Safest way to enter partnerships?

[Darknight]

Iv got spare money and plan to start a host however.
2-4 people are better than 1, infact it seems stupid to do it by yourself, when others will be doing it by themselves.
Power is in numbers.
But how to safe guard from getting ripped?

 

[eSupun]

Get a lawyer and make an agreement with your partners. It would make you much safer.

 

[WL-Michael]

What ^^ said. Or if you're feeling frisky and want to save money purchase a custom made doc from legalzoom.com's partnership agreement section and have it notarized & witnessed.

I think they use in-house attorneys to draw these up anyways.

 

[[SRVLYR] Ivan]

Or you can create a contract your partners can sign and if any mislead or offense to the contract, you can take it up to the court

 

[jphilipson]

Or don't use partners, use employees.

 

[sarmth]

The thing to know... You cannot be protected. Not entirely.

 

[Samardin]

The thing to know... You cannot be protected. Not entirely.

You are correct. However, I believe the OP would like to minimize his liability to the fullest extent practicable. It is important that you not only protect yourself from fellow partners, but from clientèle and the public at large. You should explore limited partnerships, companies or corporations. A competent attorney can help guide you.


Disclaimer: Do not rely on any legal advice put forth in this discussion until you speak with legal counsel.

 

[HL-Sean]

Always have paperwork to back yourself up. When entering a partnership I would have everything written on paper. Also do not use your personal paypal account, I suggest creating a new paypal account just for the business.

 

[WebIntellects-R]

I think that will not be good idea at all to start business with people you do not trust at all.

 

[~ServerPoint~]

If you do not believe in your current partners - find another ones. That is recommended

 

[flashfango]

I think you should give you and your partner a chance, don't doubt anybody in the beginning!

 

[deeplist]

Don't trust people that you don't know on a personal level. If you aren't 100% comfortable with them, then you shouldn't have them in a position to make decisions that could affect your business. Make them employees with limited power. That way, if something goes wrong, you can easily terminate them and continue your business without something detrimental happening.

 

[Eric_HE]

In my opinion,trust come first.

 

[Matt - HostMist]

nolo.com and findlaw.com - best legal advice I've ever gotten from a business lawyer. Lots of stuff on both sites to help you out and Nolo has lots of documents for sale that you can use.

As long as each partner signs it and agrees to it, then you're set. Make sure to write the terms out together and make sure you trust each person before doing it.

 

[Grace White]

Risks are everywhere in the business I think. Take a risk but once consult this matter legally.

 

[bluetiger]

Definitely consult a lawyer and get everything in contracts. Every now and then you a hear a story about someone who joined a partnership with someone else but everything between them was verbal and eventually someone gets ripped off

 

[Ydreece]

i agree that its all risky if we are talking about online partnership and that we don't have any idea who is this people behind their comp.

i've been with 2 partnerships online and was totally lost when everything grew (strange) especially during downtimes >.< even written agreements can be bypassed online.

at some point, there are still lots of people out there that are still reliable and good, whether it is verbal or written agreement. (its really hard to find one though)

so yeah know more about your partner/s, constant communication and consider each other on planning stuffs can work things out.
:fangel:

 

[Carver]

EchoSign.com is a way to sign contracts on line. I use it for my independent contractors.

 

[hostfunbd]

Or don't use partners, use employees.

This Is The Good Idea

 

[FW-Matt]

LTD may be a good idea Or maybe signing on as a Solo Trader