My Business partner is holding me back need advice!!!

[davmet]

Well here's the story, I started up a fabrication company about 18months a go with my business partner. We have a limited company with 50/50 share. My history with my business partner was we worked together for about 3 years before starting our own business. I was the tradesman fabricator, he was my labourer and we became good friends.

I am 29 years old and he is 43 years old. I just feel that i have made a massive mistake and in my heart i knew it from day one, i have been so nieve. I always spoke about my own company as ever since i was 16 it was my dream. My business partner knew this as i did ask him about it before when we worked for our old employers, he was not interested and when he was made redundant he approached me about it and i quit my job and went along with it.

We went through business gateway to get funding and from day one i found myself doing all the work. I got our business plan together whilst i was still working for my old employer and spent months up to 3 am getting it perfect while he offered no input.

Then we got up and running and i do all the fabricating, fitting and paperwork as he does not have the skill level required, all he does is any running about picking up materials etc. This is really coming to a head now as i dont think i can take anymore of the 24 hour shifts as he goes home early because he is not skilled enough to do anything.

I now feel my health is going downhill, and i am struggling to cope with the workload. I have tried to keep him busy but i have to tell him step by step how to do anything and that is the truth.

I have thought about walking away but why should this was my dream and i put everything into this. But i find it hard to say anything as he is a good friend and a nice person with a young family and words are not going to change his ability, im just so lost and need advice.

 

[Davek0974]

Could he not do a training course on a useful subject - welding etc (not sure what sort of fab work you do) this would even things out a bit.

 

[rishaav]

U take ur time and explain ur partner and ask him for a mutual discussion and let him feel ur importance in the initial stages of starting a business....

 

[red-source]

A good company needs good management. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind!

 

[rishaav]

BEing cruel doesnt count for a solution but the better way to tackle is to go for emotion management......to clear the motives and move forward with mutual profit coming path

 

[deniser]

What was his role supposed to be when you started the business?

 

[davmet]

His role was supposed to be trying to bring the work in, finding customers and dealing with some paperwork and emails, but as i soon found out i could not let him do this either, His grammer was terrible, he would tell customers we could do this or that, when he didnt have a clue what he was talking about. I think i need to get out!!!

 

[lyndonio]

cut him loose a 50/50 partnership should be exactly that on all levels including hours worked and commitment to the success of the business. Is buying him out an option at all?

 

[davmet]

I dont think ihe would let me buy him out , he has this idea that he is going to become very wealthy and i think he thinks he actually does a good job!!!

 

[davmet]

Is there any way's to cut him loose. at the end of the day there would be no company without me!

 

[lyndonio]

Well you clearly have the upper hand as if what you have said is true the business would not function without your output. You need to make this clear to him and explain that you want either a higher percentage of the business or you are walking away. Hopefully he wont call your bluff as he may think a smaller chunk of something is better than nothing.

 

[Podge]

Why did you go into a 50/50 partnership with him in the first place? Did he provide the funding for the founding of the company?

 

[rishaav]

hai tech him to be stable and commit what u r upto, and spend some time talking with him and make him understand the benefit of working togeather..............

 

[davmet]

I was so nieve, we both had an equal input of money and thought to myself that this gave him the right to half the business without knowing that i would have to carry the whole business on my shoulders.

 

[SillyJokes]

It sounds like you are not talking to each other at all.

I think you need to schedule a meeting to explain how the business breaks down.

List all the tasks out with your names side by side above and work down it together to see who gets allocated each one.

If, as you say, you are doing the lions' share it will become more and more obvious to him. It will be clear then, why you are unhappy.

From your replies above it seems you aren't willing to support him to learn on the job (needs to be told what to do) or arrange any training. You've already made up your mind to break free, you just need to find a fair way to do this, even if it seems a lot of money to get rid of him now, it'll be better in the long term.

If not consider the possiblity of him buying YOU out of the business leaving you free to start again.

 

[rishaav]

u go for the higher end and make urself superior.....n let him feel helpless......

 

[rishaav]

he will realise that the company is nothing widout u n he will come to u again ....asking ur intellect

 

[davmet]

We have sat down an wrote on a bit of paper who does what, but it does not seem to phase him that i do all the work and make all the decisions, it as if he has the attitude of well you knew i was a labourer so its your responsability as the tradesman to make this work. Even the customers come straight to me as it must be obvious his lack of knowledge. I have made our business profitable up to now but its all dragging me down now.

Another option i was thinking of was we have a loan from the bank which we had to sign a directors gurantee. My proposal was going to be, If we went our seperate ways whoever walks away from the company walks from the debt, dont know if this would be possible thou. and how would i put this across to him.

 

[Phil Richardson]

Hi, this needs sorting out ASAP. You aren't communicating, you cannot run a business feeling resentfull and the business is likely to fail in the future.

This is so similar to what happened to me, my business partner wasn't doing the things that he had been tasked with, our professional relationship broke down, the company turnover and profits started dropping and we weren't working together to get it back on track.

The end result was liquidation and I later found out that my partner had started taking money from the business. It meant that I lost a 1/2 million pound company and now i'm working on my own to try and build it up again.

On the positive, it is all down to me for the future direction and success of my new business. I feel a lot better now I own 100% of the company and when it does grow again it will all be mine.

I hope you get it sorted but I think you will be in for a tough time. My one wish is that i'd been a lot more honest with how I was feeling and backed it up with facts.

 

[SamStones]

Ask to buy him out, he might just say yes.

If he doesn't say yes then offer to sell him your share of the business. He won't be able to afford it so you will have to close the business down and you go your own way and start up again.

If he can afford it then he won't be able to run it successfully and will soon go bust.

Just make sure he doesn't want you to sign an NCA.

 

[deniser]

If I were you I would go and consult a solicitor.