anyone here thinking about partnerships

[The Preacher]

this coming year???

with the economy looking like it could be down has anyone considered partnerships for their business???

i'd love to hear about some of the parnerships here that are successful and what you've done to make it work for you.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Partnerships as in working with related trades people (retailers, designers, etc)?

Or a true business partnership?

If the first, great idea!

If the second, horrible idea!!!

 

[The Preacher]

#2

#1 isn't really a partnership as much as it is a referral type set up. What Mikey is doing with the dry cleaner for rugs is what i'd call a partnership of industries


Jim with respect to you, do you, or have you, been a partner in a carpet cleaning business???

if so, why not now. what could you have done to make it better?

 

[Mikey P]

ask me next year

 

[cu]

read your pm

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I was actually considering starting up a new company with a woman graphic design artist as my partner. She would be in charge of marketing, bringing in business, and handling the office dutties and I would run the production side. She is a lesbian by the way and knows nothing about the cleaning industry, but man is she creative and smart. She already has a successful company that makes her several hundred thousand dollars a year, so she is no slouch.

Just a thought.

 

[The Preacher]

is she the male or female type lezbo???

Chucky on Dannys computer

 

[daniel@procarpet]

She is so hot. I could never even pick up on the fact that she was a lesbian until I went to her house to clean a sofa and met her partner, who is also hot. Seriously, she looks great. I think shes about 35. If only she would switch teams just for one day. No, I'm just kidding. I have a lot of respect for her.

 

[Larry B]

Danny dont do it

 

[Fon Johnson]

NO!


.

 

[Mark Imbesi]

I was partnered with a fellow flooring installer in the mid-90's because we each had problems keeping steady help. The objective was to pickup 1 more install a day to cover our salaries and we would still get home at a decent hour. This worked out well. We learned about the power of referrals and decided to use carpet cleaning as an add on service.

He was married with 1 very small child. I was married with no children. His credit was poor, so I purchased a third van and leased a new Powermatic. We both drove to Pemberton's in Oct 99 to get some knowledge. We hired 2 helpers, 1 for him and 1 for me. Since I was more of the salesman and businessman, my job function was to clean first, then install second. We both worked 6 days/wk (manual). When I had just a small cleaning, I would go help him finish his install. I worked on the books, payroll and marketing after hours and weekends. We were making enough money to pay the help and pay each other, but not enough to roll back into the business. Since we were taking the same pay each week, and I didnt need as much as him, I rolled my money back into the business. By Jan 2001, it was over. He took his van and the 2 helpers and went back to subcontracting installs. I was left with 2 vans, Powermatic and no help.

This partnership failed from the get go. #1, no business plan. #2 his bad credit exposed me and my good will. #3 he started resenting me not helping him finish installs, so I could do some paperwork and selling during normal business hours. He thought he did so much more b/c his work was physical.

Parnterships are just plain bad news. You will never find someone who shares your views 100%, and that is what is needed....a mini ME.

 

[dealtimeman]

Partnerships are a great idea in the begining and then disolve as the partners see that they want and have different goals and aspirations. the only way that partnerships work is if everything is written on paper and all questionable ideas or practices have predetermind clauses set forth by some kind of agreement. I myself currently have three ventures of which two are very succesfull (at least to me ). One of them i am sole p. and the other a partnership. MY company is of the ground and very steady, without any debt and a sustaind savings capital. The partnership is very rock up and down type because my partner has decided that he has reached his comfort level and does want to work any more than he possibly wants to. Also he like to have accounts everywhere we purchcase from and doesnt like paying everyhting off each month. I on the other hand hate having accounts with dist. or anywhere we buy from dont like buying tm and financing them though variuos banks. A succesfull biz is one that has limited or very little overhead that does not threaten the livelyhood of the entire company if economic situations occur like the unforeseable one were in now.

 

[Chris A]

I would think a 50/50 split is a bad idea for sure. And no, I'm not thinking about it.

 

[billyeadon]

Danny,
As you can see most people think this is a bad idea. I was in a partnership in my cc biz. It was difficult but not horrible. Someone must be the deciding vote. Also you end up dealing with the partners wife more than you would like. In many cases the wife always thinks her husband does more of the work and should get more money.

Having said that, there are very suceesful partnerships and I would point to Nick and John at Jon Don as one of the best of all time. Match up strength and weaknesses. Remember this is even worse than a marriage.

If you do this spend some time with a lawyer for the time when eventually the partnership is dissolved. It may be a very nice dissolution or one of the most horrid experiences you will ever enter.

To sum it up: it could work, but it would be rare.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Bill Yeadon summed up the clarification to your question Danny.

Our business is a corporation, and has been from very early on, so we have no partnership experience here.

I have not had one customer be successful in any sort of partnership. Even marriage doesn't have a track record to recommend itself anymore, if you looked at it from a purely business perspective.

 

[Steve Toburen]

Lots of good points, above, Danny. (I hate getting in behind Jim P and Big Billy. They always say what I was going to say ...)

Remember, there are only three reasons anyone would even remotely consider entering a partnership given the entirely valid problems everyone mentions above. (Given our new moderator's proclivity for brevity I won't repeat them.)

1. You need their money. Don't do it, Danny. Never give away equity/control for start-up/expansion money. Remember, in the beginning getting an investment in return for 50% of nothing seems like a great deal. But over the years your business grows and your partner's stake (who may be doing little or nothing to aid this growth) gains too. Either start small and grow out of cash flow or borrow money- family, friends, credit cards, bank- it doesn't matter. whatever usurious interest rate you are forced to pay will seem cheap twenty years down the road when you are the SOLE OWNER of a thriving business and it is ALL YOURS!

2. You need their skills. Don't do it, Danny. Hire skills. Pay them well. maybe even a profit percentage of future growth that the employee directly contributes too. This will be cheap compared to making the employee a partener to "save money". Never give up equity- never give up control. Wait- I think I already said that.

3. You need their emotional support. Don't do it, Danny. That is why you have this board.

Steve Toburen
Director of Training
Jon-Don's Strategies for Success
www.StrategiesForSuccess.com

PS Bill is right. Nick and John Paolella of Jon-Don have had a superb 30 year relationship on both a personal and business level. and yet, if you were to ask them, my guess is they would say, "Run, Danny, run!" Better yet, Danny, ask Nick yourself. SFS- Tampa Bay Jon-Don- February 16-20! We would love to have you there and Nick (don't ask me why) likes you a lot.

 

[hogjowl]

danny is just talking. He's only looking for ways to afford another Cimex, and he thinks a partner will buy one for him. If you guys will think back, it was only 6 months ago when danny sold a Cimex, and he started trying to unload his DooDaddy TM two weeks after he first purchased it.

He'd last a week with a partner.

 

[TimP]

I'll sell him my Cimex..... I'll take 2 grand for it Danny.



I think if you're trying to expand and not wanting employees or a partnership you could always subcontract out your work for things you don't like. Pay them a certain ammount and keep a fair ammount of the bill like a franchise does as your profit for booking and scheduling the job.

 

[Fon Johnson]

danny is just talking. He's only looking for ways to afford another Cimex, and he thinks a partner will buy one for him. If you guys will think back, it was only 6 months ago when danny sold a Cimex, and he started trying to unload his DooDaddy TM two weeks after he first purchased it.

He'd last a week with a partner.

 

[The Preacher]

I"M NOT LOOKING FOR A PARTNER. I'M JUST WONDERING OUT LOUD!!!

AS haROLD WOULD SAY "GOOD GRIEF"!!!

 

[daniel@procarpet]

A partnership means twice the amount of work to make the same profit you are making now. I understand you wanting to grow your business and I respect you for that. Me personally, I want to keep things simple. If you make good money and invest properly, you can have an unbelievable amount of money now rather than later.

 

[Able 1]

I think "partnerships" are only legal in cali..

 

[daniel@procarpet]

So you watch the news. Maybe not for long. I am absolutely not a conservative. That was funny anyways.

 

[Curtis Pennington]

danny is just talking. He's only looking for ways to afford another Cimex, and he thinks a partner will buy one for him. If you guys will think back, it was only 6 months ago when danny sold a Cimex, and he started trying to unload his DooDaddy TM two weeks after he first purchased it.

He'd last a week with a partner.

He said he would move to Alabama...

 

[hogjowl]

I can certainly see why you'd encourage him to move from Florida.

 

[Jimmy L]

I heard in Alabama partnerships involve animals.


:shock: