October 21, 2021 • 9 mins
Tanya reads a letter from a Money Moves audience member who is having a dispute with their business partner. The tricky thing is, that business partner is a longtime friend.
Business coach expert Asha returns to offer her insights on the situation, as well as shares the many challenges (and benefits) of mixing business with friendships.
Host IG: @itstanyatime
Guest IG: @ashawilkersonesq
Need more business advice from Asha? Check out Transcend.
INCYMI: Hear Asha debunking the myths about entrepreneurship on episode 3.
Listen to more episodes and find additional tips at BankGreenwood.com.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey money Movers, Welcome back to the Money Moves podcast
powered by Greenwood. We are here once again to give
you the keys to the financial kingdom of wealth, abundance
and success. Hey money Movers, welcome back to the Money
(00:22):
Moves podcast powered by Greenwood. We've been talking all about
our health and finances, but what happens when we're in
a partnership that seems to value one more than the other.
Things will inevitably get a little bit tricky and sticky.
As you know by now, I prefer not to go
with these things alone. So back joining me today, we
have our very own Asha Wilkerson. Hi Asha, and welcome back.
(00:44):
Thank you so glad to be back. So, actually, if
I remember correctly, you specialize in business and have some
experience in mediating business disputes. Well I have a dispute
for you today. All right, I'm ready lay it on me.
So we have a friendship turned business partnership that seems
to be sad pouring when some unexpected circumstances came into play.
Oh I hear this kind of stuff all the time.
(01:07):
Well let's see what we've got here. All right, Dear
Money Moves, my best friend and I recently started a
health and wellness boutique that specializes in spa services and
detox techniques. The business is still new and was essentially
my brain child. I came up with the idea, I
secured all the financing and the company is in my name.
(01:28):
As I realized the amount of work it would be,
I brought in my best friend as a partner to
help run and maintain the business. A couple of months ago,
I was in an accident that resulted in numerous doctors visits,
physical therapy, and in order for my doctor to stay
off my feet until my body fully recovered. As a result,
I've done most of the work for our business remotely.
My best friend has had to be on her own
(01:50):
at the center with the staff. I have gone by
every now and then so that she doesn't feel totally
abandoned despite the doctor's orders, but she's begun to resent
me for it. None the s. She demands that I
read the paperwork for the business and give her a
majority partnership, or increase her weekly take home salary to
compensate for all her additional work. However, we are barely
(02:12):
holding on as it is an increase in her salary
would create a greater strain on the business. You would
think she would understand that I need to recover as
we are a health and wellness clinic. I don't want
to give up my majority share of my business, nor
do I want to lose my best friend. But I
need to get better before I can return to work
at my best money moves. What should I do, Asha,
(02:34):
what should we do? Let's see if we can figure
out the best solution for these business owners and friends. Yeah. Absolutely, So.
This is not advice specific to this situation because I'm
not their attorney, but just general advice that you need
to think about before you engage in business with any partner.
I see this all the time when people are in
(02:54):
dating relationships or in friendships. They form a you know
who doesn't want to form a business with your friend, okay,
And the problem is is that most folks don't take
the time to think about what could go wrong in
the worst case scenario, because naturally we're wanting to start
a business. We're gonna make a million dollars, more than
a million dollars, and it's going to be great. But
I tell everyone to think about you're operating agreement. If
(03:16):
you have an LLC or your by laws. If you
have a corporation, like your pren up to your marriage.
You hope that it's going to go well, but the
event that it doesn't, you want to make sure you
know exactly what's going to happen. So I actually have
a friend like this. Um they had a restaurant and
one person, one of the owners, just stopped showing up,
(03:36):
didn't do anything, They didn't change any documents, and then
finally the guy comes back and says, hey, wait a minute,
you know you're successful now, even though he didn't help
build the business, but his name was still on there.
I want my money. And so we looked at the
operating agreement. They didn't have any clause in there in
terms of what the responsibilities were. They didn't have the
responsibility separated from the ownership interests. They did have a
(04:00):
close in there that could remove somebody if they weren't
pulling their weight, or a way to increase someone's ownership
share if they were doing too much. So, you know,
what I would tell the two business owners here to
do is to sit down and have a conversation and
really understand what is realistic for them and for the business. Oh,
(04:22):
that was so helpful. Can you give us a high
level spiel on what is an operating agreement and when
are you supposed to institute that? Right? So, and operating
agreement is attached to an LLC. It's like I say
tell people all the time, it's like a prenup to
your marriage or the rule book to your game. And
you can make an operating agreements say whatever it is
that you need to say, as long as it complies
(04:43):
with the law. But how do you want to play
this game of business? When do you want to take
money out? How do you bring other owners in? When
do you get rid of owners? Um? You know, how
do you decide when to expand what do you want
your tax responsibilities to look like? All of that stuff.
It's all the things that we need to talk about
before we engage in business with somebody else. And actually,
(05:06):
single member LLC, so single owner LLC should also have
those as well. But it's really really important when you
have multiple business owners because it lays out what the
expectations are and also what the consequences are positive and
negative when certain events happen in the business. Okay, so
let's go look at the relationship side of this, what
do you think the original business owner is really asking
(05:28):
for from from from us the money moves, audience, and yourself,
and from their best friend. Yeah, I think so. On
the emotional side of it, it sounds like she feels
pretty bad that she's not able to contribute in the
way that she wants to. And then I think that
there's some feelings there that you know, there's this resentment
that's coming. And those aren't business issues, those are real
(05:52):
relationship issues. And so you know you're gonna be tied
to your business partner just like you when somebody you're dating,
and so you want to bring those things to the
forefront and the lack of communication that has happened when
things change. So of course the writer business owner didn't
know she was going to get into an accident, but
something changed and now she's not able to show up
(06:15):
in the same way. And for best friend, best friend
didn't know that this was going to change. And now
you know, they are operating off of their old agreement,
and that old agreement was made for the old business.
Now they are in a new business because the parameters
have changed. Right to update what their agreement is with
(06:36):
each other to try and make it work. You know,
I think one of the other issues that I'm seeing
here the business is also struggling. So you know, oftentimes
when businesses struggle, the founder struggle, it feels a lot
harder to get by, and so I think there needs
to be a conversation on ways we can really look
at the business and help it to grow and scale
in the ways that it needs to be. And you know,
(06:57):
this is an addition to deciding if we're going to
change our business um and we talked about pivoting, how
these two can work together and what ownership really looks like. Absolutely,
And I would also say, you know, maybe it's advisable
to bring in a business coach or a third part
can help them work these things out, because you know,
when when money stress starts to happen, we get scared
(07:18):
and we operate from that scarcity mindset. But there is
an abundance of money out there, and sometimes it is
just changing your mindset, changing your approach, changing your attitude
so that you can go out there and get it
instead of retracting, playing smaller because you're not making the
money that you want. Maybe the person who was injured
can do some other things behind the scenes that don't
(07:40):
require her to be on her feet in the spa
right and can help get more business. Maybe they need
to decide what new roles are going to play. I
mean that's a great point. You know she's confined to
bed or doing bed rests. Maybe she needs to really
be pushing some some sort of social media um social
media marketing points so that they can get more customers
coming in. There's lots of different things here, but I
(08:02):
love this. This seems to be a really common problem
that you can see across many many businesses. Thank you, Asha,
your contribution to this was incredible. Nothing ruins a business
faster than partners that can't operate on the same page.
But Asha, I think you offered some incredible and valuable advice.
Do you have any parting words for us? You know what,
just start talking talk talk talk, make friends, make relationships.
(08:25):
And you know those things that we have buried inside
of us that we're afraid to say to our business partners,
get those out in the open because lack of communication.
I think ruins business is faster than any money trouble ever,
will yes, yes, yes, holding it in, not not getting
those words out and builds, as we said earlier, resentments,
which in turn will build not a successful business. Asha,
(08:47):
thank you so much, We love having you on here,
and thank you all for tuning in. If you want
more or a recap of this episode, please visit the
Bank Greenwood dot com website and check out our blog there.
Stay tuned tomorrow or a celebrity guest you won't want
to miss the one, the only, the indomitable Terrell Owens,
(09:08):
the agent that I had, druosen House, Miss Rosenhouse Sports.
They they screwed me over gosh, the depths of this
are like overwhelming. Money Moves is an i heeart radio
podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by Sunwise Media, Inc.
For more podcast on i heart radio, visit the i
(09:28):
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcasts from
Hey money Movers, Welcome back to the Money Moves podcast
powered by Greenwood. We are here once again to give
you the keys to the financial kingdom of wealth, abundance
and success. Hey money Movers, welcome back to the Money
(00:22):
Moves podcast powered by Greenwood. We've been talking all about
our health and finances, but what happens when we're in
a partnership that seems to value one more than the other.
Things will inevitably get a little bit tricky and sticky.
As you know by now, I prefer not to go
with these things alone. So back joining me today, we
have our very own Asha Wilkerson. Hi Asha, and welcome back.
(00:44):
Thank you so glad to be back. So, actually, if
I remember correctly, you specialize in business and have some
experience in mediating business disputes. Well I have a dispute
for you today. All right, I'm ready lay it on me.
So we have a friendship turned business partnership that seems
to be sad pouring when some unexpected circumstances came into play.
Oh I hear this kind of stuff all the time.
(01:07):
Well let's see what we've got here. All right, Dear
Money Moves, my best friend and I recently started a
health and wellness boutique that specializes in spa services and
detox techniques. The business is still new and was essentially
my brain child. I came up with the idea, I
secured all the financing and the company is in my name.
(01:28):
As I realized the amount of work it would be,
I brought in my best friend as a partner to
help run and maintain the business. A couple of months ago,
I was in an accident that resulted in numerous doctors visits,
physical therapy, and in order for my doctor to stay
off my feet until my body fully recovered. As a result,
I've done most of the work for our business remotely.
My best friend has had to be on her own
(01:50):
at the center with the staff. I have gone by
every now and then so that she doesn't feel totally
abandoned despite the doctor's orders, but she's begun to resent
me for it. None the s. She demands that I
read the paperwork for the business and give her a
majority partnership, or increase her weekly take home salary to
compensate for all her additional work. However, we are barely
(02:12):
holding on as it is an increase in her salary
would create a greater strain on the business. You would
think she would understand that I need to recover as
we are a health and wellness clinic. I don't want
to give up my majority share of my business, nor
do I want to lose my best friend. But I
need to get better before I can return to work
at my best money moves. What should I do, Asha,
(02:34):
what should we do? Let's see if we can figure
out the best solution for these business owners and friends. Yeah. Absolutely, So.
This is not advice specific to this situation because I'm
not their attorney, but just general advice that you need
to think about before you engage in business with any partner.
I see this all the time when people are in
(02:54):
dating relationships or in friendships. They form a you know
who doesn't want to form a business with your friend, okay,
And the problem is is that most folks don't take
the time to think about what could go wrong in
the worst case scenario, because naturally we're wanting to start
a business. We're gonna make a million dollars, more than
a million dollars, and it's going to be great. But
I tell everyone to think about you're operating agreement. If
(03:16):
you have an LLC or your by laws. If you
have a corporation, like your pren up to your marriage.
You hope that it's going to go well, but the
event that it doesn't, you want to make sure you
know exactly what's going to happen. So I actually have
a friend like this. Um they had a restaurant and
one person, one of the owners, just stopped showing up,
(03:36):
didn't do anything, They didn't change any documents, and then
finally the guy comes back and says, hey, wait a minute,
you know you're successful now, even though he didn't help
build the business, but his name was still on there.
I want my money. And so we looked at the
operating agreement. They didn't have any clause in there in
terms of what the responsibilities were. They didn't have the
responsibility separated from the ownership interests. They did have a
(04:00):
close in there that could remove somebody if they weren't
pulling their weight, or a way to increase someone's ownership
share if they were doing too much. So, you know,
what I would tell the two business owners here to
do is to sit down and have a conversation and
really understand what is realistic for them and for the business. Oh,
(04:22):
that was so helpful. Can you give us a high
level spiel on what is an operating agreement and when
are you supposed to institute that? Right? So, and operating
agreement is attached to an LLC. It's like I say
tell people all the time, it's like a prenup to
your marriage or the rule book to your game. And
you can make an operating agreements say whatever it is
that you need to say, as long as it complies
(04:43):
with the law. But how do you want to play
this game of business? When do you want to take
money out? How do you bring other owners in? When
do you get rid of owners? Um? You know, how
do you decide when to expand what do you want
your tax responsibilities to look like? All of that stuff.
It's all the things that we need to talk about
before we engage in business with somebody else. And actually,
(05:06):
single member LLC, so single owner LLC should also have
those as well. But it's really really important when you
have multiple business owners because it lays out what the
expectations are and also what the consequences are positive and
negative when certain events happen in the business. Okay, so
let's go look at the relationship side of this, what
do you think the original business owner is really asking
(05:28):
for from from from us the money moves, audience, and yourself,
and from their best friend. Yeah, I think so. On
the emotional side of it, it sounds like she feels
pretty bad that she's not able to contribute in the
way that she wants to. And then I think that
there's some feelings there that you know, there's this resentment
that's coming. And those aren't business issues, those are real
(05:52):
relationship issues. And so you know you're gonna be tied
to your business partner just like you when somebody you're dating,
and so you want to bring those things to the
forefront and the lack of communication that has happened when
things change. So of course the writer business owner didn't
know she was going to get into an accident, but
something changed and now she's not able to show up
(06:15):
in the same way. And for best friend, best friend
didn't know that this was going to change. And now
you know, they are operating off of their old agreement,
and that old agreement was made for the old business.
Now they are in a new business because the parameters
have changed. Right to update what their agreement is with
(06:36):
each other to try and make it work. You know,
I think one of the other issues that I'm seeing
here the business is also struggling. So you know, oftentimes
when businesses struggle, the founder struggle, it feels a lot
harder to get by, and so I think there needs
to be a conversation on ways we can really look
at the business and help it to grow and scale
in the ways that it needs to be. And you know,
(06:57):
this is an addition to deciding if we're going to
change our business um and we talked about pivoting, how
these two can work together and what ownership really looks like. Absolutely,
And I would also say, you know, maybe it's advisable
to bring in a business coach or a third part
can help them work these things out, because you know,
when when money stress starts to happen, we get scared
(07:18):
and we operate from that scarcity mindset. But there is
an abundance of money out there, and sometimes it is
just changing your mindset, changing your approach, changing your attitude
so that you can go out there and get it
instead of retracting, playing smaller because you're not making the
money that you want. Maybe the person who was injured
can do some other things behind the scenes that don't
(07:40):
require her to be on her feet in the spa
right and can help get more business. Maybe they need
to decide what new roles are going to play. I
mean that's a great point. You know she's confined to
bed or doing bed rests. Maybe she needs to really
be pushing some some sort of social media um social
media marketing points so that they can get more customers
coming in. There's lots of different things here, but I
(08:02):
love this. This seems to be a really common problem
that you can see across many many businesses. Thank you, Asha,
your contribution to this was incredible. Nothing ruins a business
faster than partners that can't operate on the same page.
But Asha, I think you offered some incredible and valuable advice.
Do you have any parting words for us? You know what,
just start talking talk talk talk, make friends, make relationships.
(08:25):
And you know those things that we have buried inside
of us that we're afraid to say to our business partners,
get those out in the open because lack of communication.
I think ruins business is faster than any money trouble ever,
will yes, yes, yes, holding it in, not not getting
those words out and builds, as we said earlier, resentments,
which in turn will build not a successful business. Asha,
(08:47):
thank you so much, We love having you on here,
and thank you all for tuning in. If you want
more or a recap of this episode, please visit the
Bank Greenwood dot com website and check out our blog there.
Stay tuned tomorrow or a celebrity guest you won't want
to miss the one, the only, the indomitable Terrell Owens,
(09:08):
the agent that I had, druosen House, Miss Rosenhouse Sports.
They they screwed me over gosh, the depths of this
are like overwhelming. Money Moves is an i heeart radio
podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by Sunwise Media, Inc.
For more podcast on i heart radio, visit the i
(09:28):
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
podcasts from
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.