partner. who? yes? no?

his is personal but im over all the emotional BS, so I thought I might post this as a life lesson.
over the years I have had several "partners" in several businesses. none of them ever worked out now the fact that none of them ever worked out leads me to the point that all is not the partners fault, some has to be me. It has been said by very successful people that the way to get rich is to duplicate your self exactly, person by person. this is a very rare occorence and that is why 10% of the people of the world hold 90% of the money.

who can you trust and who can you not, believe it or not out there some where in even todays world there are a few we just have to find them.

the following story is not ment to elisit sympothy, im over the bs like I said.

when I discovered E waste (computers) on this site, the lights went off and the bells rang. So I formed a "family" business. I would run the pysical part Pick up tear down etc. and the wife would place the adds, take care of the phone etc. and we would split 50/50. As i started to show her what is good and what is not. Gold feaver struck.

this feaver was just as verolent as that of the 49'ers. I noticed last week I was getting no calls from the ads, only calls from my personal contacts. Yesterday my "partner" asks me if I would sell her
my gold bearing comp scrap, well I maybe old but im not stupid,so I said sure no problem, I sold her every thing but the hi grade boards, at the prices listed on Board sort and guess what, NO SHIPPING, LOL i TOUGHT HER EVERYTHING SHE KNOWS, BUT i DIDNT TEACH EVERYTHING i KNOW. A very good stratigy when dealing with any employee or "partner".

Jesus Christ!, not to sound sympathetic...but if I read this correctly your wife is trying to steal business from the "family business you and her run together?? That’s probably the worst I have heard.. You are trying to build a business which will support you both for years... what is the point of screwing that up when she is getting 50% any way??


As far as who to trust and who not to trust, I’m kind of in the same boat. I am also planning to start my own business although I’m not 100% sure yet what I am going to do.

Two years ago I agreed with my girlfriend (of 10 years), I would work and support our family and she would stay home with our daughter, but would help me with a strong business idea and eventually help me run the business....

That was 2 years ago. Now I am working a full time job, a part time job and am going to school for business full time...I had hoped to have an idea by now and have a start on writing my business plan... NOTHING...not even a strong idea,

Don’t get me wrong it’s not that I can trust her, but she clearly isn’t as motivated, or take it as seriously as I do.

ANYWAY... my point is, when looking for a partner, especially a 50/50 partner. You not only have to trust one another, but you both have to take it equally as serious and both have the drive and desire to make the business a success.


I had seen it mentioned, maybe an employee to help out rather than a partner may not be such a bad idea.

Ok, so your in a predicament. Here are my 2 cents on the matter.

Find yourself an investor, someone who can give you some financial backing to grow your business. An investor will provide you with start up funds that will allow you to hire an employee, purchase a truck, find a good place to operate out of, and allow you to have funding to have an advertising campaign.

The great thing about investors is they can front you anywhere from $1,000 to $100,000 and only have a 10% to 40% stake in your business and be happy. They, for the most part, stay out of the day to day operations. You do the work, pay them their share, and the only thing they have is a say in any major "operating changes". After so long you can buy their stake in the company back at a higher price they paid into your company, and every one is happy.

Investors are like poker players, they have the money to spend, not knowing whether they will lose it or make bank. They take most of the monetary risk, while the risk you are taking is just losing a lot of your time invested, and maybe just a little portion of money.

I would not take on another business partner like you have in the past and present. You don't have to teach an investor everything you know just for them to take your business and cut you out of it. They generally have more important things to do.

On the last note. Investors can be sharks, so you have to be careful when looking for one. Make sure you have a well written business plan, and an even better written operating agreement. If you need help with the legal paperwork and riffraff. Go to a local SBA office and they should have a mentor program where you can get advice from other small business owners and business lawyers for free.

Send her packin' !!

That's sad. I'm at a point I'd like to settle down and get married, but I haven't met a woman I can trust.

Sorry you're going through this olddude.

I think I'd send her packin' too! Makes me glad I'm a solo act.

Partnership? Get it in writing

I am lucky there. My wife wants nothing to do with my business. Sure she likes the money and all but she never asks me what I do or how I do it. I do have a partner and it has worked out well for me. I was very picky about who I took on as a partner though. I wanted to make sure that the person I had was someone who brought something to the table.

My grandfather once told me that the single hardest thing to do in business is "clone yourself"

Unless you find someone with the same drive, work ethics, loyalty, and hunger as you have...partners almost always cause trouble.



sorry to say