to drag you down to their level. They can't see past their situation, so they make a generalization and assume it's the same for everyone. You have probably heard many quotes about how the people you hang out with can impact your life.
Your goal, as an entrepreneur, should be to surround yourself with people who are making moves in their lives. They are working hard on getting ahead and looking to connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs. Those are the types of friends that will help your business grow.
Related: It Really Does Pay to Be Nice -- Growing Research Links Friendship and Success
3. Business partnerships.
Dave Ramsey is famous for having said, "The only ship that won't sail is a partnership." He is a staunch supporter of not entering into a business partnership because they are very difficult to maintain. I don't know if Dave Ramsey is right, but any type of partnership requires constant work, honesty, communication, and a lot of other factors to make it work.
Just like your friends, you have to be very strategic and patient when forming partnerships. There will be many opportunities that seem right for your business, but could hurt you. You have to research the person—even if you know them. You have to get clarity long before you enter a business partnership—especially legally. Choose wisely because your business could be depending on it.
Related: Love Is in the (Office) Air: How to Have a Successful Workplace Romance
4. Fans, followers and clients.
The last type of relationship is one that will grow over time but is still important. As you create value in your market, word-of-mouth marketing will kick in, and your business will grow. As you create more value and help people solve their biggest problems, your business will scale. Those in your world will look to you and watch what you do. This is good and bad.
One major struggle you'll face is time. Your fans/followers/clients will want more of your time to get their questions answered or simply to pick your brain. Time is the one resource you can't recreate so you will be forced to say NO more than you have previously in your life. You do this at the risk of upsetting some, but the reality is that you can't please everyone. The key in this type of relationship is to maintain control. This is your life and business.
There are many different types of relationships in your life. The key is to understand them and keep them from affecting your business negatively. For every negative scenario I mentioned, the positive could be true. Your relationships can help you grow and focus on what will help your business' success. You are the one that determines what effect they have. Be smart about your choices.
