Tag: Business partnerships

business partnerships

Business Partnerships: Do You Share the Same Future Vision?

Entering into business partnerships—and choosing the partner—can have a major impact on your business for decades to come, which is why you should share a future vision; in fact, you may not have formally chosen someone to share your company to begin with, but rather you may have worked together for years, and perhaps even before your business was started. Many business partners come up with an idea, product, or business model together, sometimes in high school or college, and work for years until they are actually able to open a company of their own.

You may spend more time with your business partner than you do your marriage partner in some cases, and at times the stakes may be high as you are forced to make serious professional and financial decisions that affect not only you and your ability to make an income, but that of your entire team of employees too. Because there will be many important decisions to be made over the years, it is important to work with someone who shares your vision.

Although you and your partner may have started a company together, and there was never any sort of selection or interviewing process, many details should be worked out as you create your business partnership contract with the help of your business attorney from an office like the Bolender Law Firm. Many of the details regarding your company vision should get worked out naturally when creating the contract, on deciding who will act as the head of the business or CEO, how profits will be paid out, how job duties will be designated, who will be in charge of the hiring and firing, and how shares will be passed on if a partner were to leave the company or to pass away unexpectedly.

A vision for the future is vital to the success of any company, so, along with many of your other employees most likely too, establish what you want to achieve in the present and in the long-term. Various business models should be created, with goals set and monitored closely. It is also critical to discuss how you want to hire employees, whether in part time or full-time capacity, or as independent contractors. You may also need to establish whether intellectual property requires registration, and how to handle such issues with contractors who could feasibly walk out the door with company designs.

While the challenges may be great, the rewards are often even greater when it comes to owning your own business. In many cases, every day is exciting, but most entrepreneurs or even large corporate owners will find themselves running into conflict at some point. Because of this, you should have a dispute resolution clause built into the business partnership contract. This can be created while everyone is still on good terms, allowing you to decide how any dispute would be decided—whether in arbitration or mediation—or litigation. You can also discuss who would be responsible for attorneys’ fees and where any proceedings will take place, in terms of the courthouse or county.

Do you need legal assistance with a partnership or business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm. Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

business partnership

The Business Partnership: Handling the Hierarchy

A business partnership may form for many different reasons. You may be working with someone that you have known almost your entire life, or for most of your business life anyway. A potential business partner may be someone you have worked with in college, innovating with technology or creating a unique business model. Some partners may come on at the founding of the company or later. They may be beneficial additions to the business as they complement your talents and those of others, offering different experiences and ways of doing things. Or perhaps they may be a partner offering to inject the company with capital—and hoping for a good return on their investment later.

The life of a business owner is very busy, overall—and while many entrepreneurs may find that to be a gross understatement—the bottom line is that you may not feel like you have a lot of time to spend on organizational duties for your corporation itself; however, building a solid foundation from the beginning helps promote a path to success later, and it is critical to take care of every aspect of that as soon as possible. This includes creating, reviewing, and signing partnership contracts as soon as any formal partnerships occur.

The partnership contract should consist of basic information regarding who is involved in one or more partnerships, along with any designated titles within the company. Whether you, or your partner, are CEO, CFO, COO, or any other type of officer, it should be noted in the contract. This allows for clear expectations within a business partnership, and especially if other specifics are listed in the contract such as delegation of duties. Creating and maintaining a hierarchy of the corporation results in clear expectations for everyone involved, wards off resentments later, and helps paint a solid picture for employees who should understand who is in charge, second in command, and holding positions on down the line.

The partnership contract should also include information like profit and loss distribution, information and agreements regarding how new partners will be taken on, as well as creating exit strategies for partners should they decide to leave the business. A dispute resolution clause should not be overlooked either as it is a great way to decide on how to handle any legal dispute ahead of time, including how legal fees are to be paid, and in what county such proceedings would be handled.

Do you need legal assistance with a partnership issue or business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm.  Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

Potential Business Partners: What Do They Offer to the Company That You Cannot?

While millions of small businesses thrive in the US today, they exist in a vast array of different dynamics and types, from corporations to sole proprietorships, to partnerships, and more. If you have just founded a new company, you may be working with one or more individuals who you have known for quite some time; in fact, it is not unheard of for business partners to have known each other since they were kids, and the business may be a product of a dream that you even brainstormed about as kids. Finally opening a business probably seemed like a dream come true, and you still may be pinching yourself to see if it is really happening—and especially if the cash flow is positive.

There are many different trains of though and opinions on having business partners and business partnership contracts. Business partners can offer many different benefits to you and your company. If you created your business model and business product or services together, then your partnership model is probably very strong. If you are just opening your business later in life or bringing on a new partner after the business has been opened, it could be because you need more capital, and this partner will also function as an investor.

You may be bringing someone on because of their specific skills, and this could be invaluable to the success of your business later. Someone new coming into the company should complement your skills, rather than just matching them. No matter who you bring into your business is crucial to have the proper partnership contract drawn up so there are not questions later. The great thing about a business partnership contract is that you can even include a clause regarding dispute resolution. Trust us, it’s much better to do that while you are getting along, then later when there is already a legal dispute in progress.

Do you have questions about a business issue, or do you need legal assistance regarding a business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm.  Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

 

business partner contracts

New Business Partner? Contracts May Need to Be Updated for Everyone

If you are the owner or a partner in a business, you may find yourself immersed in daily details. While your true job is to make sure that the clients keep coming in by the droves, you may often feel like you are able to do everything but that. Your team needs you, and you must not only be a great role model to them, but also pay them, offer enticing benefits, make sure everyone is being treated properly, and continue finding good hires as necessary. You must work with vendors—and these could be extremely long-term relationships, so they should stay as positive as possible, always. There may be landlords, real estate to deal with, and so much more.

Aside from having enough capital to maintain your business, the other most important facet to keeping your company successful is how you run it. For many owners, this means bringing in new partners. Perhaps you are bringing in one new partner of your choosing, and someone you know you will get along with – or perhaps there is a new partner joining a group of you. Regardless, business partnership contracts are in order. And while many other aspects of your business may be critical, without a sound contract locked down from the beginning, a legal issue with a partner could be extremely costly to your business.

Upon bringing in a new partner, consider everything anew—and especially if you are restructuring. What will their duties be, along with everyone else’s now? Will there be new titles? What about pay structure and profit disbursements? There should also be clauses regarding any exit strategies, dissolution plans, and more, to include a conflict resolution clause to be put into effect if there is a legal dispute; in fact, this clause can be so detailed that you will know ahead of time whether litigation would be chosen as the mode for resolution, or perhaps mediation or arbitration. Writing new contracts may also be a good time to update other partner’s job descriptions as well as negotiating some financial terms.

Do you need legal assistance with a business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm.  Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

When a Business Partner Dies: Dealing with All the Changes

Running a business can be one of the most rewarding yet stressful experiences you will ever enjoy and endure. You may have fulfilled a lifelong dream, and perhaps even had a business model just waiting in your pocket, looking for the right time to strike out on your own. Once there, you were probably surprised to be weighed down with issues like employees and turnover rate, human resources knowledge to be attained and applied, complexities of working with vendors, the challenges in making payroll, dealing with clients (and keeping clients) and so much more.

Partnership issues can be extremely complex too. You may have had a long-term friendship with an individual before starting a business together, and that bond can remain strong. Others may have several partners, some who are more like investors than actual participants—while yet others may be married couples working together. Personalities and how much time you spend together have a lot to do with your success in working and staying together, much like a marriage, and if financial stress or other issues begin to plague your business, there could be serious strain on your partnership.

The strain is usually even worse if one partner dies. You may be in a serious state of bereavement, to begin with (and the grieving period, of course, may stretch on indefinitely), along with having lost a major player and contributor in your business. And just as it so often is with losing a family member, everyone may be wondering ‘what to do now,’ and how to fill the empty space they have left behind in your company. At this point it is time to read over that business partnership contract we very much hope you created during the inception of your business.

It is prudent for everyone involved for you to have a clause stipulating what would happen to the partner’s shares in the event of their death. Would you be given the right to buy out any heirs first? Right of refusal is critical to discuss; otherwise, you could find yourself with your partner’s spouse or nephew taking over part of your company. It might be surprising for them to desire to do so—and especially if the new party is not feeling exactly welcome—but there is a good chance they may want to sell too. In that case, you will again need a good business attorney from a law office like the Bolender Law Firm to handle the transaction.

Do you need legal assistance with a business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm.  Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

Business Partnerships

Business Partnerships: Can a Spouse Take Over Shares?

Owning a business is full of challenges; in fact, there may be days when you wish you had never come up with that original mind-blowing idea that set you in motion for working long days and nights, expending all that proverbial blood, sweat, and tears, and often feeling like more time is spent at the office with employees and those engaged in business partnerships than at home with your family. The irony is that while you are busy trying to make a living and sock away the dough for your family, you are forced to leave them for long periods of time. That doesn’t mean you forget about them though—and on the contrary, as family is first in the mind for most of us all day.

While it is important to make sure your family is covered in your will and all estate planning, this could play a part in your business partnership also. This critical contract should cover a long list of items to foresee that everyone is protected, beginning with items like who the officers and shareholders are, and what titles they hold in the business, if any. General job duties and pay should be outlined, along with discussion of other financial issues such as when profits are distributed each year.

What happens, however, if you or another partner were to die? Who gets your shares in the business? This should be established when you are forming the partnership contract, as there may be some discussion regarding how you want to structure it. You may want to consider whether you would want the right of refusal to buy the other partner’s shares should they die or want to leave or discuss the best structure if you do want to leave your shares to a surviving spouse, other family member, or outside party. If this is not agreed upon by all in the contract, it is usually not possible, by law, for a third party to be ‘substituted’ for a family member or other partner.

Speak with your business attorney about creating an airtight partnership contract. This is key in the beginning, and especially when everyone is getting along. A dispute resolution clause should be included also, establishing what type of resolution all parties would turn to in the case of a legal issues, whether that would be litigation, mediation, or arbitration. Details such as what county the resolution would take place in and who would pay attorney’s fees are usually included too.

Do you need legal assistance with a business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm.  Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

buyout agreements

Buyout Agreements Should Be Airtight

As a business owner, you take on a multitude of responsibilities that may not have been part of the original starry-eyed dream; in fact, the world of commerce continues to become more complicated as human resources issues grow around the US, tax laws are ever changing, the economy is unpredictable, and the marketplace is fiercely competitive for most industries today. But what about issues within your own business foundation, such as partnerships? Whether you own equal parts of the company or you control most of it, solid business contracts should be created in the beginning.

The beginnings of any startup can be both an extremely stressful but forward-thinking time. Full of excitement and positivity for most, if you are working with one or more partners, it is probably like the honeymoon phase of a marriage in some ways. You can’t imagine ever dissolving your business relationship; after all, you are in it together. And partnerships in business do offer a wide range of benefits. You can share duties, share the stress, create products and services together, watch your company grow (not unlike a family), offset financial burdens as you work together in providing capital to the company, and set goals for the future. While the going is good, however, get that partnership contract in place, and cover all the bases—even if some of them may be uncomfortable in discussing what could happen in the future.

The partnership agreement should outline the typical basic structure such as who is involved and who will do what. Titles should be agreed on and included in the agreement, as well as payment and profit-disbursement structures. Even more importantly, there should be a concrete dispute resolution clause—and creating this while everyone is on good terms can be vital to the success of your business should there be a major falling out or even a lawsuit later. This allows you to discuss how a dispute would be handled, where, and even who would pay attorney’s fees. Along those lines, there should also be comprehensive clauses covering what happens in the case of dissolution and/or a buyout. Will you want the right to buy out the partner’s shares? Will they be able to hand down their shares to family members or others outside the organization? Just as the partnership felt like a new marriage in the beginning, dissolving or completing a buyout may feel strangely like a divorce. And you must work just as hard to protect your assets!

Along with having the business assessed properly for valuation, there will be significant paperwork to be handled by your business attorney. Keeping the situation as civil as possible can be key to everyone parting ways with success, and your lawyer acting as the negotiating party could be a vital part of this action. The key is to hedge your bets in the beginning and uphold your partnership contract to the end.

The Bolender Law Firm will advocate on behalf of clients through litigation, arbitration, or non-binding mediation. Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

business partnerships

Business Partnerships: Five Reasons to Avoid Them

Making a go of it with a new business can be one of the most satisfying ventures one will ever experience in life—and in some cases, it may be one of the most terrifying too. Including a partner means you have someone to carry the burden with overall, as well as helping to supply much-needed capital—not only for start-up but in the critical months and first few years that follow also. There may be initial peace in knowing you have another shoulder to lean on, but as is so often the case, one or more partnerships could end up being perceived as a liability in the future.

Although you could become involved in one or more partnerships that are extremely valuable and long-lasting, consider these reasons to avoid taking on one or more partners:

  1. Two (or three) can be a crowd – this can especially become an issue if you began a business partnership with someone you have known for a long time, but the friendship becomes strained, for whatever reason. Working in a partnership may be difficult too when it comes to decision-making. You may find that you don’t really want to have to ask someone else’s opinion or gain their permission to implement something new in the company, hire or fire someone, or buy or sell inventory, real estate, or other items.
  2. Finances – as with a marriage, disputes over money can be one of the most common issues, as well as the reason for dissolution of a partnership – and something that carries on past the separation point and into the courtroom, with the possibility of litigation.
  3. Disputes regarding shares – while this could be an immediate threat, there is also the possibility for conflict or vulnerability later if your partner wants to sell their shares to an outside party or dies and leaves them to a spouse who you could then feasibly suddenly find yourself working with every day.
  4. Resentments over work duties – although this should be outlined clearly when the company is formed, resentments can build later if your partner feels like they are being asked to do too much, or like full-time employees sometimes feel – as if they are being compensated too little in return. This can become challenging in difficult times when everyone may be forced to take on extra duties and put in more hours for the good of the company.
  5. Differing visions regarding the future of the company – this may have been what brought you together with a partner, along with creating a specific, unique innovation to offer to the public. Visions and strategies can change as time goes on, however, and a serious divergence in planning for later can cause conflict you may not want to deal with.

Do you need legal assistance with a business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm.  Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!

Business strategies

Business Strategies: Figure out Partnership Exits at the Beginning

While some business owners employ many different business strategies and some prefer to fly solo, many others find that their companies thrive with the boost of one or more partners; in fact, if you do have business partners, these could be individuals you have known for many years—and they may have been integral in helping to develop your business model, products, intellectual property, and more. The key to a successful business partnership is much like that of any relationship: communication is key, along with a clear outline of what is expected of everyone.

Speak to your business attorney as soon as possible about having partnership contracts drawn up, defining titles, delegated duties, and information regarding profits and how and when they are to be dispensed. Even more important though is the exit strategy. And although this might seem like a negative thing to be considering from the beginning, the reality is that many partners do go in different directions over time, and it is better to have a plan while everyone is on good terms. This gives stability for the future too, as everyone knows what the plan is should one partner or another wish to depart or sell their shares.

The exit strategy for partners should include establishing the value of the business and then giving one or more partners the right to buy out their shares if that was the agreed upon plan; otherwise, they may want to leave their shares to family members or sell them to individuals from outside the company—a move which could lead to surprising complexities for existing partners who may later wish they had taken the chance to buy out the exiting partner.

Another important quotient in the business partnership contract is a dispute resolution clause. Again, deciding on such details before anyone is angry or suing can lead to a much better outcome later should a dispute arise. Dispute resolution clauses can be extremely detailed, outlining what type of method would be used, whether litigation, arbitration, or mediation. They may also be used to indicate where the resolution would take place, and who would be responsible for paying any attorneys’ fees, should that be an issue.

Do you need legal assistance with a business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm.  Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!