Yaneek Page | Here's why every business partnership needs a prenup

Question: Good day, Ms Page, I was part of the development of a business called xxxxxx.

It ideally never started as that name, and we went through a lot of transition to be where it is now. It was a partnership along with my friend and his relative. The main focus of the business was event planning such as kids party, baby showers, etc. The business grew to the point of us retailing party supplies and offering rentals. Unfortunately, because of various issues, I decided to leave. Over the years, being part of the business, I put several hundred thousand dollars into the business. Now that I want to move on, it has become an issue. I am now being told that the business is not making a lot of money and I can only get $425,000 back. I don't think this is fair for all that I have put into the business over the years.

Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the company documents, but I can get them from the Companies Office of Jamaica.

Is there any advice that you could give to me please?

- IG User

Businesswise: I omitted a few details and edited some of the information you shared in order to protect your identity and that of the company given the delicate nature of the issues involved.

I'm sorry you've found yourself in this position after investing so much sweat equity and your hard-earned money into the business. I felt the pain and despair in your messages. Here are some options available to you at this time:

- You convene a formal meeting to discuss your exit from the business and come to a fair and amicable agreement.

- You seek the help of an independent mediator through the Dispute Resolution Foundation of Jamaica and try to settle these issues out of court.

- You seek the services of a competent attorney to advise you on your legal rights in respect of the business and take steps to enforce those rights via court action should that be the appropriate strategic and practical approach to take.

You do nothing and walk away from your investment to preserve your peace and avoid further conflict.

You will have to weigh the pros and cons of each of these options and decide which is best for you in the circumstances. You may want to carefully consider the relationships involved, the likely emotional costs, financial cost, length of time and future repercussions each option carries. Based on what you outlined, it would appear that the best outcome for you, your partners, and the business would be coming to an amicable agreement without legal proceedings and without deepening the animosity among you.

POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE

The lesson for all of you is that every business partnership should be in writing and have an exit clause included. This is not the same as company registration documents registered at the Companies Office of Jamaica. In my experience, business partnerships are like high-stakes marriages that often fail fast and very hard. Sometimes this happens because the goals are overly ambitious the journey to attain them is treacherous; and even with the best intentions, the partners are almost never fully prepared to navigate the challenges. When you add money, egos, livelihoods, legal exposure, and reputations to the mix, it's easy to see how explosive these relationships can become.

This is why I always advise prospective entrepreneurs to get extensive counselling before they dive in and have a fully executed prenup before signing "I do". By that I mean getting counsel from an experienced business advisor and an attorney who specialises in corporate law and also signing a partnership agreement that addresses dissolution of the partnership if and when it becomes necessary. In the absence of this, my advice is to avoid an ugly and expensive divorce at all costs.

One love.

- Yaneek Page is an entrepreneur and trainer and creator-executive producer of The Innovators TV series. Email: info@yaneekpage.com Twitter: @yaneekpage Website: www.yaneekpage.com