32 comments. 1 is actual help. Reddit is alive and well.

Ok well assume that I don’t see it as overly complex and wouldn’t be using outside cash. Do you have experience in the space? If so, I’d love to hear what you did to be successful or if you went the non-entity route, what that looked like for you. Thanks!

The business part is what I am trying to do though. For tax and liability reasons. I guess could you provide more detail if you don’t see a reason for that?

This is the most comical thing I’ve ever read

To start, all I want to do is buy a property (likely a condo that we would either use ourselves or do short-term rentals). It could evolve into anything but this is a first foray so I am open to anything. For right now, I’d say purely focus on buying one property and focusing on the business setup side of it.

Read Profit First

There are a lot of other details we don’t have that would make it easier to understand but I’d say overall, it doesn’t sound like a terrible deal. I would get very clear on some definitions though:

1. Outline much deeper what that 35% distribuiton is going to entail. In the first year, you may need to make investments and want to have cash on hand in the bank so if he expects a fully realized dividend based on an accrual profit margin, but your business isn’t in a position to spport that, you just want to have a better understanding of what your potential exposure could be.

2. Define clearly what “bookkeeping/admin/marketing help” actually means. Does that mean he is going to assist with that when he can? Provide someone full-time? Allocate resources for it, etc? Understanding what that means will be crucial as those support roles are critical and if not done correctly, will distract you from what needs to be done.

​

Overall, sounds pretty fair but definitely get into the details on that stuff so you both understand and get a very solid operating agreement.

You probably don’t want to hear this but I am big on ownership and figuring out what YOU did to precipitate the situation devolving into what it is.

Without deep thought or knowing details, best case scenario, you hired and/or tolerated unacceptable behavior in employees and didn’t act on it quickly enough thus leaving you in this spot. Worst case scenario, you have some kind of blind spot and you did something to drive good employees to do something like this. Either way, at some point there was something you could have done to mitigate the situation.

Side note but a major red flag for me is that you’re using cameras to monitor employee conversations. Maybe given the circumstances it’s developed to a point where maybe you feel you have no choice but that is a real slippery slope. If that’s normal behavior for you, I’d assume there are other red flags that if I were an employee may contribute to doing what they did.

No one has the detail that you do and no one on Reddit can give you the best answer based on your situation. I’d advise you to really take a deep internal look at yourself as the leader and how you enabled this situation. That’s not to say take all of the blame for actions of others, but being honest with yourself now vs telling a story that fits your narrative will save you pain and heartache later.

Totally reasonable. It could all fall apart so there’s no reason to alert everyone until it’s all finalized. You could just ask him straight up what the concern is. It will be yours eventually.

Precipitate his resignation

If they can’t figure out clocking in and out, imagine all of the other things they’re screwing up in their duties that you have no idea.

I can’t imagine keeping an employee that can’t figure out how to clock in and out.

You don’t. It’s not supposed to feel good. All you can say is you’re freeing them up to find something that’s a better fit and you’re opening an opportunity for someone else. It still doesn’t feel good.

Per day? 20+ via email. 5+ via LinkedIn. 2-3 phone calls a day. 1-2 texts a day.

It’s unbelievable how many I get