My Business On Purpose

Partnerships are hard.  I’ve heard it said, “the only ship that doesn’t sail is a partnership.” Partnerships sound great in theory, almost a no-brainer structure for a small business.  You get two (or more) minds, two skill sets, and twice the available time that in many cases can lead to an exponential outcome.   You also typically get two visions, two opinions, and divergent expectations. Many partnerships function just enough but don’t thrive. In the hundreds of partnerships that we’ve been exposed to we’ve only seen two that can seriously claim that the business is in far better shape due to the partnership than without.   I met with a startup excavating contractor who laid out his plan for his young business, including the threshold levels that would be achieved in order for a second person to be given 49% of his youthful company.   My first question to this eager and excited business owner was, “is this formally agreed upon and in writing?” “Yes.” He assured me that the friend-soon-to-be-owner would be