Comments on: 11 Ways To Avoid Entrepreneurial Divorce Court

By: Links for Super-Charged Living - July 12, 2008 | My Super-Charged Life

Links for Super-Charged Living - July 12, 2008 | My Super-Charged Life — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:01:19 +0000

[...] Spirit 11 Ways To Avoid Entrepreneurial Divorce CourtHow Social Media Can Help (or Kill) Your Career and [...]

By: Jeff Flowers

Jeff Flowers — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:58:09 +0000

Two words — PRE-NUP

(or is that one word, with two syllables?)

By: Scott Hebert » Blog Archive » Linking Logs :: 2008-07-08

Scott Hebert » Blog Archive » Linking Logs :: 2008-07-08 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:44:34 +0000

[...] 11 Ways To Avoid Entrepreneurial Divorce CourtI’ve been dealing with the entrepreneurial bug for a few years, but I haven’t quite found the right people to make any ideas go. [...]

By: Jim Carlson

Jim Carlson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:58:47 +0000

As a fiercely independent musician and internet marketing consultant, I have been approached several times to ‘join forces’ with others.

People are drawn to entrepreneurs because it is an appealing alternative to the 9-5 lifestyle, however, they rarely see the hard work, dedication and discipline it takes to succeed.

The biggest question I ask myself is: Do I have the time to commit to another project or person? In the end time is money, and time spent on a new venture takes time away from current projects. Is the time investment a wise choice?

Your article is a great checklist and I will refer to it often.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:40:44 +0000

I am starting a new business with a friend that I have worked with for the past 5 years. We taught together working on the same team. We know each others strengths and weaknesses. We respect each other and know each other well. We are a great fit in that her strengths and the aspects of the business that she likes the most are different from my strengths and what I like in the business. We made a pledge to give “truth in love” not hangin on to things that bother us or hurt our feelings but to lay it on the table and discuss it before it gets big and out of control. We’ve already done this once and it ended up working out and all was good. I think you really have to be honest and trusting. You have not worry about a title or who looks like the top dog but look at what is best for the company. If you can’t do that, hang it up.

By: Gail

Gail — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:03:09 +0000

Well, I have learned the hard way, that what people say they will do, and what they do are two different things. It is like courtship, and basically if it’s worth it you can work things out for the great good of the business. In the end, there are still some things that no matter how careful, you just can’t predict until you are “in-bed” with that person. So my suggestion is to go with your gut, the initial instinct that tells you what you think. Unfortunately we often let our minds convince us that someone is what we want, that gets us into trouble!

By: Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D.

Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:19:08 +0000

Testing the waters in a business is even more critical when the proposed partner is a relative. I have never been successful getting any of my relatives on board with my businesses mainly because they didn’t want to be scrutinized for suitability, much less “date” first.

Even as employees with clearly defined tasks, my relatives fell short. I once fired a niece and deducted her portion of my phone bill from her pay when she failed to respect my rule about not calling her boyfriend while on duty, especially since he was in another zone.

Your list is not too robust. It’s far better to get as much clear in the beginning than it is to regret the damage that can be done to your business.

The most important things on your list are requiring them to write out their goals, submit resume and references and exploring the exact nature of their contribution to the business.

Those who refuse to comply with these requirements eliminate themselves. Those who make it through are now ready for a “date.”

Go Jonathan!

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:13:04 +0000

Good stuff. Always best to layout expectations at the beginning. Makes it easier to say yes or no upfront and later on.

On the opposite side, I have a friend who shared a brilliant, revolutionary idea he has. I’ve been pumped ever since, but he’s been slow to do ANYTHING. We’ve “dated” and could fit, but this inaction is a big turn-off.

Jonathan and community, how can I get the idea moving without a) leaving him out (thus violating all my moral principle) or b) getting the idea going with his consent, but without him onboard?

Thanks for any advice. I enjoy the convo immensely.

By: Avoid One Thing » Blog Archive » 11 Ways To Avoid Entrepreneurial Divorce Court

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:21:51 +0000

[...] 11 Ways To Avoid Entrepreneurial Divorce Court Talking about how you each work and what you value is one thing, but walking the walk is another. A lot of people like to think they are far more open, flexible, kind, tolerant, respectful, vision-oriented and skilled with people and … [...]

By: Tony Maro

Tony Maro — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:48:34 +0000

We brought in a business consultant / venture capitalist a while back who we all thought was going to be the be-all-end-all for us. We were all excited over the prospects he brought to the table, coming from our target market and he had started two companies both which sold for over $100 mil.

He presented very nicely. We responded with “looks great! Give us a week to have our attorney’s and accountants look it over.” He was very offended that we would have experts look over his proposal and said as much.

We told him to take a hike. If he had truly had our best interests at heart, he would have encouraged us to have our accountants look it over first.