[Robert T]

I have been contemplating taking a partner. For those of you who have a partner what are your thoughts on this. I have been operating full time for about 4 yrs by myself. I mainly work for a large builder in the area and most of my time is spent keeping them happy. I want to branch out and find other work but honestly i cant handle anymore by myself.
thanks for any thoughts
Robert

[TrickyDick]

There have been a few threads on this in the past. You should do a search.

In my experience partnership can work if you and your partner have very complimentary skills and aptitudes. If you're always trying to do the same things you will kill each other. One person has to be good at the stuff the other person is not and vice versa. You have to develope roles for each other that don't conflict. If you can find someone that you can work with like that then it has a chance.

Then again I have a partnership like that and we still want to kill each other on a pretty regular basis.

If you're going to try to do it choose very very carefully.

[Cochran]

Currently, I am set up in a "somewhat" partnership. "Somewhat" in quotes because we are not actually a partnership, but are contemplating an LLC formation to combine and make easier for tax purposes.

My husband and I actually run seperate companies as landscape design/install and irrigation, yet we work much for each other and my father oversees all my labor and installation work for me (this is the big part of the LLC formation contemplation). Our business works great set up as this because we each have our areas and not overstep each others boundaries. My husband oversees all irrigation and anything related. I do all design and proposal work as well as sales and marketing. My dad oversees all labor and installation work. It has been great for us as we've all built our businesses tremendously in the last year. (My dad was a landscaper on his own before we meshed together.)

Our big learning curve was the delegation of tasks and who does what without hurting feelings and stepping on toes. After getting over that hump, we work well together and each respects his/her own territory as far as what is involved in the workload of each individual. Our business couldn't be where it is today without the compatibility and ability to work together with each other. As of right now our sales are tripled of the whole total of last year!

It can work, but it will be a learning challenge to begin with. Set areas of "expertise" and what tasks each will do when you begin a partnership endeavor and your business can really excel and grow.

If you want to take a partner, I would be very selective in who you choose as that partner to help your business grow. I was fortunate enough that I fell into a great partnership, but there are also some great individuals doing landscape/irrigation in this area that I wouldn't mind working with, though don't have no or need to, and I am sure your area is the same. Just choose wisely and be VERY VERY selective. One wrong choice and your whole business you've build individually could go up in smoke...

[familyguy]

Yeah... Tricky and I had a neat shouting match the other day. Probly cuz I am so much more often right and he always seems to be wrong about stuff.

Actually, if we weren't such good friends, our partnership wouldn't work. Really, #1, you have to be excellent at communication.

The other day (our shouting match) came from being so busy we didn't communicate about some issues and next thing we knew we were ready to kill each other. It really requires a commitment to having time to be clear about scheduling, job strategies, money management, everything. If you are so so communiacting with the intended partner, forget it. You have to really be able to lay things out constantly.

Just my take on it.

[VoodooChile]

You don't need a partner. You need employees.

[Stonehenge]

There are lots of ways to skin a cat - partner is one, but if you know the things you need and believe you can manage the people in those roles, then get employees, not a partner. That being said, there's a company in my area where the owner is out installing more than he's selling, designing or managing; he's hired other people to do that stuff.