Lee and I have been friends for a long time. Well, actually he was my boss first, but we were friends as well. Actually, before I go any further, I should say that I am sick right now and a little woozy from being drugged up… and sick, so please excuse any part of this that becomes nonsense (and any other time that I spewed nonsense even when I wasn’t drugged up). Back to the post, so last year—long story short—we decided to start a professional blog together called Epiblogger. We would be approaching blogging for an organic point-of-view.

Preparation H

We did all the legal stuff. We setup a business partnership, we agreed on roles (I’m the superstar and he’s my support, obviously) and how we would approach the blog. I wanted to be prepared for everything. It’s like when you were twenty and thought it would be a great idea to move in with your best friend and then it destroyed your friendship. I liked being friends with Lee and I didn’t want to jeopardize that for the sake of the blog. But there was one thing I didn’t factor into being prepared—my craziness. Frankly, I think I was initially worried about Lee, because I am such a good communicator how could I ever go wrong?

Crazy? No you!

Well, it occurred to me today, after a small crazy display, that since there are so many people moving to blogging partnerships, multiple authors and various other group blogs that I should approach this subject of working together.

Why Won’t the Ducks Line-up

The first and most importantly, be as prepared as you can before you start. Talk about your fears, get business agreements and vocalize everything important and absurd. Especially, if you think in worst case scenarios, like me. One of my ridiculous fears, was that Lee (because he took care of my hosting for a while) had access to my personal domain names. I worried that we would get into a fight and then he might steal my domains. I told him that. Because I have heard stories of how mental people get after they get involved in businesses together. Do I really think Lee would steal my domains? Absolutely not. But I wanted to be upfront and honest and I knew that Lee could handle that level of my craziness. I still have a weird fear about losing domains, so I recently moved them all to one registrar all in my name. Yes, it cost me more, but the piece of mind is nice.

The Diva has Entered the Building

You have to know yourself. And you have to remember and remind others about who you are, so they can anticipate the crazy. Prior to being married, I dated a girl for a couple years that got to know me pretty well. And she used to say that once and a while I would explode. I would sit on something and think and think and think and think about it, like a volcano who’s pressure was continually building. And sooner or later, without warning, I would blow. And the person (in this case Lee) would be completely surprised and shocked. And to further the damage, I generally want an answer (to usually my large questions immediately). Just because I was thinking about it for the last week, doesn’t mean you get a whole week. I need an answer now!

Luckily for me, Lee is both graceful and wise. And he usually can defuse my would-be explosions easily. Because, even though I think I have thought of everything, I haven’t. And yes, I am a bit of a diva.

It’s Not Always About You

Not only is compromise integral, it’s really integral. For instance, I just completely blindsided Lee with a bunch of questions about where Epiblogger is going, what are we doing and am I ever going to be the superstar that I want to be? To which he replied whoa, that’s a lot of questions. He told me that we just need to keep going, he’s got big dreams for this place (as do I) and he’s got too many things on his mind to completely focus on the “big picture”. He’s moving and so am I (we finally got a house). Which makes total sense. Rhett = defused.

Let’s Talk About… Everything

Me erupting like a volcano isn’t necessarily the most healthy way to communicate, but at the very least it is communication. If you are in a partnership you need to be able to communicate with those who you are dealing with. You can’t turtle (hide in your shell) if you annoyed or angry and you can’t Hulk Smash your partner either. You need to assertively approach the situation and explain yourself and be willing to listen and hear the responses.

So far, from my perspective, Lee and I are doing pretty good. How about you? Also, I generally don’t use sub-headings, but I have been watching a lot of Frasier lately.

Photo by Taro Taylor