Partnerships- Comments please!

[Slvrmple72]

New thread fellas. The good, bad, and ugly on partnerships. Creating one, maintaining one, the guidelines, and personal experiences that any of you may have in a two or more person partnership in total tree care and removal.

 

[tomtrees58]

dont do it its like a marriage WATS yours is yours tom trees

 

[Adkpk]

Had a partner once. Nobody likely has come along since. This guy never met my original terms therefore he went away easily. He inherited money and simply started to enjoy being a business owner without doing much work to make it work. If I would consider someone again he would have to really impress me with his ambition and knowledge. Plus if I think of all the work I put into making my business what it is, I really wouldn't be able to put a price on it. Anybody with that kind of money I wouldn't like.

 

[Slvrmple72]

Well Tom, if I should consider it like a marriage I will have to say that I have been in a successful marriage for almost 11 years now. I see the most critical thing being the selection of a dedicated partner with the same goals and a similar mindset. I see a partnership as an opportunity to help grow and develop a business by sharing my experience and knowledge of tree care with a partner who can eventually take over the business as I pursue my future goals.

 

[Slvrmple72]

Adrpk, what about a fellow with considerable drive and ambition but no silver spoon in his mouth? Could you share more about the terms of your partnership and what lead to the dissolution of it? I have to agree with you about the whole price of your blood,sweat, and tears thing... I do not feel that anybody could offer a wad of cash to compensate me for all of those years of effort, but someone who would work alongside me putting in the same "equity" towards growing a business would be a whole other story!

 

[ropensaddle]

Ill take a silent partner loaded with green

 

[Slvrmple72]

Ill take a silent partner loaded with green

That could be a mute constipated vegetarian rope

 

[ropensaddle]

That could be a mute constipated vegetarian rope

I don't care I won't be living with them and can't hear them I need new
trucks gear mucho advertising etc. I pay % on profit until paid with interest,he is silent but handles the finances when needed we all could enjoy that. If banks actually were set up right meaning 6% interest =6 grand on a hundred thousand economy would rebound immensely. They are set up to only loan to the people that don't need help.

 

[Slvrmple72]

I hear you there! All kidding aside banks do not help me very much. I had to work and skrimp and save to make my investment capital. Sounds like you have a partner with deep pockets and keen business sense. How much say does he have over the direction of the company?

 

[Adkpk]

It's always a crapshoot when it comes to sharing your stuff, business, life.

The terms were made easy for him because I knew him well enough. He was to bring in 15 new customers the first year. (mind you this was only my third or forth year in business myself). And his truck. Which was a bigger and a little newer than mine but when he left I asked him to take it with him. Well he only got 6 new customers, all of which he had when we started and all people our old boss gave him. He declined slowly throughout the year and when I asked what he would do for me for the 8 customers he owed me he chose to be evasive. This was an act of disrespect to my terms and I told him to hit the road. We are still friends. He is a school teacher now and lives in a huge home with his wife and beautiful daughter. Funny how things workout. In my mind I freed the guy from a hard life to go do something more fitting to abilities.

 

[mckeetree]

I have been in business since 1985. The first eight years I had a partner. Finally got his butt out of the deal in 1993 and I would never do the partner deal again. Ever.

 

[ropensaddle]

I hear you there! All kidding aside banks do not help me very much. I had to work and skrimp and save to make my investment capital. Sounds like you have a partner with deep pockets and keen business sense. How much say does he have over the direction of the company?

Ok I don't have a partner, I merely stated the kind I would do business with! If it was not for banks I would probably still be climbing everyday and loading my trailer by hand. I would be better off in one aspect but brokedown in another and digging stumps by hand. Too many fly by nights illegals, new startups that think they must lose to obtain clients etc.
This business stinks is overflooded with wanna bee's and bludgeoned, exploited by insurance and advertising. If I could have just stayed ultra small and climbed and hand loaded, I would have made profit but oh the cost on and aging body I wander sometimes why I did not just invent some puter chip or become and insurance agent, or a policriminal much easier and profitable, guess I am a glutton for punishment.

 

[Adkpk]

If I could have just stayed ultra small and climbed and hand loaded, I would have made profit but oh the cost on and aging body I wander sometimes why I did not just invent some puter chip or become and insurance agent, or a policriminal much easier and profitable, guess I am a glutton for punishment.

Rope you speak the truth there for a lot of us.

 

[Neubauer6]

You had better really trust someone to start a partnership. Then it will work out great. Legally, you are liable for any malfeasance or misfeasance by your partner. You could avoid some liability by creating an LLC. That way if you have a deal gone bad, you can escape having your personal assets liquidated. Partnerships have a much broader range of liability as far as your own personal assets are concerned. With an LLC you are generally only liable for your capital investment to the business!!! Hope that helps.

 

[BC WetCoast]

I think the term partner isn't always used in the proper context here. A true partnership (at least here, and the term may vary in jurisdictions) is in basic terms a proprietorship with two owners. Both are liable for costs incurred by the company and by each other.

The other context would be a corporation, where there are two shareholders (may or may not be equal shareholders). This isn't a true partnership, but many people call it so.

In my opinion, a corporation with shareholders is a much safer way to go, albeit with the expense and hassle or running a corporation. But your personal assets are protected.

I have never been a true partnership, but have been in a couple of corporations with limited (under 4) owners. Both situations turned out badly, but I think it was more a matter that each time, the "partners" (different groups) jumped in to take advantage of a situation. In both cases, there wasn't a lot of lead time so the people didn't know each other well and after a while people just got sick of each other. However, because shareholder agreements were in place, the 'divorce' was efficient although not amicable.

 

[D Mc]

Partnerships are like marriages, common goals with a division of duties. Two hot shot climbers trying to partner with no business acumen is not going to work. Two guys with money, with no tree savey or skills, probably not going to work.

My wife and I have been working business partners for 24 years. There is a strong division of duties. Like in most households, she cooks, I take out the trash. In the tree company I climb and she does everything else.

I said this as a joke, but there is quite a bit of truth in it. It takes a lot more than being able to climb a tree to running a company. I learned early in my career that I am not management material. Pretty much a recluse that just likes to climb trees. She has bookkeeping/secretarial skills for the business aspect and public relations and has become Certified to be even more of an asset. Together as a company, over a long period of time, we have developed a strong clientelle and are consistently booked. And even though we are pretty old to be doing this kind of work, it is still enjoyable primarily because we can now pick and choose our jobs.


Working is a large portion of your life. Figure out how not only to make it work, but how to enjoy it.

D Mc