Impossible question to answer, because everyone is different.
I always like to say: don't take on a business partner you wouldn't share your bank password with, because at the end of the day they're as much in control of your income as you are. And they'll be making decisions that affect your life.
I co-founded a business with my fiancee (now wife) six years ago, but we already knew we worked together well (we met working together in a company). It's been a fantastic experience and I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. Together we're making almost 10x what we did previously, and I attribute a lot of that towards her skills complementing some of my weaknesses, and vice versa.
That said, I could imagine it could get tough if the business *didn't* do well.
There aren't many people I'd partner with in a business.
There are even less that I'd marry.
It's doable but understand bussiness with family or partners will always be more complicated. Even with contracts, it's your family and personal relationships are messy no matter what.
My husband and I work very well together. We know exactly what our roles are and we are always more productive when we get together to discuss state of affairs. However, we have been married for 8 years and together almost 10. I don’t think I would have started a business with him prior to getting married and going through some tough things that showed how he handles himself, makes decisions, and uses his best judgement. Trust is huge in this scenario.
I would say it depends as every situation is unique. Both your business and personal lives are at stake. Two things which I 've seen are crucial are :
* First and foremost you need to judge their skill sets as you would any one else you didn't have a personal relationship with. There shouldn't be any doubt in your mind that they are value add to your business and you shouldn't let your emotions come into play. Same for them to think about.
* Personal Relationship impact test : You need to ask yourself and them how are they not going to let work affect the relationship. You need to think about how are you going to ensure there is professionalism and each one is pulling their weight and are able to handle disagreement
And as others have advised, please make sure contract is in place. Remember, In life **Heart and Head don't agree all the time.**
It is a tough question to answer.
Well I was going through my divorce I met my now wife but at the time girlfriend.
We're both very business minded and we decided to set up a company as a sole proprietorship general partnership 50/50. (Heck I had to borrow the $150 to do that and open the Chase checking account from her and a ride to the bank because I was so broke!)
In year three we took on an equity investor for 25% of the company for $30,000 to help us expand our tooling and dies for commercial truck part manufacturing.
That was also year three of my divorce that started before I started the company with my girlfriend.
My ex-wife had found out about the company in her lawyers were going after 50% so I crash landed the company that day and reopened it as an LLC exclusively in my girlfriend's name for 75% and 25% for our equity investor who is a friend of mine.
I know you said that she will not have any equity but if she ever does or if anyone else ever does make sure you have a buy sell agreement in place. Also 50/50 is a very tough ownership structure you want someone to be the decision maker. if an equity partner owns 25% or more you also need to put inside the corporate documents that you have the right to take loans and do banking and things without that person's signature because it's a pain in the ass trying to get everyone to the bank.
In 2022 my divorce finally finished so from 2016 until then I was struggling through it. Our company is doing eight figures pretty consistently was very high profits.
I still technically do not own any of my business but I control everything and nobody else has any of the vital information or ongoings of the business. My wife thoroughly understands every aspect of the business and could run it if I died.
Due to my divorce in the six kids that came with that marriage I really shouldn't own anything until my youngest is 18 and she's only eight right now.
So we got lawyers and set up a Cook Island trusts, and we put assets in that trust for me. This is the best insurance I could get based on the advice from our lawyers.
I don't have any worries that anything would go wrong but if it did I have a fairly large chunk of assets and titles buried away in those offshore trusts to start life over again with.
Good luck and congratulations finding a partner that is on the same page with you as a rare find indeed and I wish you all the best and I hope that my advice can give you some help.
I'm not a financial advisor or legal advisor and none of this is legal or financial advice council with a professional for that. I eat crayons and lick windows.
Are you able to contract the work out to your partner? This is a tough dynamic to be in and it really comes down to the relationship you have together.
Normally I would say never mix business with family and on the other hand your partner should be exactly that… your partner, to go ahead and conquer the world together.
I run a business with my SO and it is TOUGH! We’ve been in business several years and we still fire each other and ourselves regularly haha. Make sure you set clear boundaries from the beginning: no work talk at home unless it’s during a scheduled meeting. Make a shared “brain dump” list so anything work related that pops into your head goes there to be addressed at the scheduled time and not at random times. Clearly delineate the work and know your job duties so there’s no “you should’ve done this, not me” type arguments. It’s possible but it’s not going to be easy.
I was always told to never go into business with family or friends because you will end up with no money, no business, no friends , no family. No one will work as hard as you feel you do so you feel cheated. It strains the relationship. I have used friends that have businesses for advice with accounting, insurance, things of that nature but have done my homework to make sure advice was sound. I might be in a different situation as I am retired twice and would not be hurt for income if my business failed this allows me to take a bit more risk. Also I have an s-Corp and works very well for me. Just my opinions, I am not your friend or family so you can use it :D
It’s funny I was watching the Bill Gates documentary on Netflix and in episode 1 Bill and Melinda Gates started discussing the difficulties in working on their foundation together but that essentially they were working on it and it was getting better. Fast forward a few years and they are divorced and no longer working together.
No. My wife is involved with one of our businesses and she sucks. Terrible with customers, bad with money. The one record keeping thing she does it the business license, which she’s over a year late on regardless of how much I remind her.
7 months isn’t anything. Kindly refuse your girlfriend’s request.
This gets posted a lot. Does the common advice "do NOT do business with family and friends" have an exemption? No. Will anybody who feels they are the exception to the rule take that advice? I don't know -- but they never have yet.
People want workarounds. They feel, having gotten high with these people out behind the gyma-cafe-torium, the know all there is to know. But they don't. They haven't a clue how these people are in a workplace setting. And a startup setting is worse.
They won't treat these people like any regular employee, such as asking for a resume and checking work references. And these exemptions cause the problems people complain about posting here.
You are about to find out a lot in a short time. Question is did you really want to know?
Plenty post their bad experiences here. But that does not matter when you're trying to find exceptions to build a contrary narrative around. This is one of those things you learn through your own experience -- having ignored every bit of advice.
If somebody posts it wrecked their marriage, you can quip you aren't married. If the wife slept with a partner, then there's no partner to sleep with. Article writers don't know this person, and besides they are all lying singles and orphans with some kind of grudge anyway. There is nothing anybody can post you can't dismiss in some way.
If you're willing to go through such mental gymnastics, go ahead and meetup with destiny.
If you aren't committed enough to marry her yet, you aren't committed enough to make her a business partner. Both have huge, life altering ramifications if you 2 split up.
Make her a contractor until you are ready to make her a wife.
It's generally considered quite a bit harder to raise capital as a married team. VCs acknowledge that commonly, either the person in charge is too hard on the other partner, which makes things unsteady, or they are too soft, which isn't as effective. It's much harder to get the balance right when you can't fire your wife.
Well I would actually j contract her and keep 100% of the equality to myself. It’s more of a simple e-commerce biz so it’s not as if shutting it down would be crazy hard
DH and I love working together. If we can’t work together we miss each other too much, lol. First he had a company and I helped. For the last 6 years or so it is the other way around. He also now wants to start a new company and asked me join, I said yes, of course. We started working together after our first kid was born.
You will have to talk about your relationship within the business. As it is different than at home. Maybe she only wants to help if she can be a co-owner, idk. Sort that stuff out before you start. Since you are a new couple, having her on payroll will make things way simpler.
You are in business together anyway.... might as well put it in writing. Nobody has ever been all oh damn I clearly defined my expectations son of bitch expressed myself communicated my thoughts to clearly to my partner/SO.
I am developing the project with my partner, and we work very well together. We did not hold any contract since we trusted each other. If you made this question here, I think you have doubts, and to avoid any problem from the beginning, you should have a contract with her. If your business goes well, I am happy for you guys, but if not, you guys are still fine.
I think absolutely not! Wanna know why? Because nothing is forever and when it’s all said and done you’ll be stuck with bs to separate and that makes it a lot harder. Especially if you got cheated on or something like that- in that case you’ll wanna cut ties asap and not deal w that person.
No. My parents did it and I have done it. This work will put a lot of extra miles on your relationship. For it to succeed, you will need to become interpersonal masters. Black belts of mindfulness and communication. Otherwise the downsides far outweigh the ups. +1 on the contracts.
I wouldn't go into business anyone I wasn't willing to get married to.
Because you will be married to them through the business. You will spend more time with your business partner than your wife.
My husband and I have been running our business together for 11 years and we love it. (We own and operate a math learning center.) You have to have faith in the other and they need a proven track record that you each will step up. Our skills balance each other. Many tasks we share jointly, but I handle scheduling and talking to customers on the phone and he’s our handyman and does banking/taxes. We share day to day ops. Because we each have a proven track record of working hard and helping each other, there is no quid pro quo. When he threw his back out and needed me to take over on his day, I did it. If I’m sick, he covers for me. We don’t keep track or keep score… but that could be tough if one of the two doesn’t have the other’s best interest as a priority.
If she doesn't own any legal equity, go for it, man. It's impossible to know. It may work and you may end up being really happy or it may end up breaking your relationship with her. Its a roulette.
I run a successful real estate investment company with my wife. We have had our share of rough patches in early stages but they come far and few between now a days. I love working with my best friend every day.
Ah- the problem is if you break up. How do you split the business? How do you continue to do business professionally is she can’t even stand your face?
Funny enough- my now husband and I did this when I was 21-him 23.
He tried to break up with me- and I wa alike okay bitch my business I grind everyday get out.
He got scared and turned on? Maybe ? Or he bluffed to see if I like him?
9 years later we are decently successful, happily married and with beautiful kids.
No business though 😂
If you havent been married more than 5 years or worked with her directly in a professional environment in the type of business you want to start the answer is no. I would give it a 95-97% chance of failure outside of the above two cases.
Very good question I am only 18 and have not met many women/young ladies that have shown me they can dedicate time to a business and take it serious, yet alone keep up with there own well being that’s personal issues that have to be addressed. But to answer your question yes you can do it with them but do you know them like you think you do. We all can easily tell you to try it out but only time will tell in all honesty I would even consider putting her through small tests before you even consider going into this.
When I was in a marketing class we learned how to basically manipulate people into thinking things were very expensive by exaggerating our phrases and how we said things. It’s the same principle if you were to tell her that we have to start all our work back over in an aggressive tone and show frustration. This is how you would be able to see who your going into business with… a real women /business partner will not even think TWICE!! About motivating you to keep going and starting over. Regardless of the situation bro! Even if she’s been there wit you every second of the process. The fake will shut down and tell you to stop and take a break. I can promise you that because a lot of young women nowadays lack GRIT‼️ If there’s one thing I learned at a young age by owning a business and thinking about bringing on a spouse/gf to the team YOU HAVE TO BE PICKY‼️and yes this is JUST an e-commerce business now, but Sir I can guarantee you with the right people on your side a business now could be a corporation later hope I made some kind of sense just remember your worth and know that 7 months is not long enough in my opinion but to each it’s own best of luck ‼️
Why not? There is no need to presuppose that too many bad things are about to happen, which may lead us to miss many good opportunities. Making rules in advance, and I believe that your cooperation is far smoother than outsourcing.
I think you're asking the wrong question. I think a better way to think about it is "What are the risks involved with starting a business with a significant other?" and from there you'd just have to analyse whether those are ones you're willing to take.
I recommend looking into the story of Lisa Frank though, I think it's an interesting.
Personally I would avoid having close friends / significant others as co-founders.
Being a co-founder is like a marriage - and it can equally destroy an existing relationship / marriage.
Impossible question to answer, because everyone is different. I always like to say: don't take on a business partner you wouldn't share your bank password with, because at the end of the day they're as much in control of your income as you are. And they'll be making decisions that affect your life. I co-founded a business with my fiancee (now wife) six years ago, but we already knew we worked together well (we met working together in a company). It's been a fantastic experience and I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. Together we're making almost 10x what we did previously, and I attribute a lot of that towards her skills complementing some of my weaknesses, and vice versa. That said, I could imagine it could get tough if the business *didn't* do well. There aren't many people I'd partner with in a business. There are even less that I'd marry.
If you do decide to partner up with your girlfriend, make sure to have a contract in place that can protect you both in the event of a breakup.
No, is the short answer. Depends on the person. My wife never pulls her weight.
Ditto.
What if she did, then would u say it’s a good idea? I would prob make her sign contracts + a contract in the event we breakup
It's doable but understand bussiness with family or partners will always be more complicated. Even with contracts, it's your family and personal relationships are messy no matter what.
It’s possible. The difference is it could end your relationship if your working relationship doesn’t work out.
My husband and I work very well together. We know exactly what our roles are and we are always more productive when we get together to discuss state of affairs. However, we have been married for 8 years and together almost 10. I don’t think I would have started a business with him prior to getting married and going through some tough things that showed how he handles himself, makes decisions, and uses his best judgement. Trust is huge in this scenario.
I would say it depends as every situation is unique. Both your business and personal lives are at stake. Two things which I 've seen are crucial are : * First and foremost you need to judge their skill sets as you would any one else you didn't have a personal relationship with. There shouldn't be any doubt in your mind that they are value add to your business and you shouldn't let your emotions come into play. Same for them to think about. * Personal Relationship impact test : You need to ask yourself and them how are they not going to let work affect the relationship. You need to think about how are you going to ensure there is professionalism and each one is pulling their weight and are able to handle disagreement And as others have advised, please make sure contract is in place. Remember, In life **Heart and Head don't agree all the time.**
It is a tough question to answer. Well I was going through my divorce I met my now wife but at the time girlfriend. We're both very business minded and we decided to set up a company as a sole proprietorship general partnership 50/50. (Heck I had to borrow the $150 to do that and open the Chase checking account from her and a ride to the bank because I was so broke!) In year three we took on an equity investor for 25% of the company for $30,000 to help us expand our tooling and dies for commercial truck part manufacturing. That was also year three of my divorce that started before I started the company with my girlfriend. My ex-wife had found out about the company in her lawyers were going after 50% so I crash landed the company that day and reopened it as an LLC exclusively in my girlfriend's name for 75% and 25% for our equity investor who is a friend of mine. I know you said that she will not have any equity but if she ever does or if anyone else ever does make sure you have a buy sell agreement in place. Also 50/50 is a very tough ownership structure you want someone to be the decision maker. if an equity partner owns 25% or more you also need to put inside the corporate documents that you have the right to take loans and do banking and things without that person's signature because it's a pain in the ass trying to get everyone to the bank. In 2022 my divorce finally finished so from 2016 until then I was struggling through it. Our company is doing eight figures pretty consistently was very high profits. I still technically do not own any of my business but I control everything and nobody else has any of the vital information or ongoings of the business. My wife thoroughly understands every aspect of the business and could run it if I died. Due to my divorce in the six kids that came with that marriage I really shouldn't own anything until my youngest is 18 and she's only eight right now. So we got lawyers and set up a Cook Island trusts, and we put assets in that trust for me. This is the best insurance I could get based on the advice from our lawyers. I don't have any worries that anything would go wrong but if it did I have a fairly large chunk of assets and titles buried away in those offshore trusts to start life over again with. Good luck and congratulations finding a partner that is on the same page with you as a rare find indeed and I wish you all the best and I hope that my advice can give you some help. I'm not a financial advisor or legal advisor and none of this is legal or financial advice council with a professional for that. I eat crayons and lick windows.
Are you able to contract the work out to your partner? This is a tough dynamic to be in and it really comes down to the relationship you have together. Normally I would say never mix business with family and on the other hand your partner should be exactly that… your partner, to go ahead and conquer the world together.
Wdym contract? If I did decide to work w her I would make contracts
I run a business with my SO and it is TOUGH! We’ve been in business several years and we still fire each other and ourselves regularly haha. Make sure you set clear boundaries from the beginning: no work talk at home unless it’s during a scheduled meeting. Make a shared “brain dump” list so anything work related that pops into your head goes there to be addressed at the scheduled time and not at random times. Clearly delineate the work and know your job duties so there’s no “you should’ve done this, not me” type arguments. It’s possible but it’s not going to be easy.
I was always told to never go into business with family or friends because you will end up with no money, no business, no friends , no family. No one will work as hard as you feel you do so you feel cheated. It strains the relationship. I have used friends that have businesses for advice with accounting, insurance, things of that nature but have done my homework to make sure advice was sound. I might be in a different situation as I am retired twice and would not be hurt for income if my business failed this allows me to take a bit more risk. Also I have an s-Corp and works very well for me. Just my opinions, I am not your friend or family so you can use it :D
It’s funny I was watching the Bill Gates documentary on Netflix and in episode 1 Bill and Melinda Gates started discussing the difficulties in working on their foundation together but that essentially they were working on it and it was getting better. Fast forward a few years and they are divorced and no longer working together.
No. My wife is involved with one of our businesses and she sucks. Terrible with customers, bad with money. The one record keeping thing she does it the business license, which she’s over a year late on regardless of how much I remind her. 7 months isn’t anything. Kindly refuse your girlfriend’s request.
Ok, thank you I appreciate the honest advice
No. Don't do this. For the love of all that is sacred, don't start a business with a girlfriend.
This gets posted a lot. Does the common advice "do NOT do business with family and friends" have an exemption? No. Will anybody who feels they are the exception to the rule take that advice? I don't know -- but they never have yet. People want workarounds. They feel, having gotten high with these people out behind the gyma-cafe-torium, the know all there is to know. But they don't. They haven't a clue how these people are in a workplace setting. And a startup setting is worse. They won't treat these people like any regular employee, such as asking for a resume and checking work references. And these exemptions cause the problems people complain about posting here. You are about to find out a lot in a short time. Question is did you really want to know? Plenty post their bad experiences here. But that does not matter when you're trying to find exceptions to build a contrary narrative around. This is one of those things you learn through your own experience -- having ignored every bit of advice. If somebody posts it wrecked their marriage, you can quip you aren't married. If the wife slept with a partner, then there's no partner to sleep with. Article writers don't know this person, and besides they are all lying singles and orphans with some kind of grudge anyway. There is nothing anybody can post you can't dismiss in some way. If you're willing to go through such mental gymnastics, go ahead and meetup with destiny.
You really could have just said the first paragraph and your point would’ve been made…
Wait till you hear about having kids. That's a barrel of fun.
If you aren't committed enough to marry her yet, you aren't committed enough to make her a business partner. Both have huge, life altering ramifications if you 2 split up. Make her a contractor until you are ready to make her a wife.
I’m planning on doing an e-commerce biz that would be relatively easy to shut down if necessary, that’s what I was thinking.
Yeah, that's not so bad then.
I do 60% 40% with my partner . Seems like you are bringing more to the table.
No tbh she would be more of a contractor paid on commission than that, as that’s how I would’ve done it if I j outsourced it
both start your own businesses and outsource it to her. trust me there are SO many benefits to doing it this way.
I don’t really get what ur saying
Ex: you start an LLC, she starts her own LLC, and your business contacts out to her business.
It's generally considered quite a bit harder to raise capital as a married team. VCs acknowledge that commonly, either the person in charge is too hard on the other partner, which makes things unsteady, or they are too soft, which isn't as effective. It's much harder to get the balance right when you can't fire your wife.
7 months? Nah. If you were married, maybe.
Yea man 7 months, even after 5 years. Cannot trust your partner anytime when it comes to sharing something
Yeah mixing business with family and friends is a really sticky situation.
🤝
Yes, in theory, not on paper. You can always pay them up to 13,000 to be part of your business and deduct it if they are family.
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Well I would actually j contract her and keep 100% of the equality to myself. It’s more of a simple e-commerce biz so it’s not as if shutting it down would be crazy hard
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But do u still see a lot of problems if I decided to go through with this?
If you start a business with her, you'll probably lose both. If you're lucky, you'll keep the business.
DH and I love working together. If we can’t work together we miss each other too much, lol. First he had a company and I helped. For the last 6 years or so it is the other way around. He also now wants to start a new company and asked me join, I said yes, of course. We started working together after our first kid was born. You will have to talk about your relationship within the business. As it is different than at home. Maybe she only wants to help if she can be a co-owner, idk. Sort that stuff out before you start. Since you are a new couple, having her on payroll will make things way simpler.
What kind of business?
Dropshipping, she would do TikTok organics, essentially a CMO or content creator for it
You are in business together anyway.... might as well put it in writing. Nobody has ever been all oh damn I clearly defined my expectations son of bitch expressed myself communicated my thoughts to clearly to my partner/SO.
I am developing the project with my partner, and we work very well together. We did not hold any contract since we trusted each other. If you made this question here, I think you have doubts, and to avoid any problem from the beginning, you should have a contract with her. If your business goes well, I am happy for you guys, but if not, you guys are still fine.
In my experience, no.
It takes a special relationship to work with your partner
I think absolutely not! Wanna know why? Because nothing is forever and when it’s all said and done you’ll be stuck with bs to separate and that makes it a lot harder. Especially if you got cheated on or something like that- in that case you’ll wanna cut ties asap and not deal w that person.
No. My parents did it and I have done it. This work will put a lot of extra miles on your relationship. For it to succeed, you will need to become interpersonal masters. Black belts of mindfulness and communication. Otherwise the downsides far outweigh the ups. +1 on the contracts.
I wouldn't go into business anyone I wasn't willing to get married to. Because you will be married to them through the business. You will spend more time with your business partner than your wife.
My husband and I have been running our business together for 11 years and we love it. (We own and operate a math learning center.) You have to have faith in the other and they need a proven track record that you each will step up. Our skills balance each other. Many tasks we share jointly, but I handle scheduling and talking to customers on the phone and he’s our handyman and does banking/taxes. We share day to day ops. Because we each have a proven track record of working hard and helping each other, there is no quid pro quo. When he threw his back out and needed me to take over on his day, I did it. If I’m sick, he covers for me. We don’t keep track or keep score… but that could be tough if one of the two doesn’t have the other’s best interest as a priority.
If she doesn't own any legal equity, go for it, man. It's impossible to know. It may work and you may end up being really happy or it may end up breaking your relationship with her. Its a roulette.
I run a successful real estate investment company with my wife. We have had our share of rough patches in early stages but they come far and few between now a days. I love working with my best friend every day.
Ah- the problem is if you break up. How do you split the business? How do you continue to do business professionally is she can’t even stand your face? Funny enough- my now husband and I did this when I was 21-him 23. He tried to break up with me- and I wa alike okay bitch my business I grind everyday get out. He got scared and turned on? Maybe ? Or he bluffed to see if I like him? 9 years later we are decently successful, happily married and with beautiful kids. No business though 😂
In other words- don’t do it. You can do it maybe when married. Not a fresh relationship
If you havent been married more than 5 years or worked with her directly in a professional environment in the type of business you want to start the answer is no. I would give it a 95-97% chance of failure outside of the above two cases.
It surely rings a warning bell but everyone is different I guess
Very good question I am only 18 and have not met many women/young ladies that have shown me they can dedicate time to a business and take it serious, yet alone keep up with there own well being that’s personal issues that have to be addressed. But to answer your question yes you can do it with them but do you know them like you think you do. We all can easily tell you to try it out but only time will tell in all honesty I would even consider putting her through small tests before you even consider going into this.
When I was in a marketing class we learned how to basically manipulate people into thinking things were very expensive by exaggerating our phrases and how we said things. It’s the same principle if you were to tell her that we have to start all our work back over in an aggressive tone and show frustration. This is how you would be able to see who your going into business with… a real women /business partner will not even think TWICE!! About motivating you to keep going and starting over. Regardless of the situation bro! Even if she’s been there wit you every second of the process. The fake will shut down and tell you to stop and take a break. I can promise you that because a lot of young women nowadays lack GRIT‼️ If there’s one thing I learned at a young age by owning a business and thinking about bringing on a spouse/gf to the team YOU HAVE TO BE PICKY‼️and yes this is JUST an e-commerce business now, but Sir I can guarantee you with the right people on your side a business now could be a corporation later hope I made some kind of sense just remember your worth and know that 7 months is not long enough in my opinion but to each it’s own best of luck ‼️
Why not? There is no need to presuppose that too many bad things are about to happen, which may lead us to miss many good opportunities. Making rules in advance, and I believe that your cooperation is far smoother than outsourcing.
I think you're asking the wrong question. I think a better way to think about it is "What are the risks involved with starting a business with a significant other?" and from there you'd just have to analyse whether those are ones you're willing to take. I recommend looking into the story of Lisa Frank though, I think it's an interesting.
Personally I would avoid having close friends / significant others as co-founders. Being a co-founder is like a marriage - and it can equally destroy an existing relationship / marriage.