When Your Partner Won’t
Sometimes even the most amicable of partners find themselves in disagreement. My personal partner (my husband) and I find ourselves in that situation frequently. He wanted to paint the walls a dark color; I wanted something brighter. He likes to vacation where it’s cold; I like it warm. Up to this point we have always found a compromise, but sometimes it means having to change the rules a bit.
Recently, I was asked by Fortune Small Business (FSB) to respond to a partnership question where the two partners were unable to reach an agreement about borrowing money to complete a contract that could make a big difference for the business. It appeared as though they were not viewing the opportunity presented to their company from the same vantage point.
The company had just received its first big government contract. Additional working capital was needed to complete the terms of the contract. One partner had maxed out her credit cards on behalf of the company. The other partner did not want to take on any additional risk and was unwilling to even sign for a bank loan. What to do?
Resolving differences between partners almost always means having to compromise. In some cases, as in this one, the terms of the partnership may need to be adjusted, in which case an attorney may need to get involved.
Read the question presented and my response to resolving this partnership disagreement in the FSB article at http://primestrategies.com/prime/pdf/fsbbanker0002.pdf.
