
Whole Growth Partners’, Laura Landergott & Darcy Ripple, join us to break down the pros and cons of business partnerships, how to identify the right partner, and what makes a successful collaboration between women in business.
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Nicole Khalil
I am Nicole Khalil and you're listening to the this Is womanswork podcast. We're together redefining what it means, what it looks and feels like to be doing woman's work in the world today. From boardrooms to studios, kitchens to coding dens, partnerships at home and in business, we're talking about all of it. And today we hone in on business partnership. Because when it comes to starting a business, most of us are taught to value independence. We think about being a solo trailblazer who charts her own course and makes her own rules. And sure, there's something exciting about that, about answering only to yourself and reaping the rewards of all of your own efforts. But going it alone can also be isolating, overwhelming, and, let's be honest, sometimes fucking lonely. So we're going to explore another way, and that is choosing to partner up not just as a strategic move, but as a game changing approach that's rewriting the entrepreneurial playbook. Business partnerships bring together more than just two minds. They merge strengths, perspectives, and the kind of support that only comes from shared experiences and mutual understanding. But let's not pretend that it's all sunshine and inspirational quotes. Partnerships come with their share of challenges, from division of labor to navigating disagreements. Partnering requires a unique blend of trust, communication, and a whole lot of collaboration. It has a lot in common with romantic relationships, and those can be really hard, right? And let's add in the element of women choosing to go into business partnership with another woman. There's often a stigma that female partnerships can be fraught with emotion, competition, or even a ticking time bomb of drama the truth. Those stigmas are rooted more in outdated stereotypes than in reality. Sure, there are cons to different work styles, managing expectations and time and the likelihood of of occasional conflict. But the pros can create a powerful collaboration that far outweighs the cons. When done right, partnership doesn't just benefit those involved. They set an example for the entire business community. They show what can be gained when women support and align with each other, not just in passing, but in practice. And that's what we're diving into today. The real story behind what it takes to build, maintain, and thrive in a business partnership. The kind where two women come together not just to succeed, but to make a big impact. To bring today's topic to life, I'm joined by two inspiring women who know firsthand the power, potential and the nuances of female partnership. Laura Lander Got and Darcy Ripple are the duo behind Whole Growth Partners, a boutique marketing agency exclusively serving financial services firms. They've taken their vision and turned it into a thriving business with a powerhouse team of women. Laura is known for her heart marketing, where she crafts emotionally resonant strategies that deeply connect with clients. And Darcy's strategic insights, combined with her operational expertise bring analytical depth and structure. Their complementary skill sets allow them to provide clients with a balanced approach to growth, where data driven strategy meets authentic brand connection. So, Laura and Darcy, thank you for being our guests. And I figured the best place to start, the best place to kick us off, is by asking how and why the two of you decided to go into business partnership together.
Laura Lander Got
Wow. Well, thanks, Nicole, for having us. I'm Laura. That's my voice, and I think that's a great place to start. First of all, it all began with a couple of cold beers over a happy hour as all good business relationships start. Just prior to that, I had been actually we both had been with a Fortune 100 financial services company. We were there in a marketing role, working with financial advisors, helping them advance their businesses through marketing. I'd been there for about 11 years and there was a change in direction at the very top. A new CMO came in. It was pretty clear that the work that my team and I were doing was not on the strategy roadmap moving forward. And so I had some heads up. I left the company and then about a month later had an opportunity for Darcy and I to sit down together just to catch up. And what I had shared with her was kind of my journey thus far. I was not out of the company for more than a week and my phone was blowing up with people from all across the country that the contacts that I had made and saying, laura, would you consider coming to do marketing for my firm? Or is that. Could we partner together? And so I quickly realized that that was a business opportunity. I'm a serial entrepreneur. This is my third business that I've started. And so I was very excited about that. But I thought, you know, this is a time for us to do something even bigger. When I first thought of the name Whole Growth Partners, I specifically put partners in there because I knew that this was an adventure that I didn't want to do by myself. I wanted to have a partner in crime. And I found myself talking with Darcy again, bringing her up to speed. And I said, the thing that matters most to me is I want to create a business. I want that is lucrative enough to support us, of course, but also be able to enable us to give back to the community. People have helped me in my career. Darcy said this very same thing. And so we wanted to be able to start a foundation or some means to be able to help others reach down and help other women succeed with profit. Profits from our. Our firm. With profits from our firm. So I looked over at her when I was telling the story of this impact that I envisioned for this company, and she had tears in her eyes. I realized right then and there, even though it wasn't my intention that I was going to woo her or wow her, ask her to become my partner, I knew right then and there that that was the right partner for me. And from that point on, it rolled very quickly, and we became partners officially within the next handful of months.
Nicole Khalil
Okay, so, Darcy, you're, you know, sitting there having your beer, hearing about this vision. Obviously, you had a. An emotional response. I guess my next question is, did you have any questions, concerns, or fears about going into partnership specifically with another woman? Did that even pop up for you.
Darcy Ripple
Specifically with another woman? Maybe. You know, I was in my early 30s at that time, and, you know, coming up in the corporate world, there's this, like, in a sense, you know, sometimes you're clawing your way up, and women aren't always uplifting each other. Add to that, when Laura and I were working together at that company, she was actually my manager. So there was that component where, you know, I'm thinking, like, gosh, how do we go from this, like, boss employee role to this business partner role? And my husband was bringing up the same questions to me. And so thinking about this and analyzing it and thinking, well, you know, gosh, I love the Idea of becoming an entrepreneur, like, that's always been in my vision, but I didn't think it was going to come up so quickly. But also to become somebody's partner and to become Laura's partner. Weighing the pros and cons there. It became clear pretty quickly when my husband came to me and he said, you know, I, I posed this question, but I hear you and Laura on the phone talking about the what ifs and the way you guys communicate. It's just so clear that there's so much mutual respect, there's trust, that you guys share the same vision. And he's like, I say, go for it. I mean, what do you have to lose? And if you're going to partner with anyone, that we found our kindred spirits and we're heading in the same direction and we're going to go places.
Nicole Khalil
Okay, so that kind of brings me to, I think, the big question. I alluded to it in my intro that there are pros and cons. Forget even that you're both women. Like, they're just pros and cons of partnership, romantic and business wise. So let's hone in on some of the pros. You've mentioned a few already. The division of labor, different skill sets. But what do you see from your experience as the pros and what is gained by being in business partnership?
Laura Lander Got
Well, I think there are three things that come to mind for me. One is that there's balance. Yes, the distribution of work, but also the mental capacity, you know, being able to bounce an idea off of someone, building an idea and kind of making it even better by working together on it. So that balance, then, which leads to freedom. Being free to be able to focus on the things that I do best. And same for. Same for Darcy. Recognizing that we don't have to be the experts. And then being able to be authentic. It is the most freeing thing to be able to say, ah, not my strong suit. Can you take this on? And recognizing that in each other. So being balanced, having freedom, and then dialing in on that expertise.
Nicole Khalil
Yeah. It's funny, as you're talking, you're speaking to what I often feel is missing as a solopreneur. It's the ability to collaborate, to bounce an idea off of, to say, that's not something I'm going to be great at. So you do it. And I even think, I know this is sort of silly, but there's that expression of, you know, you shouldn't vent down. And I think that's a good rule of thumb. And when you have a partner, you have a lateral person that you can vent to, you can, like, speak the frustrations of, you know, business or somebody who isn't doing what they're supposed to be doing or whatever it might be and not feel so lonely, you know, just having that opportunity to speak out loud to somebody else who gets it I think is so important. Darcy, anything to add on the pros? Because we're going to hit the cons.
Darcy Ripple
You know, right before I had decided to embark upon this journey with Laura, I had actually gone to Denver's Entrepreneurship Week. So it's this huge event downtown, and of course, I'm thinking about joining Laura. And so I decided to go to this session about the pros and cons of business partnerships. And the one thing that just truly resonated that, you know, thinking about being a solopreneur or going into business, it's that it's lonely at the top. And exactly what you're saying with, you shouldn't vent down. Laura and I have so much trust in each other and respect for each other, but to be able for. For me to be able to go to her and say, laura, I need your help on this, you know, or even thinking about, you know, we all have personal lives. Work is a component, but it is not the reason that we live. For us to have each other's backs and taking things off of our plates and, you know, there's moments where Laura's just underwater with client work. I'm like, okay, what can I take on for you? And vice versa, that even though we have this division of roles, we are so willing to step in and flex a muscle for each other when it means that, you know, when it means mental health and sanity and a willingness to. To stay in it and keep moving forward.
Nicole Khalil
So let's talk about the cons. There have to be right as there are with anything. What do you see as the potential downsides or challenges in being in business with another human?
Darcy Ripple
Well, I think there's the obvious one in the revenue. Being a business owner is a really lucrative endeavor. And when we think that at it's true, we have to split all of the profits within this business, but I think we'd much rather have each other than to be at the top alone, just reaping all the financial benefits. The other side of that might be the need to compromise. And I'd say if we weren't well paired, if Laura and I didn't know each other and respect each other and like each other, love each other, that Having to compromise might be a much different topic, but I love being able to learn from her and, you know, push things along that she has passion around. And I know that Laura appreciates when I'm bringing things to the table. And of course there are going to be times where I'm all in on something and, you know, she might be dragging her feet a little bit, but we're going to talk about it and at the end of the day, we're going to learn from each other and be better for it.
Nicole Khalil
How do you handle if you don't see eye to eye on something? Like you think strategically you should go in two opposite directions or I have to imagine conflict comes up. What do you do in those moments?
Darcy Ripple
I'd say Laura and I have so much respect for each other and trust in each other and truly so much alignment that disagreements are few and far between. But of course there are going to be moments where we're both just so busy in other aspects of life or we're feeling stressed that we might not always respond the way we would want to respond to each other. When we think about it, most of our disagreements or less than positive interactions have come from a breakdown in communication. It's when life is busy, work is busy, maybe we've been traveling, client work has ramped up and prioritizing each other has fallen to the wayside. We're really intentional with with communication. She and I, we have weekly partner meetings. We are open to each other, that we know that we prioritize each other. If somebody needs something, we're going to drop everything to be there for them. When that breaks down because of life, that's when you know, that's when things just don't always go as they might in some of those more positive weeks. But being able to prioritize each other has really resulted in much better partnership and communication outcomes. And honestly, that's like in any relationship.
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Nicole Khalil
I was just gonna say the same thing. Yeah, I mean in our personal relationships it's prioritizing having the time to communicate. I also you didn't say this, but I think you alluded to it as like addressing small problems when they're small, as opposed to waiting until they become huge and having that mutual respect and that forced communication opportunity to address those things before they become so big. Laura, anything to add? And I also want to throw in how do you handle being at different stages, phases or places in life? Like if one of you is dealing with a challenge that the other isn't, or one of you has a situation that requires you to have more time out of the business and the other person doesn't. So kind of the obvious is like if you have kids or maternity leave or a death of a family member or things like that, like how do you navigate the challenge of that?
Laura Lander Got
Well, first let me step back and just add something else on this idea of disagreements and how you make that work. Or if you're not really on the same page, one specific example Happened recently where I was, as Darcy said, slammed with client work. And it's a slippery slope. Communication failing communication is a slippery slope. Saying, I'm too busy. Can we push back our partner meeting? I've got some pressing deadlines. That's one red flag in our teams channel that Darcy and I have specifically. So, you know, the mom and dad don't air the laundry in front of the kids and we're, you know, chatting on online. If messages go unanswered, that's a red flag. If we're pushing back opportunities for us to communicate, that's a red flag. So that happened recently and Darcy had to come to me and say, we need to come to Jesus. And she shook me a little bit and said, where are you? You got to get your head into this game. I said, yes, but I'm working on client work. That's how we. That's the, the purpose of our business. And she said, no, we are the purpose of our business. We are the ones that are most important. And that was hard to hear, you know, but it was exactly what we needed. And then also one other thing on the idea of how to align on a topic. If we have this kind of a game that we play that if someone comes to, she or I come to the table with an idea, we both weigh in. If I'm more interested in this topic than she is, or I'm more for a topic than she is against a topic, then it usually is, then I get to run with it or vice versa. So. So we trust and support each other enough that who's ever got the most passion around it, and it's well thought out and it makes sense for our business, aligns with our strategies, then we get to play point on it and then the other partner supports it.
Nicole Khalil
I love that.
Darcy Ripple
So I have an eight month old and a two and a half year old. Both were born during the life of our business. And when I became pregnant with my two and a half year old, I said, laura, I'm pregnant. And she said, oh, no, okay, what are we going to do? And I told her, you know, it's really important to me to be able to take a maternity leave. I came into this, this business, we created this business, we have this beautiful partnership. We have an incredible team and we preach a culture of work life, balance, work life, integration of uplifting women. You know, I don't want to forego that because I'm one of the owners of this business. And so we had a smaller team at that point in time. And Laura said, you know what, Darcy, I want this for you just as much as you want this for you. Your baby needs you, and we need to figure out a way to make this happen. So fast forward then, two years later, I become pregnant again and surprise. So is one of our leading team members. And we were due at the exact same time and we said, oh, shoot, you know, of course you can't plan life like this. And we don't want for either of you to forego this. You know, Darcy, you deserve a maternity leave. Team member, you deserve a maternity leave. We're going to figure this out. And of course, it wasn't easy because for anybody to be out of the office, it really does put a strain on the rest of the team. But, you know, at the end of the day, we can do anything for a short period of time. And when we think about how important team culture is, how important it is for, you know, we want our team to want to work here, to love to work here, to want to stay, that we need to gift everyone this. So of course not easy. And Laura and I have had a lot of conversations about this, like, how do we balance time out of office? And, you know, we do have unlimited pto and we're a team of all women and half of our women have kids and there's a lot of demands, but at the end of the day, what would we want for ourselves? And making sure that we are, we're pushing that down. You know, culture starts at the top and we're leading by example.
Laura Lander Got
It matters that the owners model the very culture that we're trying to instill in our team. What message would that have sent? If we said, Darcy's not, she's going to take an abbreviated leave, what does that say to the rest of our team? I think both of us have had life experiences where we know what good looks like and where it doesn't. Where a leader has provided great guidance, opportunity, flexibility, and where they haven't. So we know what kind of leaders we want to be.
Nicole Khalil
Yeah, I think that's so powerful. Okay, my next question is a two parter, and it's around this idea of identifying the right partner for your business. But the first part of the question is, how do you know whether or not you want to structure your business as a partnership or go it alone? What do you think we should be considering to determine whether or not to create a partnership in the first place?
Darcy Ripple
You know, I think if you know that you have a person that you trust that you know is an expert in, in an industry or at least in a business function that you would need for this business idea, it makes it a lot easier. I've never been a solopreneur, so I can't imagine life in that, in that way. I wouldn't want to be a solopreneur knowing what I know now about this partnership with Laura. But I could see that if this wasn't a healthy relationship and if we weren't, you know, creating the culture that we have or leading the team that we have or had a successful business, that that might challenge me to think differently. If you have the right person that you know will complement you, it feels like a no brainer to embark upon a partnership.
Nicole Khalil
Well, and I think that that's part of it is like thinking about what is the business need. And as you kind of said earlier, if there are holes in what the business needs and your skill set or gaps, right. Like if the business needs great skill in this area, but also great skill in what might feel like an opposite area and you know, you can't deliver it, that's probably a good sign that you, your business needs completion. Right. That you do need somebody to complete it for what the business needs. Am I, am I making any sense?
Darcy Ripple
Yes, yes. And I'll add to that though, you know, thinking about we've got this gap, I need somebody that can fill this gap. We do see a lot of failed partnerships in the work that we do. And it seems like when businesses or when these partnerships fail, it's likely because there was a goal of driving revenue and not of building a strong business.
Nicole Khalil
Great distinction.
Laura Lander Got
So true.
Nicole Khalil
Yeah. Okay, so then that is the leads to the second part of the question, which is identifying the right partner. So if you decide that you want to be in business partnership, how do you go about identifying the right partner? Because you two had the opportunity to work together prior to starting this business, you knew each other. I would imagine it's a little bit more than just I like this person. Right. So how do we do that?
Laura Lander Got
Many of your listeners, I'm sure, don't have that advantage of spending time together in a working capacity to really understand who you, the essence of that, that individual. So I'd boil it down to something that I think is transferable outside of work together and that is understanding someone's reputation. How are they seen, how are they, are they, are they respected in whatever environment that might be, Social, community, work, what have you. Look, what's their reputation like? How do they act, how do they hold themselves, how do they Speak. How do they treat others? That's probably the most important. Do they, do they, how do they handle stress and those factors. You can gather insight from any number of interactions. I'm assuming that you would. A smart business partnership doesn't start with someone you don't know. You have to have met them in some capacity. So those are some indicators that I would look for. We just had the opportunity to see each other in action, enough to know that, that we were a good fit. But it's kind of like dating, you know, you, you need to again.
Nicole Khalil
Yeah, I was thinking the same in marriage, right? It's like you have to. If you're gonna start a business with this person, you're really thinking, do I want to collaborate and spend the rest of my business life with them? You know, most people don't go in the business, into business with the idea of being out of business in a few years. So it is a long term commitment and it really is about mutual respect and care and aligned vision and values. There's so much that seems similar to romantic relationships. So I have to ask one more question before we wrap up. Like personal relationships, in professional relationships, money is part of the conversation. It has to be right. This is a business. So you don't need to share your structure. Because I know each business partnership structures their compensation or their revenue splits differently. What I want to know is how do you talk about money and when do you talk about money? Like, how did you come up with this, your revenue splits or splitting things down the middle? What are those conversations?
Darcy Ripple
Like, so I can share that Laura and I are a 50, 50 partnership. And that was intentional. And when we were coming into this, we said, I don't want there to forever. I don't want for there to be a moment where, you know, Laura's 51% and I'm 49, and that means that she actually has the final say in anything. And that was actually her decision. We want to be equal. And with that, because we're taxed as an S corp, actually requires that equal distribution. So it makes things really easy. Early on we were thinking, well, you know, how do we even know what to pay ourselves? What's our salary? How do we do distributions? What's a distribution? So we had to do a lot of education and I actually lead the financial side of our business. So this required me to do a lot of self education, actually helped along by our financial advisor. So, you know, I read, I researched, figured out, well, what's a, what's an actual reasonable salary? How should we structure these distributions while making sure that we're actually keeping the business healthy? Because we don't want to build something that, you know, we're, we're cash poor and we don't have opportunities to reinvest in our team, reinvest in our business to do really cool things that help us market and acquire new clients. There was a book that we read really early on in our business that helped essentially educate entrepreneurs on how you could structure your revenue in a way that allowed you to continue to build up essentially this bank, which in turn allows you to be more successful.
Nicole Khalil
Laura, anything to add?
Laura Lander Got
Darcy does a really nice job of educating me and bringing me along in full transparency. I never feel like I don't know what's going on. I have access to all the QuickBooks information. We have regular financial conversations on a quarterly basis, our profit statements, our distributions, etc. Every quarter. And we also take that to the team. We have full transparency with the team so they know exactly where we are, goals that need to be met, their role in helping to, to meet those goals. So a financial acumen is essential for every person on our team.
Nicole Khalil
So as is true for so many things during our conversation, great advice for business. Also great advice for our marriages and partnerships in, in life. So thank you both for being here today and for your incredible work. I know our listeners are going to want to learn more. So the website is wholegrowthpartners.com and you can also follow whole growth partners on social media. We'll put all the links in. Show notes. Darcy, Laura, thank you both.
Darcy Ripple
Thank you. Nicole, thank you.
Nicole Khalil
My pleasure. All right. In business, as in life, going solo might seem like the boldest move. But choosing to stand shoulder to shoulder with another powerhouse woman, that's not just bold, it's ambitious. It's showing the world that success doesn't have to be a solo sport. It's rewriting the rules and proving that when women choose each other, they're not just playing the game, they're changing it. This isn't just business as usual. It's daring, disruptive, and exactly the kind of game changing move we need more of. Yes, there will be obstacles and late nights navigating hard conversations, but the power of two women choosing to back each other up, fight for their vision and share their wins is unstoppable. So here's to the women who choose partnership not because it's easy, but because it's powerful. I don't know about you, but that sounds like woman's work to me.
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Podcast Summary: "How To Partner With Other Women with Laura Landergott & Darcy Ripple | Episode 295"
Podcast Information:
Introduction
In Episode 295 of This Is Woman's Work, host Nicole Kalil delves into the dynamics of business partnerships between women, challenging the traditional notion of solo entrepreneurship. She highlights the importance of collaboration, shared strengths, and mutual support in redefining "woman's work" in the modern world.
Guests: Laura Landergott & Darcy Ripple
1. The Genesis of Partnership (00:39 - 07:30)
Nicole introduces Laura and Darcy, exploring their journey from corporate marketing roles at a Fortune 100 financial services company to founding their own agency.
Laura’s Departure: Faced with a strategic shift at her former company that sidelined her team’s efforts, Laura decided to leave after 11 years.
The Partnership Formation: A spontaneous meeting over a couple of beers led to the realization of a strong professional and personal alignment. Laura discovered Darcy was equally passionate about creating a business that not only generates profit but also gives back to the community.
Laura Landergott (04:28): "When I first thought of the name Whole Growth Partners, I specifically put 'partners' in there because I knew that this was an adventure that I didn't want to do by myself."
Emotional Connection: The shared vision and mutual respect cemented their decision to partner, leading to the official formation of Whole Growth Partners within months.
2. The Pros of Business Partnerships (09:50 - 11:42)
Laura and Darcy discuss the advantages of partnering in business, emphasizing balance, freedom, and authenticity.
Balance: Sharing the workload and being able to bounce ideas off each other enhances creativity and efficiency.
Laura Landergott (09:50): "There’s balance, then, which leads to freedom... being able to be authentic is the most freeing thing."
Freedom: Each partner can focus on their strengths without the burden of managing areas outside their expertise.
Authenticity: The ability to delegate tasks that aren't their strong suits fosters an environment of authenticity and mutual trust.
Support System: Having a partner provides emotional support, reducing feelings of isolation and allowing for open communication about business frustrations.
Nicole Kalil (10:50): "Having a partner... gives you the opportunity to speak out loud to somebody else who gets it."
3. The Cons of Business Partnerships (13:16 - 16:07)
Despite the benefits, Laura and Darcy acknowledge potential challenges in business partnerships.
Revenue Sharing: Profits must be divided, which might be a downside compared to solo entrepreneurship. However, they prefer mutual support over solitary financial gain.
Darcy Ripple (13:16): "We have to split all of the profits within this business, but I think we'd much rather have each other than to be at the top alone."
Compromise: Partnerships require continuous negotiation and compromise, necessitating a strong foundation of respect and mutual understanding.
Conflict Resolution: Disagreements can arise, particularly when partners have differing work styles or visions. Effective communication is crucial to navigate these conflicts.
4. Handling Disagreements and Communication (14:39 - 21:30)
Nicole probes into how Laura and Darcy manage conflicts and maintain effective communication.
Respect and Trust: Their strong mutual respect minimizes disagreements, but when conflicts do occur, they rely on structured communication strategies.
Darcy Ripple (14:39): "Most of our disagreements... have come from a breakdown in communication."
Regular Meetings: Weekly partner meetings ensure they stay aligned and can address issues promptly.
Prioritizing Each Other: Despite busy schedules, they prioritize their partnership, ensuring that business remains their top focus.
Facing Challenges Together: Instances where one partner is overwhelmed are managed by stepping in to support each other, maintaining the business's integrity and their personal well-being.
Laura Landergott (19:19): "We are the ones that are most important. And that was hard to hear, but it was exactly what we needed."
5. Work-Life Balance and Navigating Life Challenges (21:30 - 24:28)
The conversation shifts to balancing personal life with business responsibilities, especially during significant life events like maternity leave.
Maternity Leave: Both partners support team members taking leave, emphasizing a culture of flexibility and understanding.
Darcy Ripple (21:32): "We preach a culture of work-life balance... We need to figure this out."
Team Culture: They believe that the leadership must model the culture they wish to instill, ensuring that supportive practices permeate the entire organization.
Laura Landergott (23:52): "It matters that the owners model the very culture that we're trying to instill in our team."
6. Identifying the Right Partner (24:28 - 26:47)
Nicole explores how entrepreneurs can determine if a partnership is right for them and how to choose the ideal partner.
Assessing Business Needs: Determining whether a partnership is necessary based on business requirements and identifying gaps that a partner can fill.
Darcy Ripple (24:58): "If you have the right person that you know will complement you, it feels like a no-brainer to embark upon a partnership."
Reputation and Compatibility: Evaluating a potential partner’s reputation, behavior under stress, and alignment with personal and professional values.
Laura Landergott (27:10): "Understanding someone's reputation... How they handle stress... are some indicators that I would look for."
Shared Vision and Values: Ensuring that both partners share the same vision and values to foster a harmonious and productive working relationship.
7. Discussing Money and Revenue Splits (28:31 - 32:05)
Money is a critical aspect of any business partnership, and Laura and Darcy provide insights into their transparent financial practices.
Equal Partnership: They opted for a 50/50 partnership to maintain equality and mutual decision-making.
Darcy Ripple (29:39): "Laura and I are a 50/50 partnership. That was intentional."
Financial Transparency: Regular financial discussions and open access to financial data ensure both partners are informed and involved in financial decisions.
Laura Landergott (31:21): "We have full transparency with the team so they know exactly where we are..."
Structured Revenue Management: They educated themselves on structuring salaries and distributions to maintain business health and reinvest in growth.
Darcy Ripple (29:39): "We wanted to keep the business healthy so we could reinvest in our team and business."
Conclusion
Nicole wraps up the episode by emphasizing the strength and impact of women choosing to partner in business. She celebrates the collaborative spirit of Laura and Darcy, highlighting how their partnership not only drives business success but also sets a positive example for the broader business community.
Nicole Kalil (32:32): "In business, as in life, going solo might seem like the boldest move. But choosing to stand shoulder to shoulder with another powerhouse woman... it's rewriting the rules and proving that when women choose each other, they're not just playing the game, they're changing it."
Key Takeaways:
Further Information:
Notable Quotes:
Laura Landergott (04:28): "When I first thought of the name Whole Growth Partners, I specifically put 'partners' in there because I knew that this was an adventure that I didn't want to do by myself."
Nicole Kalil (10:50): "Having a partner... gives you the opportunity to speak out loud to somebody else who gets it."
Darcy Ripple (13:16): "We have to split all of the profits within this business, but I think we'd much rather have each other than to be at the top alone."
Darcy Ripple (14:39): "Most of our disagreements... have come from a breakdown in communication."
Nicole Kalil (32:32): "When women choose each other, they're not just playing the game, they're changing it."