The Guide — All Articles

A business mediator explains why most partnership disputes were preventable—and why the conversation you're avoiding is the one that saves the partnership.

There are only three legitimate reasons to take a business partner. A mediator explains them—and the profit-sharing mistake that ruins partnerships before they start.

The first questions of a partnership agreement may look like mere paperwork, but they are not. Full names, the start date, the legal entity, and the story behind the partnership are what decide disputes years later.

Partners who have worked together for years need a partnership agreement most of all. A mediator explains the snapshot: investments to date, debts, personal guarantees, uneven draws, and new partners joining.

Fifty-fifty of what, exactly? A mediator discusses ownership splits, why the percentage at a sale is not automatically the percentage of profits, and who eats the loss if the business fails.

A business doesn't build itself. Who is responsible, what does "properly built" actually mean, how long will it take (double your estimate), and the three kinds of money every startup needs.

Money is the lifeblood of a business and the root of most partner disputes. Who must invest, up to what limit, in what order—and what happens if a partner stops performing.

Should working partners take a salary? Should they all take the same one? A mediator discusses partner pay: equal salaries, staged raises, salary vs. draw, and why commissions don't belong in a partnership.

When do investors get their money back? How much profit stays in the business? How often do you settle accounts? A mediator discusses the reckoning rhythm that prevents partner disputes.

A business makes endless decisions. Who decides the big direction, who approves the budget, and who runs the day-to-day — and can a partner hire his own children? A mediator's guide.

May a partner sell services to his own partnership? Serve the same customers? Keep the credit card points? A mediator discusses the conflict-of-interest questions partners never ask—with real stories.

May a partner sell his share to a stranger? Can one partner force the other out—or force a sale of the whole business? BMBY, right of first refusal, and the entity loophole, explained by a mediator.

The kindest clause in a partnership agreement is the one about death. Heirs, buyouts, children in the business, and the one-representative rule—a mediator explains the arrangements.

Every separation comes down to one question: what is the business worth? Seven valuation methods, payment terms for buyouts, and what happens when a payment is missed—decided before anyone needs them.

The last question of a partnership agreement may be the most important: if the partners can't agree, how will the dispute be resolved? Mediation, arbitration, zabla, beis din—a mediator's guide.