Domaining partnership, how do you manage it?

PeterMan · Nov 19, 2008

I have an informal partnership with a friend of mine and we are both wanting to take it to a higher level in the new year. Right now I own all of the domains and they are all in my name in my various accounts. We use my paypal account and my adsense + affiliate accounts...

Should we set up brand new accounts for everything when we formalize our partnership? How do you manage these accounts, would there be a way to make them "joint" accounts like a husband/wife and a bank account, or would we have one user id / password for the partnership, etc...

Also, would it be wise to conduct all business here under my account, as well?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

TheLegendaryJP · Nov 19, 2008

Never partner with anyone. You seem very green on the matter and potential legalities, forget hurt feelings besides.

That should answer all the other questions

PeterMan · Nov 19, 2008

TheLegendaryJP said:
Never partner with anyone. You seem very green on the matter and potential legalities, forget hurt feelings besides.

That should answer all the other questions

hehe thanks, I understand what you are saying... My partner is a friend since childhood so we are both pretty comfortable with this, I was just wondering what the best way would be to handle all of the various accounts, etc...

Also, we are both in this as a hobby, mostly, we are not in the position to access a lot of cash so we figured we would pool the little that we have and see if we can make it grow a little more...

Sonny Banks · Nov 19, 2008

elivate said:
hehe thanks, I understand what you are saying... My partner is a friend since childhood so we are both pretty comfortable with this, I was just wondering what the best way would be to handle all of the various accounts, etc...

Also, we are both in this as a hobby, mostly, we are not in the position to access a lot of cash so we figured we would pool the little that we have and see if we can make it grow a little more...

Listen what TheLegendaryJP said you...friends don't exist in business.
Make your business without partnerships.

TheLegendaryJP · Nov 19, 2008

If you insist you should go see a lawyer and form a Partnership/Corporation., beyond that get details in writing on performance etc. Once you have a corporation you will open a business account, that account will be available to either of you. All very simple stuff, it's the issues that arise personally between the two that you will wish did not, especially with an old friend.

Check out Revenue Canada's homepage on Corporations and Partnerships. See what will work best for the two of you.

PeterMan · Nov 19, 2008

Thanks for the info!

nameadvertising.com · Nov 19, 2008

Besides what JP advised, another option is to randomly split the account (names) in half assigned to each of you. The risk is spread, assuming each of you have placed an equal amount of investment.

A good friend is priceless. Take the risk.

PeterMan · Nov 19, 2008

nameadvertising.com said:
Besides what JP advised, another option is to randomly split the account (names) in half assigned to each of you. The risk is spread, assuming each of you have placed an equal amount of investment.

A good friend is priceless. Take the risk.

That is a good suggestion, thanks...

stewie · Nov 19, 2008

hope it works out for you guys!!!

Good Luck :yo:

Compassion · Nov 19, 2008

From my experience it was horrible

I had to always pay the renewals, sometimes names dropped, sometimes my partner was able to get in on a name and add his share of the purchase to his "tab" while I pay full price.

That partner and I are still friendly, but at times it has been intense.

Oh yeah and he still owes me six grand.

I'm sure not all partnerships will become sour, be careful

onthenetdollars · Nov 19, 2008

If he is happy for you to control it all and s paying his share I would stay like that. Parterships can go wrong, especially where money is involved, but if you lay down hoz it is before you should be ok.

TheLegendaryJP · Nov 19, 2008

Maybe I will be more clear as to how in the domain investing/flipping business as a partnership can turn sour...

Ok so everythings great at first there this name, maybe one cannot afford to do it all so a partrnership evolves...
You go 50/50 on it all, emails, calls, marketing the name and funds...

One name becomes 2 and so on and suddenly one day you wake up and....

You have personally found 2-3-5-10 names, sold them, handed over half the profits and your 50/50 partner is in Hawaii for 2 weeks and couldnt come up with his half of the funds OR is no longer doing his half of the work as in hunting for names/investments...

You say to yourself you either end it or ask him/her to stop slacking off, put the time in etc... it never goes too well unless they can admit they have slacked...

Basically this is what I have found and handing over thousands to a slacker makes you feel used and BANG friendship no longer exists and you end up bitter and feeling used

This to me is the largest issue, finding a true equal.

My suggestion before jumping into a partnership...

Start casually with one name and go 50/50 market it together etc. If the time comes again where you NEED each other, fine do it again but a day in day out " what did you get done today " setting is full of pressure and expectations of each others performance.

nameadvertising.com · Nov 19, 2008

There is a solution to this. Partnership does not always have to be 50-50. It could be 70-30 based on each of their contributions in time and money. Also, a portion of the sales profits can be tucked away in an Escrow (Bank account) by majority stake holder. The partner can get the rest and go to Hawaii or wherever he wishes to.

Things can always go wrong. But, in my opinion, depending on who brings what to the table, 2 is always better than 1.

I have informal partners and investors in my business. They care a damn as long as I give them their profits. They fret and fume when the profits do not come in time. I then have to convince them on the nature of this business. It just takes time.

Ordinarily, partnerships are risky at best. Only Peter can weigh the options and make a decision based on the strength of his friendship. A decision, no one else can take for him.

PeterMan · Nov 19, 2008

Thanks again for the input, obviously partnering with someone is a pretty big decision. The most important part is WHO the partner is...

As I mentioned, the person I am partnering with is a very close friend and we both have thought about this and have discussed exactly how we wish to conduct our business (with regard to who does what, how the money is handled, etc...) I was just looking for some advice on the best way to manage accounts...

Again, I appreciate the feedback about the risks, etc... but as far as we are concerned that part is covered...