Keeping a partner freelancer motivated

[ckaspar]

I have partnered up with a friend of mine doing some freelance Access, networking and web designing. I am having a problem getting to do his "Share" of the work. I have coded most of our current Access Project and I have asked him to complete the Manual for us. He has had it for 2 months and I continue to ask how soon it will be done. He has given me a date of Tuesday and I am not expecting it to be done then.

I am havig a real problem because he has gotten us a few clients and I WILL NOT stop working with him.

What should I do? I am tired of doing all of the work but I can't get the contacts without him. We have a agreement of 50-50 in regards to payment.

 

[KenCunningham]

Sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place as far as the coding and associated work is concerned. However, looking on the positive side (well, the sun is shining and it's Friday!) your partner seems clued up enough to be keeping the jobs coming, which is in itself a skill, as I'm sure you agree. I assume it's the other partner who does the negotiating as far as cost/time etc is concerned? If that's the case there's another valuable assest he/she brings to the partnership. All relationships have to have a degree of give and take, but if you are really feeling that hard done by, you need to say something, possibly in a jokey way at first in the hope that the hint will be taken. If not, and you're still aggreived, it might be time to re-appraise the split, though as I say above, there are more skills involved in this than coding and documentation. Hope all goes well anyway.

 

[ckaspar]

I hate to brag but with his work getting he clients I have gotten more just randomly. Our current load is 5 clients. He got 1 and I got the rest. I also tend to do the negotiating for our clients as well. My clients are not very big. A few jobs here and there nothing much. The client he got us is sort of Pro Bono work so we can develop a software application for distribution to other similiar companies.

Now what should I do?

 

[flapeyre]

You got 80% of the contracts on your own.
You do virtually 100% of the work.

Quoting you, "I am havig a real problem because he has gotten us a few clients and I WILL NOT stop working with him."

Why not?

"Our current load is 5 clients. He got 1 and I got the rest. I also tend to do the negotiating for our clients as well."

His getting only one client (esecially a pro bono one) out of five does not sound like he's pulling his weight.




"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for here you have been, and there you will always long to return."

--Leonardo da Vinci

 

[ckaspar]

I won't stop working with him because he is a buddy of mine and he has offered to include me in another business ventuer he is undertaking. I won't have to provide ant capitol he will invest 100% of it and I will work in my %.

Besides he is not as skilled as I am in regards to the whole freelancing gig. Maybe I ought to just deal with having a 'flake' as a partner?

 

[flapeyre]

Your loyalty to your friend is commendable, however, business is business. Ask yourself, if this friend of yours were an an employee, would he still be working for you, based on his performance?

Maybe I ought to just deal with having a 'flake' as a partner?

Why?

(H)e has offered to include me in another business venture he is undertaking. I won't have to provide any capital he will invest 100% of it and I will work in my %.


That raises a big red flag for me. Cui bono? (To whose benefit it it?)

You can be friends without being business partners, in fact, your friendship will be better off for it (the voice of experience speaking here). My advice, for what it's worth (no, I'm not Dear Abby in another life), is to gently, but firmly refuse the second offer. And unless he has put any significant capital (as in money) into your current consulting business, you should not have a business relationship. To retain him could cost you not only the friendship, but big bucks as well. Again.. gently, but firmly, remind him that you expect to see the work you gave him done by the deadline. If he doesn't deliver, you have a hard choice to make.


"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for here you have been, and there you will always long to return."

--Leonardo da Vinci

 

[Kjonnnn]

It seems to me that if he doesnt do his share of the work and you only have a few clients, he's not gonna do his share when you get into this other venture with more and bigger clients. Him being able to network and pull in clients won't do you any good if the work can't get done effectively because you're overloaded and not finishing things in a timely fashion.

There's also a respect issue to me. He can look you in the face daily knowing that he's not pulling his share. He doesn't care. Friends and business partners don't always make good couples. Plus he knows he doesnt need to pull his weight, because you will. I bet if you stop covering for him, and you starting losing money because of he's not doing his share, he'd shape up.

 

[JeremyNYC]

One thing is for sure, I would NOT mention anything jokingly just to see how it flies. These are serious issues, and I would say, don't raise them until you're ready to deal with them head on.

Also, I agree with some others here about not necessarily mixing business and friendship--if you really value this friend, you'll sacrifice your business sense, and if you really value this business, you'll sacrifice your friendship. Of course this is not necessarily the case, but too often, that's the way it works out.

Thirdly, is it possible you just don't recognize how much work this friend is doing? If I were to approach someone about something like this, I would try to look at it from the perspective of 'maybe I'm wrong about how little work this person is doing', or something along those lines.

And another thing is a question of how much it really matters. Are you making enough money to live a decent life? Are you making enough money, on an hourly basis, to feel properly compensated for the work you do?

Just a few thoughts.

Jeremy

==
Jeremy Wallace
AlphaBet City Dataworks

http://www.ABCDataworks.com

Affordable Development, Professionally Done

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