Nervous about buying business partner out and going it alone

[Undirection]

Two of us own a small business. Its doing well although it is only in its infancy (2yrs) and it does have a lot of potential. My business partner owns other businesses and I think he's sees this one as more time consuming and less interesting that the others. He does all the money management and digital marketing (we do that jointly) and owns the larger share. He's floated the idea of me buying him out later in the year but i am nervous about going it alone. i work best with others and I am not sure I cut out for 'the top job'. He'd till support me etc and I could do it but tbh while the idea seems great I have never run anything on my own. I have managed most of hte operational stuff and built most of the business this year and so, in theory,
Have any of you been in this situation and how did you get on?

[WolfAir]

I have not been in this situation, but I do hope one day to own my own company, be it a small enterprise.
What I would say is, personally I think you should go for it when the time comes. You have some times to learn anything you're not comfortable with. You seem to have the support of your business partner so you hopefully wont be left hanging.
Who knows, maybe in a couple of years you too could be... A powerfully built CEO on PH

[Jasandjules]

Buy him out then hire a manager to undertake his role............

[akirk]

Jasandjules said:

Buy him out then hire a manager to undertake his role............

this ^

some people do find it very difficult to work alone, so if that is you, consider how you can fix that
- either find someone else to buy in (you might wish to let them have a smaller share)
- buy out his share and employ someone - but you still have to make decisions on your own
- buy out his share and get someone to mentor you / act as chairman / NED etc.
- buy him out - try it on your own, if not happy do one of the above
- buy him out - grow the business and employ others, you will no longer be on your own
- buy him out - outright, or phased purchase, but keep his involvement on a decreasing % i.e. 75 / 50 / 25 over a 9 month period?

but don't leave it as is - if he is already giving indications that he wants out, then you need to find a solution - otherwise he may slacken off / put less effort in to the detriment of the business you are relying on - and he will still hold a majority share - worst case scenario - he lets you do all the work, but takes a share of the profit! So you need to find a way of doing this...

[trickywoo]

Jasandjules said:

Buy him out then hire a manager to undertake his role............

Be wary of this. Depends very much on the nature of the business.

Worst case scenario is that said manager comes in, you pay them to learn the business, then they skip off and does it themselves. Instant competitor which you will have paid for.

I have a similar problem in that my business is very much the people in it (two of us). The other one is coming up to retirement and wants me to buy them out but is asking a silly amount IMO. I will not only potentially be down on the purchase price but also on having to pay an unknown quantity to do the leaving director's job. In my case the business doesn't generate so much profit that I can pay a manager and pocket the difference.

It may seem to be morally dubious and depends on the nature of the business but you could just wind it up and start again without paying anything.

[Undirection]

TBH I don't need a manager yet, just an admin person to handle calls, manage day to day ops etc. We've got one one now who is good but she is an intern.

I was awake most of last night thinking this all over, all lot to consider!