Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding the Service

What is Business Partners Counseling?

Business Partners Counseling is a hybrid of two skill sets that are usually separate: marriage counseling and executive coaching. Like marriage counseling, it focuses on relationship dynamics, trust, communication patterns, emotional responses, and conflict resolution. Like executive coaching, it focuses on the business, leadership decisions, roles, goals, and practical outcomes.

The purpose is not to do traditional psychotherapy or simply give business advice. The purpose is to help partners communicate more effectively, understand each other’s positions, stabilize the relationship, and make better decisions for the business.

Who is Business Partners Counseling for?

Business Partners Counseling is for business owners in a partnership who are experiencing increasing conflict, misalignment, or tension.

It can be helpful for:

- Co-founders
- Business partners
- Spouses who own or run a business together
- Family business partners
- Multi-partner ownership teams
- Partners who are considering whether to stay together or separate
- Partners whose conflict is affecting employees, customers, vendors, or the business itself

The service is especially relevant when partners are no longer happy with how the other person sees the business, sets priorities, makes decisions, communicates, or follows through.

How is Business Partners Counseling different from executive coaching?

Executive coaching usually focuses on one leader: that person’s goals, leadership challenges, performance, strategy, and decision-making.

Business Partners Counseling is more complex because there is more than one client. Each individual partner matters. The relationship between the partners matters. The business itself also matters. If there are three or more partners, the dynamics become even more complex.

The work is not just about helping one person become a better executive. It is about helping partners work together more effectively so the business can move forward with less conflict, greater clarity, and better alignment.

Is Business Partners Counseling therapy, coaching, or consulting?

Business Partners Counseling is a unique hybrid. It does not fit neatly into therapy, coaching, or consulting.

It is not traditional therapy because the work does not focus on childhood, trauma, family-of-origin issues, or deeply personal psychological material. It may use therapeutic skills—such as understanding emotional reactions, conflict patterns, communication barriers, and relationship repair—but applies those skills to the business partnership.

It is not typical executive coaching because the work involves multiple partners, relationship dynamics, communication dynamics, neutrality, and the business as a whole.

It is not traditional consulting because a business partners counselor’s role is not to simply tell partners what to do. Instead, the work helps partners think clearly, communicate effectively, and arrive at better decisions themselves.

What kinds of issues can Business Partners Counseling help with?

Business Partners Counseling can help with many of the issues that commonly put business partnerships at risk, including:

- Frequent arguing or fighting
- Communication breakdowns
- Loss of trust
- Deadlocked decisions
- Unclear roles and responsibilities
- Perceived imbalance in workload
- Accountability and follow-through problems
- Conflict about money, compensation, or equity
- Different visions for the future of the business
- Tension that is affecting employees or company culture
- Family, friendship, or marriage dynamics that are entangled with the business
- Deciding whether to repair the partnership or separate

Richard’s goal is often to help partners stabilize first, so they can talk again, make thoughtful decisions, and avoid sudden exits or damaging escalation.

Common Problems Partners Bring to Business Partners Counseling

Can Business Partners Counseling help if we fight all the time?

Yes. Frequent fighting is one of the most common reasons business partners seek counseling.

When partners fight, they often become more entrenched in their own positions. Instead of solving the problem, each person becomes more adamant, defensive, or reactive. Business Partners Counseling helps partners learn better rules of engagement for difficult conversations.

With an outside facilitator, partners can learn how to discuss hard issues without the conversation turning into an argument. Over time, the goal is for partners to internalize those communication rules so they can use them even when the counselor is not present.

Can you help if one partner feels they’re doing more work than the other?

Yes. This is a common issue in business partnerships.

Sometimes the perception is accurate: one partner really is carrying more of the workload or contributing more consistently. Other times, the perception changes when each partner better understands what the other person actually does, how much time it takes, and how important that work is to the business.

Business Partners Counseling helps partners look at the situation more objectively. If the workload is unfair, the work can help partners address what needs to change. We may ask partners to consider a direct fairness question: if the roles were reversed, would you feel the arrangement was fair?

Can you help with decision-making when we’re stuck or deadlocked?

Yes. Decision-making deadlocks are one of the situations where Business Partners Counseling can be especially useful.

When partners are stuck, the first step is to understand what each person wants and why. Sometimes the partners want the same long-term outcome but disagree about the path. Sometimes they want different things. Sometimes the decision has been framed too narrowly, as if there are only two options: one partner’s way or the other partner’s way.

Business Partners Counseling helps partners slow down, untangle the issue, clarify what matters to each person, and look for more creative options. The goal is to find a decision that better serves the partners and the business.

Can you help us define roles and responsibilities?

Yes. Clarifying roles and responsibilities is a central part of Business Partners Counseling.

Business partners often run into conflict when roles are vague, overlapping, or assumed but never clearly discussed. One partner may feel the other is not doing enough, while the other may believe they are contributing in ways that are not being recognized.

Business Partners Counseling emphasizes distinguishing between two kinds of roles:

- Roles and responsibilities inside the business, similar to what other employees may have
- Roles and responsibilities that are unique to ownership

Getting clear about both helps partners reduce resentment, improve accountability, and make better decisions about who owns which areas of the business.

Can Business Partners Counseling help with trust issues between partners?

Yes. Trust issues are often present at the beginning of an engagement.

Trust may have been damaged by broken agreements, secrecy, poor follow-through, financial conflict, perceived betrayal, avoidance, or repeated communication breakdowns. These issues are usually difficult for partners to discuss on their own because the conversation quickly becomes angry, defensive, or painful.

Business Partners Counseling helps create sufficient structure and safety for partners to eventually discuss trust directly. This sometimes cannot happen in the first few sessions. Partners usually need to build communication skills and resilience first so that difficult conversations can bring them closer rather than create more distance.

Can you help with accountability and follow-through when agreements don’t stick?

Yes. Business Partners Counseling can help partners examine accountability problems and determine what is really happening.

Sometimes one partner believes the other is not being accountable, but the situation turns out to be more complicated. There may be unclear expectations, different understandings of the agreement, workload imbalance, or poor communication.

Can you help with communication problems between business partners?

Yes. Communication problems are one of the most common starting points for Business Partners Counseling.

However, communication problems usually cannot be solved by communication techniques alone. If the relationship itself is damaged, communication will remain difficult until some repair occurs.

The work often includes both skill-building and relationship repair. Partners learn how to talk about difficult business issues more productively, while also addressing the tension, distrust, or resentment that has been making those conversations so hard.

Can you help with conflict about money, compensation, or equity splits?

Yes. Money, compensation, and equity conflicts are common in business partnerships.

These conflicts can become especially difficult when partners are in different personal financial situations. For example, one partner may be able to go without a paycheck for a period of time, while the other may need steady income. One partner may want to reinvest profits, while the other may want more current compensation.

Business Partners Counseling helps partners discuss these issues more clearly and fairly. The goal is not to provide legal, tax, or financial advice, but to help partners think through the human and business implications so they can make better decisions and consult the right professionals when needed.

Can you help partners who have different visions for the business?

Yes. Different visions for the business can create significant strain in the partnership.

Sometimes partners started with a shared vision, but their long-term goals changed. One partner may want to sell the business. Another may want to keep growing it. One may want to increase profitability now, while the other wants to reinvest profits for future growth.

Long-term vision discussions often need to happen before short-term goals and objectives. Partners need to understand each person’s future hopes, assumptions, and concerns before they can make aligned decisions about the business.

Can you help if we’re considering separating or dissolving the partnership?

Yes. Business Partners Counseling can help partners who are considering separation or dissolution.

Sometimes a counselor is brought in when partners have already decided they do not want to stay together. In those cases, the work becomes less about revitalizing the partnership and more about helping the partners have an “amicable divorce” from the business relationship.

The goal is to help partners communicate clearly, reduce emotional and financial damage, and make thoughtful decisions about how to disentangle. These engagements may be shorter and more intense, sometimes requiring more frequent meetings while decisions are being worked out.

Can you help after a big rupture, such as betrayal, secrecy, or broken agreements?

Yes, depending on the situation and the partners’ willingness to address what happened.

A major rupture can severely damage trust. Business Partners Counseling can help partners create a structured process for discussing what happened, understanding the impact, and deciding whether repair is possible.

However, serious issues may need to be addressed carefully and sometimes on separate tracks. If the rupture involves infidelity in a spouse-run business, substance abuse, safety concerns, legal issues, or financial misconduct, additional professional support may be needed. Business Partners Counseling can help with the business partnership conversation, but it does not replace therapy, legal advice, financial advice, treatment, or safety planning when those are needed.

Outcomes and What to Expect

What results can we expect from Business Partners Counseling?

The first result partners can usually expect is clarity.

Partners become clearer about their own position, the other partner’s position, and what is best for the business. They also become more objective. Instead of seeing only from their own viewpoint, they begin to understand the situation from multiple angles.

Other possible outcomes include:

- More stable communication
- Fewer reactive or destructive conversations
- Better ability to discuss hard topics
- Clearer roles and responsibilities
- Better decision-making
- Improved trust and repair
- A revitalized working relationship
- Separation or dissolution handled more thoughtfully
- Less damage to the business, employees, and personal relationships

The goal is not always that partners stay together. Sometimes the best outcome is a clearer, calmer, less damaging separation. In other cases, partners who thought they might need to part ways are able to rebuild and continue growing the business together.

How quickly do most partners see improvement?

Many partners can begin to feel improvement during the stabilization phase.

Early improvements often include being able to talk again, having less volatile conversations, and feeling more confident that the conflict can be addressed. Partners may not have solved the deeper issues yet, but they may notice that day-to-day interactions become more professional, less avoidant, and less emotionally charged.

The full engagement may take longer, but the first signs of improvement often come from restoring enough safety and structure for partners to communicate more effectively.

How do we know if Business Partners Counseling is working?

Business Partners Counseling is working when partners notice practical changes in how they interact and make decisions.

Signs of progress may include:

- You can talk about hard subjects without derailing
- Day-to-day interactions feel more pleasant and professional
- You are avoiding each other less
- You are making clearer agreements
- You are following through more consistently
- You feel more stable, even if the future is not fully decided
- Employees notice less tension in the office
- The personal relationship, if one exists, starts to become less entangled with business conflict

In our model, partners move from stabilization to revitalization. Stabilization means they can talk and function again. Revitalization means they begin to make better agreements, feel better about the partnership, and rebuild a healthier working relationship.

What if only one partner wants to do this?

Business Partners Counseling works best when all partners are willing to participate. If only one partner wants to work on the partnership and the other refuses, joint counseling may not be possible.

In that case, the interested partner may still have options. They may use educational resources, such as business partnership courses, to better understand the issues. They may also choose executive coaching to help them navigate the partnership as effectively as possible from their side.

Process, Structure, and Logistics

What happens in a Business Partners Counseling session?

A typical Business Partners Counseling session focuses on real business partnership issues while also building communication and relationship skills.

Sessions may include:

- Checking in on what partners worked on since the last session
- Discussing current business issues that need attention
- Practicing communication skills using real topics
- Reviewing assessments
- Clarifying roles and responsibilities
- Preparing for difficult conversations
- Processing how a difficult conversation went
- Working through trust, accountability, or decision-making issues

We often uses the actual business challenges partners are facing as the material for learning better ways to communicate and make decisions.

Do you meet with partners together, individually, or both?

The process usually begins with individual sessions with each partner. This gives each person a chance to share their perspective and helps us understand the situation more fully.

After the initial individual sessions, the work typically shifts to joint sessions with the partners together. The joint sessions are where partners practice new communication skills, work through live issues, and begin to stabilize and revitalize the business relationship.

How long are sessions, and how often do we meet?

The initial individual sessions are typically about 40 minutes. Joint sessions are typically about 60 minutes.

At the beginning, it is ideal to meet weekly for a few weeks to build momentum and support stabilization. After that, sessions often move to every other week. Later in the process, meetings may move to every third or fourth week, depending on the partners' needs and how the work is progressing.

How long does Business Partners Counseling typically last?

The length of Business Partners Counseling depends on the seriousness of the issues and what the partners want to accomplish.

A typical Business Partners Counseling engagement includes the initial individual sessions, followed by approximately 5 to 12 joint sessions focused on Phases 1: Stabilize and 2: Revitalize. During these phases, partners work on calming the immediate conflict, rebuilding communication, clarifying roles and agreements, and making better decisions together.

For the best long-term results, many partnerships continue into Phase 3: Thrive. In this phase, sessions usually become less frequent but continue over a longer period. The purpose is to support lasting change, strengthen accountability, and help partners follow through on the agreements they made during counseling.

Do you offer intensives or half-day retreats for business partners?

Intensives and half-day retreats are not typically part of the standard Business Partners Counseling process. However, custom formats may be available depending on the partners’ situation, goals, and urgency.

An intensive or retreat-style format may be helpful for partners who want to make progress in a shorter period, address a specific issue more quickly, or build momentum during a difficult season. That said, lasting change usually requires follow-through. Additional recurring meetings may be recommended after an intensive to help partners practice new communication patterns, stay accountable to their agreements, and ensure the changes hold over time.

Is Business Partners Counseling available online or virtual?

Yes. Business Partners Counseling is available virtually and can be done effectively online.

We primarily offer this service virtually. In-person work may be possible only in limited circumstances, such as when clients are geographically close or willing to cover the additional travel expense.

Do you work with partners in different locations and time zones?

Yes. Because Business Partners Counseling can be conducted virtually, we can work with business partners in different locations and time zones.

Virtual sessions make it easier for partners to participate even if they do not work in the same office, city, state, or country.

Do you work with business partners and their leadership team?

Yes, when appropriate. We can work with business partners and may also offer team sessions or workshops.

The core work, however, is often with the business partners themselves, because the partnership relationship usually sets the tone for the rest of the organization.

Fit and Situations

Is Business Partners Counseling appropriate if we’re in crisis?

Yes. Business Partners Counseling can be especially valuable when partners are in crisis, because crisis often makes direct communication break down.

It is always better to address partnership conflict before it reaches crisis. But if partners are already in crisis, the goal is to help them return to a place where they can talk again. Without that, partners may escalate to attorneys, stop communicating directly, lose focus on the business, or make sudden decisions that damage the business.

Business Partners Counseling cannot guarantee that every crisis will be resolved. But it can help partners stabilize enough to have more productive conversations and make more thoughtful decisions.

Is it appropriate if there has been infidelity or affairs in spouse-run businesses?

It depends on a few factors.

If spouses are also business partners and there has been infidelity, the marriage-related injury may need to be addressed through couples therapy or individual therapy on a separate track. Business Partners Counseling may still be useful for the business side of the relationship, as the partners may need to continue working together, make business decisions, or determine how to disentangle the business.

Business partnership work should not automatically replace marriage counseling. In most cases, infidelity in the personal relationship and business partnership issues need to be handled carefully, with appropriate professional boundaries.

Is it appropriate if there’s substance use, abuse, or safety concerns?

Substance abuse and safety concerns need to be addressed first.

If a partner has a substance use problem and is willing to get appropriate help—such as treatment, recovery support, or a commitment to sobriety—Business Partners Counseling may be able to proceed alongside that work.

If the partner with substance abuse is not willing to change the behavior, the business conversation may need to shift toward whether the partnership can continue. In some situations, the sober or safer partner may need to consider how to separate from the business relationship.

If there are safety concerns, abuse, or immediate risk, those issues require appropriate professional, legal, clinical, or emergency support. Business Partners Counseling does not replace safety planning or treatment.

What if one partner dominates conversations or the power dynamic feels unequal?

Business Partners Counseling can help address unequal airtime and power dynamics in conversations.

As the facilitator, a Business Partners Counselor does not permit one partner to dominate the discussion. He talks with partners early about airtime and helps create a more balanced dialogue.

If one partner tends to process externally and talk more, they may need to create more space. If the other partner is a quieter or more internal processor, they may need support in speaking more directly. The goal is to prevent one partner from delivering a monologue and to help both partners engage in a real dialogue.

What if our conflict is affecting employees or company culture?

Business Partners Counseling can help when partner conflict is affecting employees, leadership, or company culture.

When employees sense tension between owners, they may become anxious, distracted, or tempted to take sides. We have helped partners think through how to talk with employees about what is happening in a way that reduces concern and discourages office gossip or division.

Partners may need to communicate that they are actively working on the partnership, that they want the business environment to improve, and that they are asking employees not to take sides. The goal is to reduce the emotional spillover into the workplace.

Do you work with founders, startups, and small business owners?

Yes. Business Partners Counseling can be a strong fit for founders, cofounders, startup partners, and small business owners.

Founders and small-business partners often face intense pressure regarding money, growth, roles, workload, equity, decision-making, and the company's future. When the partnership relationship becomes strained, the whole business can suffer.

Business Partners Counseling helps partners slow down, clarify what each person wants, improve communication, define roles, and make better decisions for the company.

Do you work with family businesses and multi-generational partnerships?

Yes. Business Partners Counseling can help family businesses and multi-generational partnerships.

Family businesses often involve more than one relationship at the same time: business partners, parents and adult children, siblings, spouses, relatives, or long-standing family roles. One common outcome of the work is helping people separate the personal relationship from the business relationship so the two do not remain completely entangled.

This can help family business partners communicate more professionally, clarify responsibilities, reduce emotional spillover, and make more thoughtful decisions about the future of the business.

Confidentiality, Boundaries, and Professionalism

Is Business Partners Counseling confidential?

Yes. Business Partners Counseling is confidential.

We do not discuss specific client situations publicly. If case studies are used, names, business details, locations, and other identifying information are removed or altered so that real people and businesses cannot be recognized.

Do you keep secrets if one partner tells you something privately?

No, not permanently.

Because Business Partners Counseling involves the partnership relationship, secrets that affect the partnership usually need to be disclosed and discussed. However, a counselor may temporarily hold information while deciding how to approach it thoughtfully and while helping the partner prepare to bring it into the joint conversation.

We are also careful about situations where one partner may be trying to align the counselor against the other partner. Neutrality is important, so private information has to be handled carefully.

What are the boundaries around legal advice, HR issues, and financial decisions?

Business Partners Counseling does not provide legal, HR, tax, or financial advice, or binding business recommendations.

Our role is to help partners have better conversations, think more clearly, and make their own decisions. We may help partners consider the relationship and business implications of different options, but decisions remain the partners’ responsibility.

When legal, HR, tax, financial, or accounting advice is needed, partners should consult qualified professionals.

Will you communicate with our attorney, CPA, or mediator if needed?

We generally do not communicate directly with attorneys, CPAs, or mediators in the Business Partners Counseling role.

Instead, we help partners think through the issues and prepare to speak directly with their own professionals. This preserves the boundaries of the work and keeps the focus on coaching, communication, and the partnership relationship.

Pricing and Getting Started

How much does Business Partners Counseling cost?

Fees depend on the structure of the engagement, number of partners involved, and whether the work includes individual sessions, joint sessions, workshops, or more intensive support. The first step is to schedule a free consultation so we can understand your situation and recommend the right format.

Do you accept insurance?

No. Business Partners Counseling is not eligible for insurance coverage because it does not treat a diagnosed medical condition. It focuses on the business partnership, including communication, decision-making, roles, trust, accountability, and the working relationship between partners

This is similar to marriage counseling in many cases. Because marriage counseling focuses on the relationship rather than the treatment of an individual health issue, it is also typically not covered by insurance.

Do you offer a free consultation?

Yes, the first step is a free consultation to understand your partnership situation, what you are hoping to change, and whether Business Partners Counseling is the right fit.

How do we get started, and what’s the first step?

The first step is to schedule an initial consultation or inquiry call.

During the call, the goal is to understand who the partners are, what the conflict or concern is, how urgent the situation feels, and what the partners hope to accomplish. If the fit is right, the process typically begins with individual sessions with each partner, followed by joint sessions.

What information do you need before the first session?

Before the first session, it is helpful to understand:

- Who the business partners are
- The structure of the business partnership
- How long the partners have worked together
- What issues are creating the most conflict
- Whether the situation is stable, escalating, or in crisis
- Whether both partners are willing to participate
- Whether employees, family members, attorneys, or other professionals are already involved
- What each partner hopes will happen as a result of the work

The goal is not to prove who is right. The goal is to understand the partnership well enough to begin stabilizing the situation and creating a productive process.

What should we do if we need help urgently?

If the partnership is in urgent conflict but there is no immediate safety risk, the best step is to request a consultation as soon as possible and explain that the situation is time-sensitive.

If there are safety concerns, threats, abuse, substance-related danger, legal emergencies, or immediate risk to people or the business, partners should contact the appropriate emergency, legal, clinical, or professional resources first. Business Partners Counseling can help with the business relationship, but it does not replace emergency support, treatment, legal advice, or safety planning.