Bad Partnerships

There is an old saying that says, "The only ship that is guaranteed to sink is a Partnership". Obviously, that is not the case in all partnerships. However, you may have been in a bad partnership that did not work out. Most
partnerships do not work out for a number of reasons. I work very well
with my partners. I think we will continue to work together for the rest of
our lives. But there is one main reason why, and it is because of the way
we analyze our partnership.
The next thing we are going to look at is why most partnerships fail. Most
partnerships fail because of how we enter them, or how they start.
Investors come in and they think, “Johnny is my little brother and he wants
to get into real estate. He has had these dreams and aspirations and we are
going in together. He does not really have much of anything and only
makes $7 an hour at McDonald’s. He is going to be a great partner for me
because he is willing to work, he is willing to do it and bring that attitude
to our partnership.”
First problem: you have not looked at it analytically. You have not looked
at your strengths and weaknesses and been honest with yourself. You have
not looked at his strengths and weaknesses and been honest with him. You
have not said, “Do we compliment each other?” When you are looking at
partnerships, the value your partner brings is something you need to find
out and remember. The value added to a partnership is a core component.
Why do I bring up partnerships? Your reaction is, “I bought the program
and I’m doing it by myself.” Great; but there will come a time in real estate
investing – because of the mass and the quantity and the amount of money
involved – that you will need partnerships. For those of you who have little
money to start with, you are going to need a partnership to get you off the
ground.
You need to look at what the value is for a partnership. You need to look
at it analytically:
• Are we forming the right type of partnership?
• Are you complimenting my strengths?
• Are you filling in my weakness?
• Are you just going to ride on my shoulders the entire time?
I promise that if you enter a partnership where your partners ride on your
shoulders the whole time, it will not work. You are going to feel
overburdened; you are going to feel unappreciated and you are going to
hate what you are doing to the point that it may force you out of real estate
investing altogether.
You need to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are. And
remember, you need to understand what you are going to do and you need
to do it despite the negative energy out there; despite all the negativity that
everyone is going to give you. You may hear that little devil sitting on your
shoulder telling you that you are not good enough. You are not smart
enough. Why are you doing this? You are going to lose everything. You
will be defeated.
Don’t listen. You need to move forward.
The other reason why partnerships fail is because of one word: greed. Yes,
greed will kill any investment; it will kill any partnership; and it will take
away any added value and destroy everything you’ve built. Check yourself
with your greed. By this I mean that you need to make sure that people are
not going to be greedy.
Write down the details of your partnership. Get everything in writing and
ensure that you follow those details exactly. Become integral in what you
do, be honest with what you say, and move forward. Do not let greed
overpower you, try to trick you, or destroy a good thing.
Now that we have talked about how to understand yourself, your core
motivations, and investor dilemma and risk, let’s sum it up like this:
Remember that you are... The captain of your future.
You can be successful no matter what anyone tells you; I am living proof.
If I can do it, anyone can. I really believe that. Believe it yourself. Take
advantage of everything we have to offer at the Academy. Take advantage
of our knowledge. Make goals– set them and do them. Move forward.
We are excited that you are on this journey with us. We are excited for the
journey you are about to embark on. Be positive about it and have a joyful
journey.