Thoughts on having Partners in Business
- Thread starter RemedyGuy
- Start date
Be wary of The Corrupter - greed - which springs from pure self-interest.
Work with those who are seeking mutual benefits, or rather smart enough to know that working together with other humans, without fucking them over, is how the game should be played. Filtering for this is really the hard part.
Work with those who are seeking mutual benefits, or rather smart enough to know that working together with other humans, without fucking them over, is how the game should be played. Filtering for this is really the hard part.
Protip: run a business, not a hairbrained scheme you came up with over the weekend. Plan long term. Get your contracts in place. Heck, talk to a lawyer. An accountant. Make friends with other business owners and ask them how they got to where they were. Find a mentor.
Your business partner should be someone you have no problem both 1) taking criticism from and 2) dishing out criticism to. There are no friends in business. Either be in it to crush shit or go back to hiding behind your monitor.
Not having partners is an unrealistic long term strategy if you're truly wanting to start and scale a business. Running a business is a lot different than split testing dating ad titles on facebook all day long, it actually involves people. You don't need to give up 50% of your business to have a partner either.
Your business partner should be someone you have no problem both 1) taking criticism from and 2) dishing out criticism to. There are no friends in business. Either be in it to crush shit or go back to hiding behind your monitor.
Not having partners is an unrealistic long term strategy if you're truly wanting to start and scale a business. Running a business is a lot different than split testing dating ad titles on facebook all day long, it actually involves people. You don't need to give up 50% of your business to have a partner either.
1.) NEVER do business with friends or family. Simple as that.
2.) Partners are absolutely invaluable to your success. You're not going to do it on your own. Obviously, "partners" is a pretty broad term though. You're the one in charge, so go out, find synergies with other individuals / companies, and make it worth while for others to help your business (that doesn't mean saying, "i'm going to be like Facebook but better. follow me, and I'll give you money when I'm rich!").
2.) Partners are absolutely invaluable to your success. You're not going to do it on your own. Obviously, "partners" is a pretty broad term though. You're the one in charge, so go out, find synergies with other individuals / companies, and make it worth while for others to help your business (that doesn't mean saying, "i'm going to be like Facebook but better. follow me, and I'll give you money when I'm rich!").
Thank you for that response. I do feel like I am "hiding" behind a computer right now.....the truth is...I can do everything in this business except scale it up -currently....and that is solely to do with finances. The finances would be used to keep the quality people I know to scale this up well paid - so they don't think of ripping me off. Only problem is to get these people its a lot of money......anyhow I appreciate the response once again.
Thank you for the response. The only thing I can hope for at this point is that my individual talents will be enough to withstand anyone with deep pockets....I have seen a lot of millionaires....that don't have a clue how to spend their money....and the good thing in my business is that the main players copy each other......just need to be patient right now.
Having partners can be good and bad for your business. I have had a partner invest in one of my ecommerce sites and I am fixing to buy him out so I am back at 100% ownership of everything.
The good is you get some starting capital, operating capital, equipment, and supplies to start and run your business for a certain length of time.
You don't have to go to a bank or lender for your business which is good if it's a business like mine which is adult related and most local banks will say no.
The bad can be that the investor/partner will want his/her money back sooner than expected if there is no legal contract for how much of the company they invested in.
Harder to get a bank loan for above mentioned capital and supplies.
You have a BOSS to report to when you can't make a dividend payment or sales are down.
Just my $.02 YMMV
The good is you get some starting capital, operating capital, equipment, and supplies to start and run your business for a certain length of time.
You don't have to go to a bank or lender for your business which is good if it's a business like mine which is adult related and most local banks will say no.
The bad can be that the investor/partner will want his/her money back sooner than expected if there is no legal contract for how much of the company they invested in.
Harder to get a bank loan for above mentioned capital and supplies.
You have a BOSS to report to when you can't make a dividend payment or sales are down.
Just my $.02 YMMV
I've had a business partner for about 5 years now and it's been a great decision for me.
It obviously depends on the person and the situation. Most people are lazy, stupid, greedy, selfish and so on. My partner is not. It's really hard to find a good partner and I somehow managed to pull it off. I wasn't looking for a partner, I just happened to come across one. What makes us work so well together is that we both have completely different skillsets but we are both entrepreneurs with the same goals. I come from a technical background and he comes from a legal background. I do the programming / computer stuff and he does more the sales / people side. We both overlap a little and we both aren't afraid to venture into new territories. Sometimes I may do a bit more on a certain project, sometimes he may do a bit more. But at the end of the day we both spend the same amount of time working our asses off trying to move things forward. I am pretty sure I would not be making what I am today without having the partner that I have.
It obviously depends on the person and the situation. Most people are lazy, stupid, greedy, selfish and so on. My partner is not. It's really hard to find a good partner and I somehow managed to pull it off. I wasn't looking for a partner, I just happened to come across one. What makes us work so well together is that we both have completely different skillsets but we are both entrepreneurs with the same goals. I come from a technical background and he comes from a legal background. I do the programming / computer stuff and he does more the sales / people side. We both overlap a little and we both aren't afraid to venture into new territories. Sometimes I may do a bit more on a certain project, sometimes he may do a bit more. But at the end of the day we both spend the same amount of time working our asses off trying to move things forward. I am pretty sure I would not be making what I am today without having the partner that I have.
Your $.02 was appreciated. Definitely a lot of angles....I mean I have already been offered cash to be bought in....however ideally I don't want to lose any percentage in my business....its unnecessary cause all I need the money for is to scale up....the model is already working and I am making money from it about 5-7 k clear a month - which is nowhere near what I can make if I scale this up - I project with the right financing I can make 100K plus a month in 6 months. I can wait and build up....play with the cards that have been dealt to me.
Sadly in my experience, this is typical.
Fuck partners, spend a little extra and do it yourself.
I have a lot of experience of partnerships, including some that have gone very wrong, and some that have worked well.
Here's my rule - I will partner happily with people on projects. Some of those projects might become fully fledged businesses, but at no stage will I allow those businesses to become so important that I couldn't walk away from them if they stopped working out.
Here's my rule - I will partner happily with people on projects. Some of those projects might become fully fledged businesses, but at no stage will I allow those businesses to become so important that I couldn't walk away from them if they stopped working out.
^this, jeezus, sounds like the majority thinks any company with >1 owner is just multiple people hanging out together plotting to screw over each other as their only goal in life.
QFT. Google was born from a partnership. Other big companies too. I think that might cast light onto the topic you are researching.
Being a control freak, I'd echo the part of keeping control (if you know what you are doing)
They contacted me....it was a friend of mine...his wanted to drop 80 k into the business so he can be equal partners...I said fuck that.
aren't you the jackass that was wigging out since you couldn't get your drugs in time for your festival and also asking people on here about getting a job (working for somebody else) and driving far as fuck just for the position because you were broke? this 'job' you had your hopes up for, and people were telling you it could be a scam?
yeah, who the fuck would want to partner with you in the first place...
it's all about reading people, there will always be people that will try to take advantage of you but, if you are somebody that has something to bring to the table and another person also has something to bring to the table, then why not? it's not like most people are geniuses at every single thing. there are some things other people will be be better at than you, and other things you'll be better at than them, that's just how life works.
outsourcing is great and all but, people with real skills don't work for others, they work for themselves, that's just how it is. again it depends on what's being brought to the table, obviously you're not going to partner with somebody who can write, 'great' content since you can get that anywhere.
i've been ripped off by partners when I first started working with people but, I didn't let that deter me because it's not about 'partners' it's about the individual, you need to know how to read people and try to minimize risks so you don't get taken advantage of. as a result, i've had great results with partners after i learned from my mistakes. not to say it can't go wrong again but, if i came across the right opportunity and the right person, then why not? there's so many opportunities out there, there's not enough time in the day to try and tackle every one yourself.
