Partnerships - Do you like them or hate them? WHY?

In the last few days I've heard a bunch of horror stories regarding partnerships. Personally everything I've done has been solo. It's cool to have all the executive decision power, but sometimes I think a partner would be fun to try... but then I reflect on the horror stories.

Here's the problem: Partnerships can be great at first, but can progressively suck as the business changes, grows, stagnates, etc... and they usually do one of these.

Any time I've gotten in a position of bringing on a partner I've weighed the pros and cons and realize that I'd be better off hiring out for their skills than bringing in someone to muddy the executive / decision making waters.

So, what do you all think about partners?

Have you had partners in projects / businesses? If so, how did it go and would you do it again? What would you counsel those thinking about a partnership?

 

They can be terrible if you havnt known the person you are partnering with for a very long time.

 

Use them as a last resort imo it's usually better to just outsource the work.

 

Its like anything, it can be good and bad. Your profit is immediately split in half but so is your work load.

 

They can be good in the sense that your work load is split in half but unless you know your partner on a personal level, the relationship is likely not to last. One partner will probably end up "X'ing" the other.