Launching and growing a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) is exhilarating, but it can also be a lonely road. Founders often pride themselves on their independence, believing they need to have all the answers. Silicon Valley folklore glorifies the myth of the lone-wolf genius—the visionary who bootstrapped their business from a garage, defied the odds and conquered the market single-handedly. But let’s be real: no one succeeds alone. Even the most celebrated entrepreneurs—Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos—built their empires by surrounding themselves with strategic partners, advisors and high-trust teams.
The large organisations I work with know the value of buying in expertise and are willing to invest in advice and coaching. However, the price tag can be unaffordable for many SME founders. Furthermore, the notion of letting others in can be a struggle for some owners for various reasons, such as a reluctance to share the vision, concerns over trust or the ingrained belief that “if you want something done right, do it yourself”. However, the cold hard reality is that resisting collaboration limits growth.
Providing an affordable, quality service to SME founders underpins why fellow Adeptus Leaders co-founder Sharne Fairbrother and I set up SME Starter Hub. We believe that great leadership is not just about leading others—it’s about leading yourself and working alongside others. The difference between struggling founders and thriving business owners often comes down to trust—in themselves, their teams and external partnerships.
The power of partnership as a way of being
Partnership isn’t just working together—it’s a way of being. As Ashkan Tashvir defines it in Human Being:
“Partnership is living from the viewpoint of being in union with other human beings, an entity, team or organisation in the pursuit and fulfilment of a common purpose…It is when you choose to powerfully collaborate and empower each other, irrespective of circumstances.”
A healthy partnership involves shared goals, mutual empowerment and long-term commitment. Co-creating leads to something greater than what could be achieved alone and requires shifting from independence to interdependence; from control to collaboration. In an unhealthy partnership, a more transactional mindset can prevail—treating business relationships as short-term trades––and can lead to isolation, hyper-independence and scepticism towards teamwork. Below the surface, this may manifest as burnout, missed opportunities and a lonely leadership journey.
The role of trust in partnerships: self-trust and the speed of trust in business
Successful entrepreneurs don’t operate in isolation; they invest in deep, trust-based partnerships that accelerate growth, drive innovation and create lasting impact. But before you can build trust with others, you need to trust yourself. Stephen M.R. Covey’s Speed of Trust highlights that self-trust is the foundation of all other forms of trust. Covey points out that if you constantly second-guess decisions, struggle with imposter syndrome or operate from fear, others will find it difficult to place their trust in you.
Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I avoided partnership like the plague. In my wellness day spa, I spoke about hands-off leadership but micromanaged my team. In my Love Assist business, I hesitated to formalise partnerships in favour of going it alone. Looking back, I now recognise three key fears were at play:
Losing creative control. This was an incorrect assumption. It was a communication issue, not a control problem.
Feeling like I needed all the answers. In reality, market research and collaboration provide better solutions than I alone ever could.
Working alone was the expectation I grew up with. The self-limiting belief that if you want something done right, do it yourself was untrue and not nearly as fun or fulfilling as building something together.
I hadn’t realised how deeply my lack of self-trust was undermining my business success. Through working with the Being Framework, I came to see that the underlying root cause behind my self-trust issues was my relationship with authenticity. I wasn’t being fully true to myself. My words and actions, while reliable and accountable to others, weren’t aligned with my inner truth. Something essential was missing: me. I was showing up, but my words and actions were filtered. My people-pleasing patterns were quietly eroding the value of my own voice. When I began to honour what felt authentic—speaking my truth, trusting my instincts and allowing vulnerability—I started to shift. As my relationship with authenticity improved and deepened, so did my trust in myself and others. I found myself able to delegate, collaborate more meaningfully and genuinely believe in the people around me.
Case study: Trust in the SME ecosystem
Trust affects many business owners. You may have heard about Elevate Digital, a Sydney-based marketing agency that almost collapsed in its second year. The founder, Alex, had a strong vision but struggled to delegate and trust his team. Working with a leadership coach helped him recognise his trust issues, including the underlying root causes, and implement a partnership model—shifting from a top-down approach to a collaborative working style. Within 18 months, his team’s productivity soared and client retention improved by 40%. What changed? Alex learned that trusting his team didn’t mean losing control—it meant gaining leverage. I wish I had heard this story years ago––it would have saved me years of frustration and pain.
The ROI of trust in business
Trust isn’t just an abstract value; it directly impacts business success. A Watson Wyatt study found that high-trust companies outperformed low-trust companies in total return to shareholders by 286%. Covey describes this as: “a nearly three times multiplier when trust operates as a dividend in your organization,” irrespective if that workplace is a Fortune 500, a high school or your community bakery. Trusting environments also boost employee satisfaction, which ultimately delivers effectiveness and improves your bottom line.
Compared to people in low-trust companies, those in high-trust organisations experience:
74% less stress
106% more energy at work
50% higher productivity
76% more engagement
40% less burnout
The combination of self-trust, trust in the workplace and engaged employees creates a triple win for SME founders.
What creates a trusting environment?
For SME owners to embrace partnerships, they must intentionally build trust-based relationships and a trust-based culture. To create a trusting environment in your organisation, consider the following principles:
Transparency: Share your vision, challenges and intentions openly.
Reliability: Keep commitments, meet deadlines and follow through.
Vulnerability: Admit what you don’t know and seek help when needed.
Mutual Respect: Recognise the value of every partner, team member and stakeholder.
Psychological Safety: Create an environment where mistakes become learning opportunities, not punishable offences.
Case study: Trust in relationships–the Fair Trade business model
In the world of Fair Trade businesses, partnership isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the foundation. Businesses like Pachamama Coffee (a cooperative-owned company) build equitable, long-term relationships where farmers are co-owners, not just suppliers. This model benefits all stakeholders: farmers receive fair prices, consumers get ethically sourced coffee and the business thrives through shared ownership. The lesson? Stop treating clients, suppliers and employees as transactional players—build trust-based, long-term partnerships instead.
Propel partnerships with commitment
Trust is a great start, but it’s not enough. In business, commitment will solidify partnerships and fuel long-term success. Consider commitment at three levels:
Commitment to Self: Personal growth, self-trust and continuous learning.
Commitment to Others: Consistently showing up for partners, employees and customers.
Commitment to the Vision: Prioritising long-term impact over short-term success.
Recently, I went through the process of ending a three-way business partnership when one person’s personal priorities took precedence over their commitment to the team and vision. By keeping the conversation open, we made the decision to part ways with the non-aligned partner and keep moving forward. If we hadn’t been transparent and respectful when setting up the partnership, we probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable having the tough conversation about ending it. We ensured we wrote down the key details of how the partnership would work at the outset—including what would happen if it ended (much like a prenup for a business). Having everything in writing really helped when it came time for that final conversation.
How coaching can support your partnership and personal growth
Witnessing firsthand the impact of trust, partnership and leadership challenges in our own entrepreneurial journeys, founding SME Starter Hub in New Zealand made sense to Sharne and me as a way to support other founders to navigate these complexities.
At SME Starter Hub, we recognise that every founder needs more than knowledge—they need to be the leader who does the work by investing in relationships, building trust and creating collaborations. Leadership coaching is one of our most effective ways to work with founders to develop their self-trust and the interpersonal trust needed for successful partnerships.
Too often, people chase success backwards—they focus on money, connections or status first, thinking these will allow them to do what they want and become the leader they aspire to be. But genuine, lasting success starts with who you are, not what you have. Coaching helps founders thrive by refuting the messages of the world that glorify hustle and self-reliance.
To support our clients to have success that naturally flows from this foundation, our clients begin their exploration by completing a Being Profile® ––the world's leading ontological assessment tool. It uncovers a person’s unique relationship with 31 Aspects of Being related to performance, effectiveness and leadership. This newfound awareness reveals the root causes behind any blockages they might be experiencing and unlocks opportunities for new levels of personal and professional performance. Together with the Being Framework, we are able to support transformation of how founders think, act and relate to themselves and others.
We don’t just offer coaching at SME Smarter Hub—we foster a high-trust environment in our courses, events and community to promote vulnerability and meaningful conversations. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you're ready to go far, join our community of like-minded leaders. Ready to reach new heights in your business or start your SME with the best possible foundation? Let’s explore how you can achieve long-term success through trust-based partnerships in an initial 15-minute strategy session.