My business partner is not responsive. What do I do?

Irwin See
Nov 6
3 min read

Boy do we get a lot of questions from our clients about this… much more than one would ever think.

Business partners are like no different from last time when you were studying and had a group project at school to do. There was always someone who took initiative, someone who followed instructions and that one person who would just be in for the ride.

While highly annoying, it is a very stark reality in business.

Our advice to our clients? Take a philosophical view on this relationship and then you will reduce your time in the dark, danky pit of anger and despair.

It’s tempting to view business as separate from personal life — structured, professional, and insulated from emotion. But the truth is, business relationships are built by real people, each with their own challenges, stresses, and transitions. Just because someone is your business partner or client doesn’t mean they’re immune to the ups and downs of life.

And the philosophical view is this – Everyone is at a different phase in their lives.

They might be navigating a personal crisis, burnout, divorce, cancer, family responsibilities, or a shift in their priorities. They might be overwhelmed with other commitments or silently struggling with health or mental wellness issues. What seems like “ignoring you” mostly is them just trying to hold their life together.

Don’t Take It Personally — Stay Professional

One of the most mature things you can do in business is not take things personally. If your partner or client isn't responding, resist the urge to label them as unreliable or disrespectful right away. Instead, acknowledge the silence, reach out with understanding, and create a safe space for them to return when they’re ready.

Being professional means keeping communication open, setting healthy boundaries, and continuing to operate with respect and integrity — even when you feel sidelined. Often, when the other person is ready, they’ll remember your patience and professionalism. That kind of grace pays dividends in the long run.

What are my options?

You have effectively 2 options that makes business sense.

1. Maintain the relationship but with a dateline

Maintain the relationship still with your partner and be the support for now. However this is a business relationship and not a relationship so it does unfortunately still boil down to dollars and cents.

To personally bear the weight of a business is taxing and will lead to burnout, emotional despair guaranteed. So our suggestions are to build a timeframe and decide after 6 months or a year with your partner if you should carry on.

2. End the partnership

A lot of great businesses were started out of desperation. Your partner might be really good with a particular skillset or has a crazy network that is too good to give up.

But in our experience with clients, everyone is dispensible… including yourself.

You started the business with your wits and a prayer and your wits have carried you thus far. What is there to stop you from developing your partner’s current capability, or hiring someone else to replace him/her?

In our experience, good partnerships are born out of communication through good and bad. In the Asian context especially we are taught not to speak up and thus partnerships can be hard to manage.

However at the end of the day, it is ultimately your intuition on whether the person will be a genuine partner where 1 plus 1 can be more than 2 for the both of you.

About Us

Curt & Co. Pte. Ltd. is a consulting company started amongst a group of business owners who were looking for a consulting company themselves for advice !

Our offices and our focus markets are in Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. With clients ranging from 1 man operating SMEs to listed companies, we are proud to have helped our clients across different industries gain market entry into the South East Asian region.