Figure Out Your Partnership

Running a business as a sole proprietor can be hugely rewarding, but at the same time it is very stressful. Finding other avenues through which the stress can be shared is something you should look at if you are in this situation. However, turning your business into a company with directors and such may not be an option for you. In this situation, you can possibly look at a business partnership.

However, partnerships are always fragile and have a great potential to go belly up somewhere down the line. To avoid this you can put some safeguards in place. The best time to do that is at the very beginning when the partnership is being formed. Putting in a partnership agreement or contract at this stage is the prudent thing to do. Here are some factors that should be included in the contract.

1. How this partnership will function
2. Who takes care of what and what each person’s responsibilities are
3. What role will each partner play in the business
4. How will the profits be shared amongst you
5. What are the targets or goals of this partnership
6. Why are you coming together for this partnership

By answering or not answering all these questions, you will get a better picture of whether this partnership will succeed or not. After all, it is better to have disputes before anything begins rather than have problems some time down the line.

Finally, you should always seek legal help when putting contracts together. That way you can discover all the pitfalls and liabilities that await you, in the event that something does go wrong.