[royalAtom]

Hey everyone so this is something I've been wrestling with lately and I want some opinions from those that have a few people working with them already.

So we're still in the early stages of building our brand, consisting of myself and 2 other people, and we have not launched yet. I would say my skills lean more towards the business side such as marketing, accounting, leadership, operational procedures, etc all acquired from assisting in launching multiple start-ups. I'm also the most proficient with AI and PS on my team (I've been using it for years). One of the other two is pretty business savvy as well but still has much to learn, but hes more of a designer, and the 3rd person is an amazing draftsman and comes up with awesome designs.

Soooo my question is do you guys think it would be more beneficial for us to have clearly defined roles? Should I let the artists be the artists? Keep in mind that we are launching with almost equal power (with one person being a majority share holder). Would it make sense to equally divide up responsibilities for all aspects of the business? Or would it hold myself or the designer(s) back? Obviously we all have input on designs and other business decisions but my thinking is I should have them take more of a secondary role when it comes to things that aren't design related and myself take more of a secondary role when it does come to things like design.

I've seen both arguments from multiple people and I want a few more opinions.

Thanks!

 

[KristineH]

Divide things fairly, not necessarily equally. Obviously have people use their strengths, but for a business to work everyone needs to learn different aspects.

I've seen some people get paid hourly for their actual work then split the remaining profits equally.

I would suggest you NOT pay someone only doing art the same as someone actually running the business and getting the sales and production complete.

 

[4 the Team]

You all need to learn each others jobs. My advise would be wages/salary based on each person's specific job description and Shareholder distributions of profits based on ownership percentages. You also should have the company own Business Owners Expense policies to cover expenses in the event that one of you becomes disabled and you need to hire or outsource those duties. It would also be wise for the the partners to own life insurance policies on each other in the amount to cover buying the shares from a spouse, etc. Make sure all of this is in writing in your partnership agreement or corporate documents.

In 1995 in thanks to my employer, I found myself entered into a 50/50 ownership of the company that I had been working for. (that is a story for another time) I was about 15 years younger than my partner and I was ambitious as hell and was willing to work my *** off to make it big. He was looking ahead to retiring early and really did not want to put in any extra hours. In 1999, we decided to go our separate ways and divide the business. We had finally reached an agreement as to price, non compete, etc.. All was left was to sign documents on Monday. Over the weekend my business partner suffered a severe head injury. Coma, permanent brain damage, a long recovery ahead. He never taught me how to do some of the production duties that he did, just as I never taught him the accounting end of things. I had to learn all of what he did without being able to ask him anything. When it became apparent that he would never return to work, His wife and I began to proceed with finalizing the sale. Since we had not signed our final agreement, she determined that his half of the business was worth more than my half of the business. Long story short...the attorneys made money and the sale went through a year later when I determined that I would be dissolving the corporation and start over rather than fight with her any longer.

What I learned is... Prepare for the worst. Cover your rear end for what ever could possibly happen. Your business partners spouses may end up being your partners some day. Always have someone as the majority stock holder, so that decisions can be made. Being in business with people is far different than being friends with them, don't expect to keep the same relationship. The more you can clearly define roles and expectations before hand the better things will be. Good Luck

 

[akar]

4 The Team has some good points. I'd follow that advice, myself. I actually do this for businesses. I'm doing it right now for a large automotive shop. We're creating a very detailed policies and procedures manual for them, then helping them to implement it. One of the challenges that have led to massive losses for them is the lack of defined roles in the workplace. Defined roles, though they may seem limiting, actually create security and increase efficiency. We don't, however, endorse each person learning the other workers' jobs - that's what they're doing currently and it causes confusion. Instead, we're putting a manager in place who MUST be able to do any of the jobs in the shop. This works. One of you needs to become the managing entity and the others need to settle into well defined roles in order to avoid confusion - especially during times of stress and heavy workloads. Each person is also then responsible for specific aspects of the business and for reporting on those aspects. Another important issue that arises is "paper flow". Make sure that you have a flow chart for how packing lists, orders, invoices and all other paperwork "flows" through the office and business. That will prevent lost paperwork and confusion of work orders. That's my 2 cents - let me know if you need anything else.

 

[royalAtom]

4 The Team has some good points. I'd follow that advice, myself. I actually do this for businesses. I'm doing it right now for a large automotive shop. We're creating a very detailed policies and procedures manual for them, then helping them to implement it. One of the challenges that have led to massive losses for them is the lack of defined roles in the workplace. Defined roles, though they may seem limiting, actually create security and increase efficiency. We don't, however, endorse each person learning the other workers' jobs - that's what they're doing currently and it causes confusion. Instead, we're putting a manager in place who MUST be able to do any of the jobs in the shop. This works. One of you needs to become the managing entity and the others need to settle into well defined roles in order to avoid confusion - especially during times of stress and heavy workloads. Each person is also then responsible for specific aspects of the business and for reporting on those aspects. Another important issue that arises is "paper flow". Make sure that you have a flow chart for how packing lists, orders, invoices and all other paperwork "flows" through the office and business. That will prevent lost paperwork and confusion of work orders. That's my 2 cents - let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks so much. I'm sure I'll have a whole set of new questions to ask once I meet with my team on Saturday.