SERVICES FOR PARTNERS AND FAMILY BUSINESS OWNERS
Strengthen Your Partnership While Strengthening the Business
Build the trust, clarity, and communication skills you need to work through differences, protect relationships, and keep your business thriving for the long term.
Partners and Family Business Owners
The Excitement at the Start
Most partnerships begin with energy, enthusiasm, and a shared vision. No one is thinking about what could go wrong or taking the time to map out detailed agreements for when it does.
Why It Gets Hard Later
Over time, partnerships face shifting business phases, evolving visions, or different approaches to managing people.
When stakes are high, no one wants to rock the boat — so conflicts often go underground.
The visible issues get addressed, but the deeper causes remain. The result? Decisions stall, traction is lost, and everything feels harder than it should.
Succession: The Most Avoided Topic
Even when day-to-day operations are strong, succession planning can shake the foundation.
Partners delay these conversations because:
The future feels uncertain
Daily demands eat up time and energy
Facing “what happens without me” is daunting
In family businesses, these discussions are even trickier. Long-standing family dynamics add another layer of complexity.
Inner Conflicts for Leaders
Before partners can agree with each other, each leader needs to sort out their own feelings — about moving on, handing off responsibilities, trusting the next generation. Conflicting priorities or approaches often lead to… avoidance.
How I Fit In
I help partners face the tricky, unspoken issues that show up at key points in the business.
Whether it’s managing conflict, planning for succession, or both — I help you work through what’s beneath the surface so you can move forward with clarity and confidence.
“We worked with Nancy for a year and gained clarity on who our ideal clients are. She helped us streamline our business offerings and remove all kinds of roadblocks.”
— Urvi Mehta, Co-Owner, Clients Online
“Sharing personal struggles takes courage and trust in the coach you’re working with. Our preliminary discussions with Nancy gave us confidence she was the right fit.”
— Ryan Knibbe, Engelsma Homes
“Nancy’s commitment to understanding the nuances of development and team optimization makes her an invaluable partner.”
— Sharon Strickland-Clark, Coach, MaSatori
Building Capacity for Tough Conversations
I help partners and family business owners tackle the real issues — the ones that often go unspoken. We work on building the capacity to sort through differences, have productive hard conversations, and put safeguards in place to protect both the relationship and the business.
Getting Below the Surface
Sometimes, this means facing inner conflicts that have been simmering for years.
Other times, it’s about breaking cycles of resentment or long-standing patterns of conflict.
With my background as a psychologist, I can quickly spot what’s really going on and share tools to help partners shift — so you can get on the same page and start moving forward without friction slowing you down.
Tools, Insights, and a Clearer Lens
We often begin with strengths assessments and conflict/problem-solving tools.
Reviewing these — individually or together — creates new awareness:
Partners see themselves and each other more clearly
They recognize when differences are simply work-style preferences
They can separate systemic issues from personal ones
Moving from Awareness to Action
Once we have insight, we put it into practice. This can include:
1:1 partner meetings
Facilitated partner conversations
Off-site retreats
Any format that helps resolve the issues at hand
Navigating Succession with Confidence
When succession is the focus, I work one-on-one with leaders to clarify their goals, vision, and readiness to hand off responsibilities.
We then bring partners together to openly share perspectives, work through differences, and shape a shared vision for the future.
Learn More About My Approach
I share many of these strategies in my book, The Business Partnership Survival Guide: How Siblings, Parents, Cousins, and Friends Get On the Same Page to Build a Profitable Business.
If you’d like to dig deeper into my favorite tools, techniques, and the common mistakes to avoid, you can explore it here.
“Nancy blends deep psychological insight with practical business coaching in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
— James Waite, CEO, Roberson Waite Electric
“Dr. Nancy has a truly unique gift in understanding people on a deeper level and what makes them tick.”
— Tom Ruggiero, Esq.
“Nancy’s guidance showed me the importance of culture from the first hire, making scaling so much easier.”
— Frances Walker, Owner, Frances Walker Businesses LLC
What You Can Expect
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Stop People Problems From Spreading Below the Surface
If your company is held back by communication or people issues, it won’t change by itself.
Issues get worse until they reach a breaking point, unless you take charge of actually addressing them. Working on adjacent issues such as business strategy or general leadership is valuable but won’t fix the underlying issues.
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Save Time By Building Skills ‘On the Job’
Develop team skills while striving toward your most important business outcomes.
You don’t need to learn skills and later try to apply them to what you do. Rather, you and your team work on your actual questions under expert guidance, so you reach better decisions faster. We illuminate roadblocks that need to be cleared, and shift them in real time. -
Use Business Metrics To Track Progress With Teams
“That which is measured improves.”
~ Karl PearsonGoals such as team health are great, but they’re often too abstract. Instead, we aim for clear, measurable goals such as faster, more consistent implementation of plans and faster revenue growth. Abstract goals can distract from your main focus.
MY APPROACH
How I Work
I help business partners and family business owners tackle the real — and often unspoken — issues that stand in the way of clarity, alignment, and forward momentum.
Whether it’s resolving long-standing conflicts, navigating the complexities of succession, or building the capacity to make tough decisions together, my approach blends psychological insight with practical tools.
We start by uncovering what’s really going on beneath the surface, then move into focused conversations and strategies that help you protect both the health of the business and the strength of your relationships.
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Everything starts with a conversation. It’s free, confidential, and practical, and there’s no commitment to move forward. I listen to your situation, give you some insights about what might be going on, and suggest the next most practical step. If it sounds like there’s a good fit for us to work together, we’ll talk about what that might look like for your particular situation.
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This planning phase can span up to 30 days as we talk more in-depth. We start by understanding the full picture — what’s working, what’s not, and what’s underneath it all. This often includes assessments to reveal strengths, conflict styles, and decision-making approaches.
You gain:Clarity on the core issues, not just the symptoms
Awareness of personal and partner strengths
Insight into where alignment is missing
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With a clear plan, we move into action. This can include one-on-one partner sessions, facilitated conversations, or off-site retreats — whatever format best supports progress.
You gain:Practical tools for productive, respectful conversations
Resolution of long-standing conflicts and tensions
Confidence to make decisions and move forward
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We measure results in two ways: the quality of the working relationship and the health of the business. This means checking in on communication, trust, and decision-making while also tracking tangible business metrics.
You gain:Visible improvement in communication and trust
Faster, more confident decision-making
Measurable progress toward business and succession goalstem description
What Drives Your Return On Investment for Family Businesses and Partnerships?
More Mental and Emotional Energy: As partner(s) talk through long-standing conflicts or ambiguous issues, there’s renewed focus and creativity instead of emotional drain.
Strategy and Initiatives Moving Forward: When partners are able to talk openly about different visions or strategies and come to understanding and agreement, they can finally advance initiatives that may have been stalled for months or even years.
Significant Time Savings: When partner(s) can communicate effectively about strategic plans, people issues, and future visions, meetings become productive rather than circular, saving countless hours previously spent avoiding or revisiting the same unresolved topics.
Improved Relationships: Business tensions that previously spilled into family gatherings or personal relationships begin to heal, creating value that extends beyond the business into quality of life and health.
Faster and Better Decisions. When partners clarify decision authority — who decides what and when — there’s less confusion and fewer bottlenecks, allowing the business to operate with greater efficiency and less frustration.
Sustainable Business Transition: When partners actively plan for succession or growth, they can create and execute transition plans that preserve both business value and relationships.
Business Continuity Protection: Strengthening partnership communication creates resilience that safeguards your business value and provides stability during challenging transitions or market fluctuations.
“I truly appreciate Nancy’s insight and support. She has an incredible gift for helping people move forward.”
— Michael Quinn, CEO, Maveriq Brands
“Nancy’s mentorship has been extremely beneficial to my relationships both professionally and personally.”
— Chelsey Foster, COO, Highpoint Community Bank
“I’ve been consistently impressed by Nancy’s capacity to see what’s not being explicitly discussed and to bring those critical insights to light.”
— Sharon Strickland-Clark, Coach, MaSatori
Frequently Asked Questions by Partnerships
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It’s often the case that one partner is motivated to make changes and seek help in doing so more than the other(s). Though ultimately the work is most effective when everyone participates, many people are surprised at the degree of change they can make on their own. Because interactions occur between two or more people, changing the way you interact necessarily changes the dynamic. These are cumulative in nature. Plus, it promotes a whole new sense of agency when you’re actively engaged in the change process — with or without your partner(s).
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Partners who have been mired in problems often can’t see their way out and eventually lose hope. Sometimes all they need is an experienced guide to help disentangle the conflict, provide new tools, and show the way forward.
Even if ending the partnership is the next step, partners benefit from doing so from a position of strength, resilience, and understanding. Partnerships built over time can feel like one’s ‘baby’, and determining what happens to this ‘baby’ is generally emotionally charged. There’s often resentment, disillusionment, and disappointment, and it’s hard to create a good strategy and make decisions from that place. The stakes are high and partners owe it to themselves to sort things out — work through their sh*t to the degree possible — so that the partnership can come to a good end.
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This is a common challenge amongst flourishing small businesses. Everyone is busy doing the work that keeps the business running effectively, and though succession planning is important, it never feels urgent. In this case, business owners often need me to provide a process and a cadence that helps keep them on track. They need a thought partner who helps them think through the different factors involved in planning for the future. Sometimes, any issues that have differing viewpoints regarding how to move forward get pushed off because there’s no clear way to sort through the ideas. This is the essential help I provide.
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There are many situations when two people have to work together closely, even though they’re not technically partners. Non-family executives in a family business are one such situation. Also, with companies running on EOS, there are often communication challenges between the Visionary and Integrator. By design, these roles have a different set of innate talents and work styles. These complementary skills translate into different ways of communicating and approaching problems. My clients are often amazed at how their frustration with each other transforms into appreciation for the others’ talents. Within 30 days, these issues can be illuminated and the friction smoothed out — creating long-lasting change for the path forward.
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My work typically begins with individual conversations and strengths assessments. From there, the work is highly customized to the individual situation and needs. The data gathered informs how we move forward; the common structure often includes 1:1 meetings, facilitated conversations, attendance at ‘business as usual’ meetings, off-site workshops or retreats, and ‘as needed’ calls with individuals to address issues that come up between scheduled meetings. I’ve found those ‘as-needed’ calls to be pivotal in the transformation process.
Then we select the right tools and process for the goals we want to achieve. We determine ideal frequency and set the stage for transformation by introducing the work and positioning its benefits for both the people and the bottom line.
Then we implement. Generally, this focuses on 1:1 scheduled meetings, ‘as needed’ calls or texts in between. leadership team meetings
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In my experience, resources are often limited and have to be allocated carefully. Because stalemate partnerships get worse over time rather than better, unbelievable amounts of mental and emotional energy get tied up in partnership conflicts — often impacting life at home. Most of my clients tell me they wish they had reached out sooner because they had no idea how much better things could be with some assistance. Also, I offer monthly payment options to keep the work affordable as you make progress toward your business goals.
WE GET REAL RESULTS
Case Study - “Jack & John”
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“Jack” was the CEO and long-time business owner of a design and manufacturing company. He was a first-generation family business owner with a non-family member, “John,” second in command as President.
Jack was interested in bringing another family member on board, but wasn’t sure how it would affect the current leadership. Though Jack and John had shared leadership for almost two decades, they had not successfully talked through any sticky issues about ownership or John’s future in the company.
They contacted me because they were at an important crossroads for upcoming decisions and were at a loss for where to begin. Moreover, they had a short timeline because of an immediate opportunity.
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We launched our work together quickly and intensively to meet this deadline. We started with an assessment phase to understand the natural talents each of them brought to the business, including the next-generation family member.
I met with them as a group to discuss their results and get conversations started. Individual meetings and facilitated conversations were also part of the process.
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Within four months, Jack and John went from not being able to talk about difficult topics at all to clarifying the next steps for the business. According to Jack, their “communication improved 100%,” with each of them referencing our work when initiating discussions.
In the end, Jack brought the next generation family member into the business, and John went on to start a thriving business of his own. Both expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make informed decisions, taking into account strengths data and overarching business and life goals.
Let’s Talk
During your Free Business Therapy Session, we’ll discuss the particulars of your situation. This includes:
your experience as a leader / owner in the company
trouble areas you’re seeing in the team/company and what you think is going on
what you’ve tried in the past to solve them
the next practical step(s) to take
if it seems there may be a good fit for us to work together, we’ll talk about what that would look like
This call is confidential and there’s no assumption or pressure to work with me at the end. However, this call is meant for people who are interested in learning more and possibly working together. If you prefer to email me directly, send a message to nancy {at} drjonker.com.