We've been running a small landscaping company together for about a year and a half now. Nothing's gone wrong so far, but I keep reading that we should have a written partnership agreement. When I brought it up, he got a bit hurt and said if we need paperwork then we don't really trust each other. I don't want to insult him but it feels naive. Am I overthinking this?
Partnership
My business partner says an agreement is unnecessary because we trust each other
You're not overthinking it. Trust is not a legal document. If he gets hit by a bus tomorrow his family owns half your company and you have nothhing that says otherwise.
lol @ 'if we need paperwork we don't trust each other' — that's what everyone says right before the fight about the truck.
I'd try reframing it. It's not about distrust, it's about protecting the friendship. Written agreements existt so you never have to have the ugly conversation in your head at 2am.
That's a good way to put it actually. Might use that framing when I bring it up again.
How big is your company? If it's the two of you and one mower, maybe you can get by with something short. But the moment there's real money, asaets, or employees, you want things in writing.
Also who owns the client list? Who handles the bank account? What happens if one of you wants out? Those are the questions that destroy friendships, not the contract.
Unpopular opinion maybe, but a year and a half in with no Issues is not actually a long track record. Most partnerships blow up in year three or four when the initial enthusiasm wears off.
grumpy giving real talk at 7am, respect
There's a middle ground. You don't need a 40-page contract to start. Even a one-page memo covering ownership percentages, how profits split, and what happens if someone wants to leave would be way better than nothing.
I was the guy who siad we didn't need anything. We were fine for two years. Then my partner wanted to buy a new van and I didn't. That was the beginning of the end. It wasn't the van, it was that we had no process for disagreeing.
This is the thing people miss — agreements aren't just for the bad scenario, they're for the decision you can't agere on. A living document that says how you resolve disputes is worth more than the parts about ownership.
Exactly. 'How do we handle a disagreement' is the question that actually matters.
A lot of this is landing. I think the issue is he hears 'contract' and thinks I'm planning a divorce. Maybe I lead with the one-pager idea so it feels less adversarial.
Whatever you do, don't let him talk you into a handshake deal on the basis of vibes alone. Vibes do not hold up when money is involved. Good luck.
Honestly if he refuses to even discuss it, that itself tells you something.