Imagine two friends planning a small design studio. One enjoys pitching ideas and finding clients. The other already manages budgets and delivery schedules in her job. They are excited about working together and plan to split every task equally.
Their first trial project exposes a problem. They spend an hour agreeing on the proposal, then each assumes the other will prepare the invoice. The friendship is real. The work still needs owners.
Ask what each person brings to the work
BaZi partnership analysis can examine the structure of each person’s chart and how the proposed roles fit together. In his business guide, Joey Yap describes the Day Master, Structure, and Profile as parts of a chart used to discuss character and ways of working. Reading the full chart gives those terms their context.
For our imagined studio, the reading has a concrete task: examine how each person approaches creating, organizing, and working with others. Ask which observations come from the charts and which come from what the partners have described.
Turn a chart term into a working question
A practitioner may use terms such as Output or Wealth when discussing the charts. Ask for an explanation in ordinary work terms. For example: “How would this tendency show up when a client changes the brief two days before delivery?”
The partners can each describe their likely response. One might want to offer a new idea immediately. The other might first check the extra hours and cost. The next question is how they will make that decision together.
These are hypothetical responses. A person’s chart would need an individual reading before assigning any interpretation to them.
Include the size and length of the commitment
A single project, a recurring collaboration, and shared ownership each create different responsibilities. Tell the practitioner which arrangement you are considering and when it would start. Ask how the chart discussion applies to that specific commitment and period.
The two friends could use one clearly defined project to test their proposed roles. Keep a record of who brings in the work, who delivers it, and how they handle changes.
End with something the partners can use
After the session, write down the agreed responsibilities, the questions still open, and the way a disagreement will be handled. Have the ownership and money arrangements prepared with the appropriate professional advice.
A useful partnership reading should leave each person able to explain their own part in the proposed business. “We are compatible” is only the beginning of that conversation.
Further reading: Joey Yap, How to Grow Your Business Using BaZi.
Master JudithBaZi and classical Feng Shui consultant, author, and speaker. In professional practice since 2010. About the practice