A Question About Partnering On Jobs

kanadaeh

Business has been really busy lately and there seems to be no end in sight. I can find more employees but not enough lead people. Anyways, a painter I worked with for a number of years is going to come give me a hand and possibly relocate permanently. We haven't discussed money yet. He has always worked for someone up until lately. He has started to do small jobs on his own and now he thinks it's all milk and honey but he has no overhead. I was thinking of simply paying him an hourly rate with deductions but I get the feeling he would like a bigger slice. Now I am thinking of possibly partnering some of my projects with him. I have never done anything like this before but this is kinda what I was thinking. 25% of the top of the project for overhead(bookwork, advertising, ins., etc.) We keep track of every hr we spend on the job and take our hrly wage out. Also my painters wages including taxes and Workman's comp(I was thinking on hiring and having him train 2 or 3 more painters) Materials are kept track of and taken out. After that we split whats left. When I receive payment I cut him a check as sub and he looks after the tax man. Any thoughts?

theartisan

personally I would not do it. I have never seen or been involved in a partner situation that worked out. There will always be situtions that come up where the partners have differences of opinion whether its how profits should be split or how other business should be handled.

I would advise clearly defining him as a sub or an employee. If he is a sub he handles all aspects of the job, if he is an employee you can decide how much control you hand him. If you want to offer him profit sharing as an employee (lead) it should be on a longer term basis than job by job. perhaps monthly or quarterly. But if you give him profit sharing as a lead you should extend the same gratitude to all of your leads.

I will say it one more time, i have never seen a partnership that ended well, but i have seen many great friendships destroyed by business partnerships that soured. When I incorporated my company I considered making my wife a partner, but even decided against that. We both own our own seperate business and seek each other for advice but when it comes down to it there is only one person making every final decision.

Subia29

Had the same simliar Question a couple weeks ago.It was a stressful discision, but my final thoughts about it ,was absolutely NO PARTNERS!! MY advice is ask questions.You will find most of the same answers .If he is so good at what he does,Why is'nt he running his own buisness? If you're talented in what you do ,Why do you need a partner? You already have a establish buisness,Why split the profits if your carrying the load. The feud of money has been the issue since the begining of time. Pay him as a forman and dont sign any partnersship agreement without consulting a lawyer. I just been through this and my final discision was after asking my grandfather about partnerships, He quoted ''Son , If your going to jump in the river...Jump in there by your self....Dont jump in there someone tied to you.''

firemike

I agree with artisan and Subia 100%, don't do it. I did it and it cost me not only monetarily and emotionally, but it cost me a good friend too.

You really have to clearly define him as an employee or a sub. If you decide a sub, you need a contract spelling everything out: what he is responsible for, when it is to be completed, etc. .

As an employee, that is where the employee manual comes into play as far as his responsiblilties.

If you want to take care of him a little better financially, make him a lead foremen or supervisor with appropriate wages, and set up some type of bonus system where he gets paid a percentage of the profit.

There are other ways to accomplish your goal, just make sure it doesn't cost you. Subia's Grandpa said id best: "'Son , If your going to jump in the river...Jump in there by your self....Dont jump in there someone tied to you.''

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kanadaeh

Thank you for all your replies. I don't think I will take that route. It's just when things get busy, I would like to have someone to share the workload with. Right now I feel like I'm the only one who gives a crap about getting the jobs done.

dirt diggler

that's great things are going well for you

why complicate matters??

woodmagman

And having a buisness partner is only going to confirm that....but now you will share the profits with that partner.
If you looking for a second marriage then a partnership is the way to go...If you need a confidant get a dog...

widler45

I agree with all of you I an getting ready to end a partnership by nest wek and boy what a lot of stress I have created on myself and my company

WNYcarpenter

are the opinions the same if you start a business as partners?

Two people who have equal and balanced assets that draw up a plan together and take a year to work out the details.

Construction is difficult to do by yourself, and being responsible for a permanent employee is costly, especially when you're starting out.

I'm getting getting more and more confident that I can do it, but I know there's times that I'll need another hand. I don't think at first I could or would want to be responsible for a full time employee....If I had a partner he'd have a vested interest and an understanding that there's a chance we may take a hit. When times are tough we both work and suck up the losses.

As a matter of fact I just asked someone I trust if he'd like to give it a shot. He's talking it over with his wife as we speak and we're meeting for lunch soon to talk it over. I understand the arguements against it, but from my point of view (before reading any comment) the pros outweigh the cons.

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