Why You Don't Need a Partner

In the mid-1980s, I was 29 years old, working as a successful salesperson in the medical equipment industry C and bored. I did some research and discovered that the automotive fast lube industry was taking off and showed signs of great potential. Since my dad had owned car dealerships, gas stations and truck stops, I had a good understanding of the industry. But I had never started a new business, so I thought I needed a partner who had.

A childhood friend and fellow Eagle Scout owned a small construction company in another state. Believing he had the experience I lacked, I asked him if he wanted to start a business with me. We invested equal amounts of cash and incorporated Indy Lube in Indiana in 1986. My partner continued to run his out-of-state construction company. I kept working full time in my sales job, building the Indy Lube company on nights and weekends. It was hard work, but I loved it.

Over the next nine years, Indy Lube developed into a thriving business and a full-time position. I was finally able to leave my medical sales job after three-and-a-half years of doing both. My staff and I built 18 freestanding units in Indiana and another five in central Minnesota. In addition, we were granted our FTC franchise approval and started opening franchise stores, five of them within 18 months. Business was booming, and we were making terrific profits.

Meanwhile, my partners construction company failed, he ended up in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and his stock in Indy Lube ended up in an attorneys name for several years. Strapped for cash, my old partner now tried to regain a foothold in the business. Over the next couple of years, as we expanded, my ex-partner and the new owner of his shares gained majority interest in the new companies. Then they terminated me as president, and the remaining leadership staff left the company.

After an 18-month legal battle, I reluctantly agreed to sell my stock to them C then watched in dismay as they, in my opinion, ruined the business.

I have no sense of personal satisfaction that my ex-partner was unable to run the business without me. Watching my business self-destruct was like losing a child.

While the details of my experience are unique, the fact remains that a great many partnerships, although started with honor and conviction, eventually fail. Even when youre dealing with family and friends, you must stay in control of your company by owning the majority interest.

If you dont have enough faith in yourself and in your company to do it by yourself, dont do it at all. I brought in a partner simply because I was too scared to start a new business all by myself. But I learned a valuable lesson: I could have started my business alone C and I would have been better off for it.