Partnerships, what to ask/do?

[Nightfire]

As I am new to owning my own business, I have been proposed to form a partnership with a business card design company. They do the cards and I do the sites if requested. What things should I look out for when forming this kind of partnership? Is it best to get advice from a solicitor for this type of thing as I want to make sure I don't get stung if anything goes wrong

[bcarl314]

Be very careful when entering into any type of partnership. The first thing you should ask for is full and unfettered access to their books. That's the best indicator. Usually a partnership involves some financial split (either in terms of profit share or equity) and not having full access to their financial info is a big red flag.

If they balk at that, then make sure you have some type of minimum monthly charge that they need to pay regardless.

That would be my first thought.

I've tried enough of these deals to know that the vast majority are work scams. The ones that have been legit have 2 things going for them...

1) They have an established business
2) They let you see their books

The ones that don't do those items above typically are start ups that want to pay nothing for development and think luring a developer with a "partnership" that "could my you millions" will get people salivating at the opportunity.

Hiring a lawyer or legal console is a good idea as well.