I have heard of so many horror stories, even in my own family of partnerships gone wrong, even when it seemed so right in the beginning.

Would you please share your experience and if you think that partnerships in general are a good idea?

Thanks!

From the experience my grandpa had with his old business partner, bad and because of it he is still working... at almost 85.

There are many pluses and minuses for sure.

One plus is finding someone that is strong in the areas that you may not be. Example; if you are strong in sales then you would want to find someone that is strong in operations and administrative skills.

Make sure that your personalities are similar, very, very important.

Going into business with your spouse or family is usually NOT a good idea.

If you are going into business with one other person, NEVER, NEVER accept LESS than 50% ownership, if you do, you are an employee for all intent and purposes. For example, if you have 49.999%, you are an employee.

Business Cancer

It seems sleep is my natural state now. As soon as I wake-up, I want to hurry back. It's no doubt depression, a depression resulting from the Cancer that inadvertently began to destroy me at the very moment plans were being made for an optimistic future. But I need one last fight, a Herculean effort greater than all the others required by this endeavor, or my chances of survival are nil. Though I've indeed made my bed, I must refuse to lay in it.

The Disease I speak of entered my life during a conversation about my decades of designing games. He found many of them impressive and wondered why I'd never taken any beyond the prototype stage. Being an introvert with no talent for sales and never being in a position to take a financial gamble, none of my ideas were likely to reach the market.

Didn't I see that the bridge between my ideas and the market was right in front of me. He excitedly prophesied a future of unimagined success. His points didn't seem all that far-fetched. We couldn't walk a block in downtown Chicago without 2 or 3 people stopping to greet and reminisce about some aspect of their past. There was no reason he couldn't sell a few thousand games to his friends alone.

Financing a business would still be a problem. We had recently found ourselves out-of-work from the sales job where we'd met. My dismissal made sense, since I had no talent for sales. He had been an instant star, whose accomplishments were well known throughout the office. But very few succeeded with this Company, which sold electricity to businesses at a higher current rate with promises of potential future savings. I was surprised he lasted as long as he did.

Our frequent conversations over the next few weeks centered on the creation of a gaming company and eventually it seemed foolish not to. I've never liked taking or giving orders, which made me a poor fit for organizations. And I was at that age where getting a job is difficult during the best of times. The economic climate made the risk more appealing.

With the growing appeal of a business of our own, I decided to fund the endeavor with credit cards. My credit history was excellent, unlike my friend's, who had lost his cards years ago.

So it began, my free time consumed with constantly refining my most promising idea. We'd meet regularly to play test the results of my effort, during which I'd make further adjustments. After a few months a concept emerged that was applicable to any subject matter. I marveled at the finished product, which used geography as its subject.

Everyone loved it, including the few people in the Industry we were able to meet with, including professors of game design at a local university. There was an inquiry from a company representative about the possibility of selling the idea, but we had no intention of giving away my gem for pennies on the dollar.

My friend began talking about private jets and luxury vacations with a certainty I knew was premature. Much work remained and the odds were still against us. But a history making event on the National scene offered the potential to move the odds in our direction.

Senator Obama had just won the election. People were buying products associated with him that the creators had put little thought or effort in. Combining an innovative concept with this marketing bonanza seemed like a sure-fire formula for success.

We found a manufacturer, middleman really, who could deliver 2500 units one week before the inauguration. My friend thought I was being conservative, he favored an order of 10,000 units. I stood my ground, saying we'd start with 2500 and see what happened.

The games we were supposed to receive in mid-January arrived in mid-March. We weren't happy but at least we had them. And we had to admit the Manufacturer had done a wonderful job. I put up a website and Shiftingfortunes.com was born.

Although I had created and designed the Game, financed the business and performed all the ancillary duties, we were going to split the profits 50/50. It seemed reasonable given all those friends of his who would soon be customers.

But those friends of his who had loved the Game in its prototype stage were not making purchases. At least not purchases that put any money in my pocket. Occasionally he'd make comments about friends with 3 or so Games in their possession. When I'd press him on the money I wasn't seeing, he's respond that these friends were demonstrating them to others. There was always a big party coming-up that would take the bulk of the inventory off our hands.

The Game is impressive enough that it found its way into a number of stores, even nationwide chains. But the price had to be very high to accommodate my friend's 50% of the profit and the store's expected percentage. He always spoke-out against lowering the price. Calling it a fire sale we'd regret later.

The vast majority of the games were with me and my friend would periodically request more to send off to prospective out-of-town buyers. I was growing increasingly concerned because I had no income, only assurances that something big was about to break.

As I stated earlier, the games arrived in March. During a conversation with one of his friends in late April, I learned my Sales Manager was working full-time at a job secured by another of his friends. It all immediately made sense. He was seldom available by phone during the day. His calls to me were always at the same time, break times.

When I confronted him, he said he had needed money and it was only temporary anyway. It did turn out to be temporary. I later learned he lost the job. But the decision was made by his Boss, not him. The optimist in me was being smothered by reality.

I continually sought marketing ideas which I'd share with him. Associating our company with charities seemed to hold the promise of getting our name out there. I was sending out press releases, changing our website almost daily and always doing research.

My friends wondered if I was blind. Why had I undertaken this venture. Why had I chosen the partner I did? I had never liked judgmental people and avoided being that way myself. Perhaps I had carried that laudable impulse too far. They also wondered why he didn't move-on of his own volition.

I knew the answer to that question. Once I started creating games, I couldn't stop. Maybe it was an escape from the pain of reality. During a feverish period of creation, I came up with "Cheatie McCracken," which was based on the same concept as the President Obama Game. The first rendition seemed perfect and everyone loved it. During an even more feverish re-evaluation of "Cheatie," a game emerged that people could play 3 or 4 hours and yet want more. My friend intended on getting a piece of that.

I tried to use this as leverage. As soon as we get rid of the current game, we'll have "Cheatie" manufactured. This briefly produced more effort on his part. But background noise during phone calls indicated much of his time was being spent in bars. A problem from the very beginning I'm only mentioning now for the first time.

Conversations we had with his friends made it clear that they were under the impression we'd created all the games together. I could live with that if he'd just fulfill his end of our verbal agreement and sell the product. But he was still living a great distance from the necessary hard work. He was content to brag about those aspects of a failing business that had nothing to do with him. His rightful claim was on the failure itself.

Finally, with financial ruin all but a given, I began acting uncharacteristically mean-spirited. Over the past few weeks I've unrelentingly attacked him for his role in what awaits. Each time I get a promise of 120% effort from now on, yet he's unavailable by phone the next day. He contacts me with the most insignificant effort, usually messages left on answering machines of potential collaborators.

Soon my credit will be no better than his. But whether he knows it or not, he's gone. I no longer take his calls. His voice enervates me at a time I need all the strength I can gather. My final goodbye to him is on the website. If a miracle occurs just before the stroke of midnight, I would love to hear his attempt to reconnect to the Business. But more likely, I have to steel myself for the punishment that was my due from the moment our futures intertwined. Ironically, I did everything I promised and more. He failed to deliver on any of his promises. Yet failure has far more unpleasant consequences in store for me. His friends, who were supposed to assure our company was an instant success, will make sure he lands on his feet.

But all hope is not lost. The Disease has been cut out of the Business. Now maybe for the first time it will experience vibrant health.

Thomas Sheerin
http://www.shiftingfortunes.com