Tonight’s topic comes from a note sent to me by a friend. Here it is:

David, I have heard you say that you have entered into partnerships in the past.? What are your rules for partnerships, who will you enter with?? I have a neighbor who is interested in starting a business, the start up cash is small $5000.? I think there might be good opportunity, but I am concerned for good reason about my time availability, as well as Not being “unequally yoked”.? What business relations do Paul’s words govern.? do you have different rules for minority, majority, or controlling shares?

I appreciate your thoughts.

I have two “partnership” investments. ?One is very successful and is an S Corporation. ?The other is a limited partnership, and I wonder whether it will ever amount to anything. ?Both were done with friends.

There are a few?things that you have to think about with partnerships:

1. Is your liability limited to the amount of money you invested, or could you be on the hook for more if there are losses/lawsuits?
2. Are there likely to be future periods where capital might need to be raised? ?Under what conditions will that be done?
3. What non-capital obligations are you?taking on as a result of this? ?Labor, counsel, facilities, tools, etc?
4. How will profits and losses be allocated? ?Voting interests??How will it be managed??When will the partnership end? ?How can terms be modified? How can partnership interests be transferred, if at all? ?Etc.
5. Do you like the people that you will be partners with? ?You may be partners for a long time.
6. Be ready for the additional tax complexity of filling out schedule C, or a K-1, or some other tax form.

Go into a partnership with your eyes wide open, and check everything. ?If your partnership interests have limited liability, and the economics are structured similar to that of a corporation, then things are clearer, and you don’t have to worry as much.

Take note of any obligations that you might have that don’t fit into the “passive provider of limited capital with proportionate ownership” framework. ?Those obligations are the ones that need greater scrutiny. ?Include in that how those working on the partnership get compensated for their labor. ?Parties to the partnership may have multiple roles, and there can be conflicts of interest — imagine a partnership where one partner works in the business and receives a large salary, thus depressing profits for the non-working partners. ?How does that conflict of interest get settled? ?(Note that the same problems that exist in being an outside, passive, minority public stock investor reappear here.)

Also be aware of how ownership interests can change, and whether you may be forced to add more capital to maintain your proportionate interest in the business.

Try to have a good sense of the skill of the partner or employee managing the business. ?That makes all the difference in whether a business succeeds.

Most of what I say here assumes that you will not be a controlling majority partner, and that you will have limited influence over the business. ?If you do have control, the?problems of getting cheated by someone else go away, but get replaced with the problem of making sure the business is run adequately for the interests of all partners. ?Your ethical obligations also expand.

You mention the “unequally yoked” passage from Second Corinthians 6, verses 14 and following. ?In one sense, that doesn’t have much?more application here than it does in all investing if one is a Christian. ?Don’t involve yourself in businesses that of necessity involve you in things that you would not do yourself as a Christian. ?Don’t invest in enterprises where it is obvious that management does not care about ethics — you can see it in their behavior. ?This will be a little clearer and close to home in a partnership with a friend — you will know a lot more about what is going on.

With a non-limited partnership, there is an?additional way the “unequally yoked” passage applies. ?You expose your entire economic well-being to risk when you are a general partner. ?It is like a marriage — it is very difficult to negotiate your way out of the unlimited guarantee that you make there. ?It is like being a co-signer, which the Bible says to avoid.

Of itself, that doesn’t expose you to the unequal yoke, but when you are in an economic agreement that binding, if your partner takes the business in an ethical direction you find dubious, you will be in a weak position to do something about this. ?There is where the unequal yoke appears amid unlimited liability.

That’s all for now. ?There’s a lot more to consider here, but this is meant to be an introduction to the issues involved in partnerships. ?Hope it works well for you.