Partnership rules!

[BlackBerryUK]

Hi All,

how can you tell if the person you are planning to partner with, would be a good partner? and how many mistakes can you over look before making the decision of pulling out?

also, how do you devide the tasks out before starting the business? or discuss them as they come?

thanks
T

 

[garyk]

Its very very hard because most people start a business partnership with someone they know well. The hardest part of this is being critical of them when you need to be (and believe me you will). You wont really know until you take the plunge. But it is a good idea to plan who is going to be responsible for what and have clearly defined job roles.

Gary

 

[BlackBerryUK]

Hi Gary,

how can you tell them what they did wrong, without sounding rude and hurtful? also, how many mistakes can you take on, before thinking (oh oh! this is no good, I AM OUT)

Thanks,
T

 

[garyk]

T,

I wish I had an easy answer! I have walked away from two partnerships now that I started with friends, one crashed and burned the other is still going and is quite a successful business. It really is like a marriage, you have good times, bad times, harmonious (sp?) and fraught times! What would I do now? If I was starting a business with acquintances I wouldnt form a partnership (just in the process of doing this and there are 4 of us) and if I did form a partnership it would be with someone I didnt know so there was more autonomy.

But at the end of the day follow your heart!

Gary

 

[creacom]

Hi T,

I am in a partnership and it works well. The other half of the business was a friend before and is still a friend now !

It can be hard to mix but we have an understanding that business and personal feelings are not the same. You will know if its good or not after working with them.

Maybe you should sit down and ask the questions you asked above to your future business partner. You need to go over all that ground with him/her. We did. We discussed every possibility, clash that could arise etc... and so far ( almost 16months down the line ) so good. Not one problem.

Its not like that for everyone and I reckon I am in a partnership that works. But its essential you get a partnership agreement drawn up by your lawyer. Friend or no friend, things happen and you need something legal behind you incase there are problems.

Best of luck with it all

Jacqui

 

[Kent Accountant]

Jacqui is totally right. If a partnership is a serious business, you need to get a partnership agreement in place, ideally before you start. At that stage all the misconceptions can be sorted out while you are all still enthusiastic and friends. Hopefully, you will then put the agreement in a drawer and never need to look at it again. The problems arise when you do have a fall out, there is no partnership agreement in place and you start relying on the Partnership Act 1890 - not the most up to date piece of legislation. That's when the legal fees start building up. Far better to spend a little at the start.

 

[BlackBerryUK]

thanks - i think a partnership agreement sounds good to me. didnt think of that.

the reason i ask about partnership, is because my potential partner had one meeting with me one weekend discussing an idea which we both agreed on. i asked him to go a head and look up prices as he knows the party that will send us the products. next day i know he said he already bought 100 of them. no consultation what so ever!

this is now leaving me wondering:
- can i trust him again?
- is this a bad sign from the start?
- is it just a mistake and lack of organisation and lack of understanding how a business should operate?

not too sure what to do to be honest...

 

[PI Guy]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hmm sounds like miscommunication on someones part. I was partner in my family's busness for a while without any agreements and it just led to trouble. So i would agree that havinga an agreement is best and taking notes of meetings might be something that you should consider.

Also if you're having doubts now (at the begining), there might be a good reason for that. Tread carefully.

Regards

Jorge Salgado-Reyes

www.salgadoinvestigations.com
[email protected][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

Salgado Investigations provide a comprehensive enquiry service to Solicitors, Insurance Companies, the Retail Sector and to the general public.[/FONT]

 

Well, you're not in partnership yet so it's his responsibility. You really need to sit down together and talk it through - make it clear that you won't partner up with him if he acts without consultation again and then talk through all the other issues mentioned above.

Don't forget there are two kinds of legal partnership now.

1. Partnership - like two sole traders but working together.

2. the new limited liability partnership - cross between a ltd co and a partnership, and offers liability protection.

Get legal advice as to which is best for you.

 

[creacom]

You need to speak to him and iron these things out. It could just be a misunderstanding but in either case you need to communicate with eachother and sort out the "rules" before you go any further.

As I said, ntoe down everything that you have asked on this thread and raise those issues with your partner. The fact that you are already having doubts and the business isnt even started yet says to me that you need to have a meeting with him before you do anything else.

Jacqui