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Legal Infrastructure · Business Partnerships

The Perfect Partner Planner

a.k.a. the Biz Prenup

Ask the right questions before you form a business partnership, so it doesn’t crash and burn.

One product. Two names. Plan the partnership, or prenup it. Same questions either way.

Have you seen a post like this? Or written one?

“I’m looking for a ____ genius to partner up with.”

“Do you ____? Do you ____? If so, contact me. I’m looking to collaborate with someone to create…”

“Let’s join forces! If this lights you up at the prospect of being half of a team, please PM me.”

And then time passes, and words like these show up:

  • “I can’t believe this is happening.”
  • “They are emailing customers right now and telling them exactly what I told them not to five minutes ago.”
  • “I can’t get into the bank accounts because he changed the login information.”
  • “She removed me as an admin of our Facebook group, and Facebook says I need a contract to prove I’m an admin. We don’t have one.”
  • “I just lost my company. I can’t believe I thought our verbal agreements would work.”

Almost every one of them started with the same sentence: “We’ll figure it out later.”

My real goal? To talk you out of it.

Honestly, my ultimate purpose is to stop you from forming a legal and financial partnership. That’s the equivalent of a business marriage, with legal and financial consequences that should not be taken lightly.

If you can answer these questions, and the others that bubble up in your conversations, you’ve thought through the arrangement and you’re going in with your eyes as open as possible. If you can’t, you just saved yourself a very expensive lesson.

Why two names?

Like a person with a full name and a nickname, this one answers to both. Perfect Partner Planner is how you start: a guided way to plan who you work with and how. Biz Prenup is what you’re really doing: a prenup for your business, before anyone says “I do.”

I created the Biz Prenup after my own business partnership crashed and burned in a matter of hours. We unwound two and a half years of work. I’d rather you ask the questions first.

What’s Inside

10 lessons in 4 modules, plus the guidebook, guides and mind maps that go with them.

Module 1

Introduction

  • Welcome (video): what to expect, and why you’ll want to skip questions (don’t)
  • Adding a shared mind map to your own account (video)

Module 2

Business Partnership

  • Define Your Words (video): what “collaborate,” “partner” and “joint venture” mean to you, plus the Generalized to Specific PDF
  • Ask the Right Questions: the 46-page Business Pre-Nup Guidebook
  • Alternatives to Legal & Financial Partnerships: the Ways to “Work Together” guide and a Collaborative Agreement template

Module 3

Case Studies

  • Referrals, partnering and collaborating
  • Guest contributors and your blog
  • Product samples, goodie bags and referrals
  • Online courses, offers and shared content

Module 4

Congratulations!

  • Moving Forward: put your understandings on paper and have everyone involved sign

The three questions every arrangement has to answer

  1. Who is legally responsible for what you create from the relationship?
  2. Who is financially responsible for what you create?
  3. Who owns the product, physical or intellectual, that results?

Is this for you?

It’s for you if

  • You’re about to partner with, co-host with, or co-create with someone you like
  • You’ve said “we’ll figure it out later” even once
  • You want to know which questions to ask before anything gets signed
  • You’re not sure whether you need a partnership at all

Bring in your lawyer and finance people first if

  • You’re developing a SaaS product
  • You’re launching through a crowdfunding platform
  • You’re seeking outside investment

Where this fits in Legal Infrastructure

Business Fire Drills sound the alarm. The Planner is the guided conversation you have before any legal partnership. The Legal Bundle Generator holds your public-facing documents, including the Contributor Agreement. See the whole triangle.

Ask the questions now, not after.

A partnership that crashes can cost you the business, the relationship, and a lot of time. The Planner is a fraction of what untangling that costs.

This offer

The Perfect Partner Planner (a.k.a. the Biz Prenup) — $297

One-time payment. Immediate access to all 10 lessons, the guidebook, guides, mind maps and templates.

Questions

Are the Perfect Partner Planner and the Biz Prenup different products?

No. It’s one product with two names. Use whichever one fits how you think about it.

We’re just collaborating on one project. Do we need this?

Possibly the most. The lessons help you define the difference between collaborating and partnering, and show many ways to work together without weaving together your legal, financial and ownership lives.

Should we both go through it together?

I recommend working through the guide by yourself first, then seeing how you feel. You’ll walk into the conversation with the other person on much better footing.

Will this write our agreement?

It includes a Collaborative Agreement template and walks you through putting your understandings on paper. Depending on what’s at stake, you may need an attorney. If you have any doubt, ask one.

Is this legal advice?

No. It’s educational and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws vary by state and country.

This page is general educational information, not legal advice for your situation.