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Question?
Do you have a partner? Im thinking about getting one.
Is it a good thing or bad?
Is it a good thing or bad?
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It depends on what you need and what your goals are.
My wife has been my business partner for 20 years and we've been married 24.5 years. Some people would consider that a liability, but it depends upon your personality and point of view. She physically works in the busines along side w/ me, and/or does other tasks w/o me, depending upon the job.
We split the bookkeeping, tax forms, and I do the payroll and the billing.
Some partners bring you needed working capital, but are not physically active in the business. Other partners bring expertise.
It also depends if you want to split the income earned 2 ways, but you need sufficient income to support a partner that you are not married to. (I'm happy that my wife is not a high maintenance woman who enjoys our line of work).
If you want physical help, then hire an employee. -
I was thinking of some one to split the expensis.
i was also thinking of my wife she is a real hard worker.
but then we would have to pay a baby sitter for 3 kids
that could get expensive. I think.. Just in need of some opinions
thanks stephen m.Comment
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Partners
Hi High Quality,
Personally I would stay away from partnerships, unless you have majority ownership of the business, i.e. at least 51% ownership and have all decision making ability. Pretty hard to find someone to accept those conditions.But, still its not as desirable as sole control. For any organization to run at its peak effenciency there can only be ONE boss.
Husband and Wife teams are not anything I have experience with so I'm not going to comment on them. I've been fortunate to meet a lot of successful business people in my life through my family and what they have passed on to me is that there can only be one boss.
When I was working on my business plan to establish my own company in this profession, I visited with a competitor 15 miles North of me. He had this great idea he wanted to discuss. His idea was that we could partner up split the costs and profits 50/50 in the market I was targeting. His main selling point was I could use his name and start earlier. Needless to say I politely passed on his offer. Why, because I didn't need him or the hassles of having to spend my time explaining why I did things and then having to justify everything to him. Partners in anything can be real time burglers when you know where your going and have an idea of how your going to get there you can do it on your own. My advice would be to spend time planning your operation instead of entertaining the idea of bringing on partners and consider employees you make money off them if done right.
Good Luck!Comment
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Hi high quality,
If you can work with your wife that would be fantastic. What a great way to build your business and your family bond at the same time. I know of many successful husband and wife partnerships and I am very happy for them!Comment
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I was thinking of some one to split the expensis.
In doing so, you will also be splitting your income. When I need help with spring and fall cleanups, my wife is there to help me. She does several gardening jobs for us also. She is not a partner, but a dependable worker when I need a helping hand. When I was getting behind on my lawns, she rode the Z while I did the triming.Comment
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You might not think it's a big deal, but splitting the income with a partner makes a HUGE dent in your wallet. I've been living just above the poverty line for the past 2 years due to splitting 50/50 with a partner... He just left the business (luckily I got to keep all the accounts), and next month will be the first time I will have a positive cash flow rather than every penny going towards my bills.
If it's your wife that wants to partner up then there's really no reason not to... You still get all the income, and if she ever leaves you she'd get half the business in the divorce anyway... Of course... If it's a 50/50 she might get half of your 50% as well making herself 3/4 owner. LOL Really... If it's a spouse then you don't stand to lose where as with an outside partner (no matter how great a friend they are) can be a nightmare and a tremendous risk.
Since you are married there's an easy analogy to a partnership... It would be like you were married to to different people at once. It really is.Comment
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