Seven situations cover where most readers of this site are right now. Pick the one that matches and read the posts under it in order. Each one stands on its own, but the order is where the real education is.

Thinking about taking on a partner

  1. Partnership Planning for Beginners and the Questions to Ask Strategic Partners

    Start here if nothing is decided yet. Read it for the questions to ask before you say yes to anyone.

  2. Why Business Partnerships Fail and the Behaviors That Destroy Them

    The patterns that quietly end partnerships, so you can screen for them now rather than diagnose them later. Read it.

  3. General Partnership vs LLC for Two Owners

    The two structures most new partners choose between, and what each one actually protects. Read it.

  4. Are You Liable for Your Business Partner's Debts

    What you are on the hook for the moment you agree, before anything is signed. Read it.

Forming the partnership

  1. How to Start a Business Partnership

    The steps in order, with the filing and the fee at each one. Read it.

  2. General Partnership vs LLC for Two Owners

    Which structure to file, if that is still open. Read it.

  3. What to Include in a Partnership Agreement

    The clauses the agreement needs, clause by clause. Read it.

  4. Are You Liable for Your Business Partner's Debts

    What liability looks like once the partnership exists. Read it.

Writing the agreement

  1. What to Include in a Partnership Agreement

    The pillar: every clause the agreement needs. Read it.

  2. Deadlock Clauses for a 50/50 Partnership

    If ownership is split evenly, decide now how a tie gets broken. Read it.

  3. Writing a Partnership Exit Clause Before You Sign

    Plan the exit while everyone still agrees on everything else. Read it.

  4. Buy-Sell Agreements for Business Partners

    Fund what happens if a partner dies, becomes disabled, or wants out. Read it.

Splitting equity and pay

  1. Co-Founder Equity Split by the Numbers and How to Agree on Yours

    The pillar on how to split ownership itself. Read it.

  2. Sweat Equity Partnership When One Partner Brings the Money

    When one partner puts in cash and the other puts in work. Read it.

  3. How to File an 83(b) Election

    The 30-day tax election that follows a vesting grant, and what happens if you miss it. Read it.

  4. How Business Partners Pay Themselves

    Draws, guaranteed payments, and distributive share, and how each is taxed. Read it.

In a dispute

  1. Fiduciary Duties Business Partners Owe Each Other

    What you owe each other, legally, before anything else. Read it.

  2. How to Tell Your Business Partner It's Not Working

    The conversation to have before anything becomes formal. Read it.

  3. Mediation vs Arbitration for a Business Partner Dispute

    How to resolve it without going to court, if that is still possible. Read it.

  4. How to Remove a Business Partner From a Partnership or LLC

    When it is not possible, and removal is the only option left. Read it.

  5. What to Do When a Business Partner Is Stealing From the Business

    If money is actually missing, the order to do things in. Read it.

Getting out

  1. How to Leave a Business Partnership

    The leaver's view: your rights and what leaving risks. Read it.

  2. How to Buy Out a Business Partner

    The other side: buying out a partner who is leaving or being removed. Read it.

  3. How to Value a Business Partner's Share for a Buyout

    What the share is actually worth, and who gets to decide. Read it.

  4. How to Finance a Partner Buyout

    How to pay for it when you cannot write one check. Read it.

  5. How to Dissolve a Business Partnership Step by Step

    If the business is closing rather than continuing under one owner. Read it.

A joint venture or channel partner

  1. What a Joint Venture Agreement Needs to Cover

    The pillar: what the agreement has to settle before the project starts. Read it.

  2. Joint Venture Structures Compared

    Whether the venture should be a contract, an LLC, or a corporation. Read it.

  3. Best Joint Venture Tools for Due Diligence, Signing and Running the Venture

    Software for running it once it is signed. Read it.

  4. Partnership Health Metrics Explained

    Keeping an alliance healthy once it is actually running. Read it.