Every day people around the world dream of owning their own business and having the ability to be in charge of their own destiny.  It is the way capitalism and the freedom to invest in your dream works.  However, sometimes a partner is necessary to help a budding entrepreneur make the reach for a down payment or other aspect that gets him to that point.

It’s very common in the death care industry where a parent of other person helps that young funeral director purchase the mortuary that allows them to become in charge of their own destiny.   Most of the partnerships work out very well, but this is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong if the partners eventually don’t see eye to eye for one reason or another.  The other day we read about a funeral home located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that is under receivership, at least in part, because of a partnership that seems to have gone awry.  You can read about the story here.

According to the article, one partner apparently helped purchase the building where the other partner operated the mortuary business.  It appears that the mortuary partner was having some challenges and the building partner then applied for receivership so a number of creditors, including himself, would be paid.  This action then caused the building to be closed and the mortuary to try to operate out of churches.  Not to mention that the negative publicity has made it more difficult to attract client families and pre-need clients are now nervous about their funeral arrangement investments.

The end result is that the business is now being operated by a chartered accounting firm as a receiver and the Winnipeg police are investigating potential fraud at the business.

The point we are making with this is make sure that you really know who your partners are, what their assets are, and what you would do in case of a dissolution or disagreement of the partnership.  I’ve many times cautioned potential partners that you may be better off not being in business than being in a partnership.

We all want your dreams to come true when opening a business.  However, because life happens as we go along, always look with caution when having to bring on partners.

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