The following are a list of partnership business killers by entrepreneur.com.

1. Sharing capital instead of expenses
2. Partnering with someone because you can’t afford to hire
3. Lacking a written and signed partnership agreement
4. Overlooking a limited partnership
5. Lacking an out or an exit strategy
6. Expecting the friendship to outlast the breakup of the partnership
7. Having a 50/50 partnership

I would have to agree, to the extent that not having a plan for each situation is a dangerous situation to be in. While you might be the best of friends with or a spouse two your business partner, if things get fucked then you better have a plan on how to handle it. It’s a tough thing to think about, and you might even feel like you might be offending your partner by suggesting such a negative thing, but keep in mind that it is in both of your best interests to have plans in place.

An important document to draft up, agree to, and sign is a company operating agreement. You can find plenty of templates and examples online. If you can’t, email me and I’ll send you a few along with a guide on how to Google. Basically, this agreement should lay out exactly what the capital investments were for each partner, as well as terms on how profits AND losses will be distributed. It is also important to detail out circumstances and steps that need to be taken to dissolve the company. For example, you might have a clause that states if one partner moves to another state and is no longer able to continue his share of work in the company, then the company should either dissolve or his share of the company be bought by the renaming members for some set amount. The agreement should also state what voting and management rights each manager has. This will come in handy if difficult decisions have to be made down the road.

As always, consult an attorney before signing an agreement, even if you drafted it yourself. Have them look it over to make sure it will protect you the way you think it should in your state. Think of this as a business pre-nup. It’s never fun to come home and see your spouse sandwiched between three circus midgets, but if that were to happen, you will thank Buddha that you signed an operating agreement. er, pre-nup. You know what I mean.

Partnership Killers from Entrepreneur.com

Many wish they had their own business once the daily drag of corporate life eats away a good chunk of their being. As such a person I want others who are in the same situation to prepare well before taking the jump. Since I’m still in process (not completely insane..yet), I can only offer what I’ve bumped into so far.

First, be prepared and understand you will lose current benefits like health insurance and 401K. Unless of course you didn’t have it anyway, in which case you’re a step there already. Health insurance is quite expensive, so make sure you can swing it.

Also be aware of what behind-the-scenes requirements your business will come with. For example, what licenses might you need? Will you need a certain insurance for something unique about the business (stuntman dying from being impaled by blunt object insurance, for instance)? How will you hire employees? This behind the scenes stuff requires a lot of research; know the business well before you start. Become an expert.

Finally, what is your revenue model? This is very important but it seems many don’t even consider it. There seems to be the thought floating around that if you do the business and work hard the money will come. Hard work is great for your work ethic, but if you don’t have a revenue model you’re likely to crash and burn. To start it helps to create a model of the business, and figure out costs, prices, and profits. This model will allow you to play with inputs to see how it affects the business. A lot of times this stuff isn’t intuitive, so making the model really helps you make fact based decisions.

These are just some of the foundations to starting. I’ll update as I progress; if anyone has thoughts on this please post in the comments. Best of luck! FREEDOMM!!!

Whether it be your family or newly acquired family (e.g., wedding, adoptions, abductions), it is common to eventually have someone in your family who just drives you insane. As I often get reminded, homicide is highly frowned upon illegal in this country and usually the person is not worth the angst. So before you whip up the rat poison margarita mix, take a breather and think about it. Something I read once really hits it on the (stupid) head -

For most people, dealing with annoying relatives or in-laws is like cleaning the toilet. It’s not something you want to do, but something you have to do.

Sometimes the situation is worsened if this pile of annoying is your spouse’s family. Your significant other may be the best most loving person in the history of man kind, but somehow they manage to be related to hell spawn. I’ve found it helps to always keep in mind that it is all temporary. The shithead leaving trash all over the place? The trash will get picked up and their poor hygiene will get them eventually. Maybe they’re eating all your snacks that you try so hard to hide. Eh, they’ll be gone soon, and your stash will once again be holy and safe. Hey, maybe you’re contributing to making them super fat..REVENGE IS BEST SERVED COLD.

Get very good at extracting yourself from any situation. This will come in very handy when you get so annoyed that your left hand reaches for the candlestick. Getting away from a sticky situation will give you time to breathe and think, and usually just let it go.

Many guides and articles online about the issue ultimately propose that you spend alone time with the
public disturbance. I however, tend to disagree. Once past a certain point of annoying, alone time can be catastrophic. I am in the standing that the best way to go is to try and make yourself laugh at the issue and put enough space to not let any issues erupt. Limit the contact, increase the breathing. And remember, no rat poison.

On my way to buy crap I didn’t need the other day, I tailgated a car that happened to have a great bumper sticker. All it had on it were the words, “It’s all Temporary.” That really hit me and made a lot of things click. Like when you’re trying to first ride a bike, and you keep falling on your ass, then all of a sudden you’re charging forward in a wobbly line. Kind of like that, but more useful.

A lot of times, we all get caught up with work and life stressors, and it gets us frustrated, stressed, and shortens our life. Globally, more than 3 out of 5 doctor visits are for stress related problems. Globally, 23% of women executives and professionals, and 19% of their male peers, say they feel super-stressed. While stress is useful in a fight-or-flight scenario, I find that most of the time I get worked up about something REALLY stupid (or someone really stupid). Seeing this bumper sticker put it all in its place. It’s all temporary. If you think about it, these three simple words make a lot of sense. It’s a common idea in Buddhism, and something that I’ve forgotten over the years. If some situation has you stressed out, just realize and understand that it’s temporary. It’ll be over in a few days, weeks, whatever, so really in the grand scheme of things it’s no big deal. Conversely, if it’s something good, also realize and understand that it’s all temporary so you should enjoy it and cherish it.

If you can get into that frame of mind, I find that it calms you down and makes difficult situations go down easier. While I still haven’t been able to stop all stress in my life, keeping these three words in my mind have helped tremendously.

When it comes to buying a house, especially the first one, max budget should very clearly determined. I have quite a few friends who bought something way above what they can afford and are getting screwed hard by it, no lube.

SmartMoney.com published a short article and calculator yesterday to help estimate what your cost ceiling should be. Read More

So last week my friends and I decided to visit the Animal Rescue spur of the moment. We’ve been following a super long detour to get around some major highway construction (great job PDOT..great job) and were feeling and bit loopy. Immediately after parking in their minuscule parking lot, we saw a new intake German Shepherd in their outdoor area, looking dejected as homeless dogs tend to. Pulls at the heart, no? If that wasn’t enough, we walked in to see the rest of the dogs. Rows of dogs, locked up in concrete cages, with a blanket over a formed plastic bed. Then we came upon Halle, a 5month old Saint Bernard Great Dane mix. Sad, but full of puppy spirit, and great looking too. If we hadn’t left at that point I would have had another dog in the house. This situation should sound pretty familiar. But then I thought..why are there so many dogs in shelters? It sucks!
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This post is the next in my How to Deal series (the previous being on dealing with bad performance reviews). As we ride past 25 and 30 is visible down the road, we start to get these feelings of aging. No, not the need for medication for the stir in the pants, but some mentality changes. For me, it’s been about physically weakening, views on taking risks, growing up, and even a tad on mortality. I know we’re not on the cusp of total decrepitude, but it’s something worth thinking about.
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Sabbaticals can be a great way to revitalize yourself, especially in today’s hectic go-go-go working society. However, it can be tricky to pull off since taking such a big break from work has a few risks. Considerations include continuation of health benefits, pause in usual income, and resuming work after the break. If planned correctly, sabbaticals can be a great way to refresh your mind and gain new perspectives that can potentially help you once you get back to work.
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Many people have an interest in starting their own business. Either it be from a strong entrepreneur spirit, or you’re just sick of working for your belligerent boss, many consider the prospects of leaving the supposed rat race. Being an entrepreneur indeed has its benefits, but many do not see the not so cheery extras that come with working for yourself.
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I spent this past weekend meeting up with friends I hardly get to see (damn you real life and your jobs). We all met up in NYC from our respective cities for a few days of catching up and craziness. Of course, when you stick a bunch of guys in the City, there’s bound to be some Y-chromo tendencies. So many hotties around it kind of makes you goofy. Obviously, for the single guys this is no thing; for the rest of us, it is a nut kick waiting to happen.
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