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7 Points To Include In Your Business Partnership Prenup.

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6 years ago

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Next to marriage, a business partnership is the most intense and collaborative-dependent and interdependent relationship an Entrepreneur and business owner can have. And, like marriages, over 50% of them will fail. That’s a staggering statistic by any measurement.

If you’re part of a business partnership, you expect to have discussions that end in decisions rather than arguments with your partner or partners and where communication is not a barrier but rather a tool for success. However these are major issues that result in the demise of many potentially successful partnerships.

So if you’re considering a partnership and aren’t sure how to determine if there is a fit, and how to make sure you have shared values, beliefs, goals before you enter into the partnership what do you need to do and look out for.

Well partnerships are natural breeding grounds for conflict because everyone is a chief, or at least think they are. That’s just one of the reasons many partnerships end up failing. Partnerships form with the best of intentions but they fail for a variety of preventable reasons.

Partnerships generally form for three basic reasons:

 A few very smart and talented people decide to pool their talents because they believe that they will be able to leverage their combined skills and knowledge to better meet the needs of the marketplace.

 Most consultants are inadequate on the sales and marketing front and they hope that by having more people involved in rainmaking they will create a more stable business.

 Occasionally, partnerships form because the founders believe that a partnership will be more fun and rewarding than going it alone.

Like many high profile marriages, where the stakes are high in the event of failure and separation the partners agree on what will happen if and when this comes to an end in the form of a pre nuptial agreement or prenup. In this way everybody knows before going in what’s going to happen going out and what happens in between.

So what do you include in your Partnerships prenup. This is not an exhaustive list but represents some of the things that readily come to mind and internet research.

1. Ensure that you adequately define the agreed vision and reason for starting the business which should be more than simply being a vehicle to make money. Develop a vision for the partnership that people must opt-in to before joining. You want people to self-select into the partnership based on vision and value congruence vs. simply joining to earn a paycheck, otherwise, you’ll have to keep paying them more to keep them around. Failure to do this will result over time in partners leaving because of values, career or life goal misalignment.

2. Ensure that you develop effective decision-making processes especially if you have assertive partners who will do what they want, causing less assertive partners to resent those decisions and actions because they weren’t consulted. Without a clear understanding and agreement on how decisions are to be made, partners will end up feeling that their views weren’t adequately considered. Or, they end up doing what they want to do because they didn’t understand, agree with or buy-into the decisions and directions that they believed were made. As a result, decisions you thought were made end up in the dustpan of disregard and irrelevance. The end result is that partners will go in opposing directions that meet their own needs but not the strategic needs and direction of the partnership.

3. Money, money money. Always talk and agree money and financial matters from the outset, preferable when there is no money on the table and the business is looking to raise the startup capital. Ensure that that prenup protects the business against rewarding those who take care of themselves above the common good. Partnership compensation structures have been known to encourage fiefdom building, not teamwork.

4. Equality and Balance. Avoid situations where you have a dominant partner who can make or break the partnership due to his particular skill, expertise, influence, contacts and or financial resources. Known as Rainmakers they can become prima donnas and end up holding the partnership hostage with the threat that they will take their clients and resources elsewhere. Resist the temptation to bring on rainmakers who do not share your values. Value misalignment can create conflicts in approach to business development, delivery of services and how you treat one another. Create a mindset that everyone is in the sales and marketing business and is responsible for not only delivering services (the easy job) but bringing in new business. Some people will be more naturally effective at rainmaking but everyone can learn to do it more effectively in a way that is congruent with his or her personality.

The last thing you want is for the Rainmaker to walk and the business folds.

5. Partners that play and socialize together outside of work tend to stay together. Often times partners are so business and client focused that they don’t adequately attend to the care and feeding of each other and for non-partner staff. As a consequence, people do not develop a sense of camaraderie and loyalty to each other and the partnership. They leave once they see a better opportunity elsewhere. Agree to make time for each other outside of the business.

6. Be clear about the end game for the partnership. Leahcim Semaj often laments on the fact that many business owners are never sure if they are building a business to last and pass on to future generations or building to sell at the right time and price, to be acquired, to grow into a powerhouse or to be just a lifestyle business. Answers to this question will help determine the strategic direction for the partnership and the action steps to achieve the goals. A lifestyle business will require a different strategy than building a business that will become an attractive buyout candidate. You want people to join the partnership with a clear understanding and agreement about the goal of the partnership. This is a corollary to developing a vision. Vision is the raison d’être, while the end game helps people know how they will be able to cash out or retire.

7. Determine in advance how partners can exit gracefully if they determine it’s time to move on, e.g., financial aspects of the separation. All it takes is one bad exit to tank a partnership through all the bad press and karma. You want ex-partners to remember and talk well of their time at your company. Make it possible for your ex-partners to want to refer business to their alma mater.

If you follow these guidelines the odds will be in your favor to create a long and successful partnership.

Additional Source: Why Partnership Fail and Steps to Prevent Failure by Carl Robinson, Ph.D., © 2007

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Businessuite News24

GCT Exemption Threshold for MSMEs Increased to JA$15 Million

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3 weeks ago

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March 16, 2025

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The Government of Jamaica has announced an increase in the General Consumption Tax (GCT) exemption threshold from $10 million to $15 million for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, in opening the 2025/26 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 11, said the change is aimed at supporting the growth and development of small businesses.

Mrs. Williams said the latest figures from the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) show that there are an estimated 422,000 registered small businesses in Jamaica, generating 80 per cent of the jobs in the Jamaican economy.

“This means 1,136,240 persons in our workforce are employed by MSMEs,” the Finance Minister noted.

In addition, the Minister said the Government has allocated $2 billion to support MSMEs.

“[The sum of] $2 billion is in the Budget for the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) to allow them to continue to facilitate sustainable growth of start-ups and MSMEs, and to continue to support women-led initiatives, entrepreneurship training, including digital skills bootcamp,” she outlined.

The DBJ is a public body in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation that channels financing to MSMEs, as well as large projects, to facilitate economic growth and development.

“It will continue to pursue innovative means of mobilising funding and leveraging private-sector investment and expertise through its venture capital programme, as well as public-private partnerships and privatisation transactions,” Mrs. Williams said.

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Businessuite News24

JA$2 Billion in Support to Jamaican MSMES

“Small business owners have said to me that opening a bank account for their business is difficult. They feel there’s no difference between the requirements for them as MSMEs, as opposed to a very large institution,” she noted.

Published

3 weeks ago

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March 16, 2025

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The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) has been allocated $2 billion in the 2025/26 Estimates of Expenditure to support funding to the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the disclosure while delivering the opening presentation in the 2025/26 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 11).

“It (the DBJ) will continue to pursue innovative means of mobilising funding and leveraging private-sector investment and expertise through its venture capital programme, as well as public-private partnerships and privatisation transactions,” she informed.

Mrs. Williams noted the Government’s commitment to the MSME sector, which includes an estimated 422,000 registered small businesses, generating 80 per cent of the jobs in the economy.

Approximately 1,136,240 persons are employed by MSMEs.

The Minister acknowledged that there are several issues facing the sector, including lack of equitable access to financing, high interest rates and cumbersome requirements for opening bank accounts.

“Small business owners have said to me that opening a bank account for their business is difficult. They feel there’s no difference between the requirements for them as MSMEs, as opposed to a very large institution,” she noted.

She pledged to work with Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, to reduce the requirements for the entities to open bank accounts.

The Finance Minister noted, further, that Government will be increasing the General Consumption Tax (GCT) exemption for small businesses from $10 million to $15 million.

By: Donique Weston JIS

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Businessuite News24

Jamaica Open For High-Value Agricultural Investments – Minister Green

“Now is the time for high-value agricultural investment, right here in Jamaica. Things that we produce in Jamaica are sought after all over the world. As such, we do believe there are significant opportunities now in agro processing,” Mr. Green said.

Published

3 weeks ago

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March 16, 2025

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Jamaica is being touted as a prime destination for high-value agricultural investments.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, highlighted that the country is at a pivotal stage in its transformation, pointing out that the Ministry’s key objectives are to drive investment, expand trade, and strengthen food security.

“To achieve this objective, the nation must collaborate with its international partners,” he told members of the Diplomatic Corps on Wednesday (March 12).

Minister Green said Jamaica, having seen a declining debt-to-GDP ratio and myriad other positive economic outcomes in recent years, is well positioned to take advantage of global opportunities.

He was speaking during a Ministerial Briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in downtown Kingston, which formed part of activities marking Diplomatic Week 2025.

Mr. Green said while Jamaica currently benefits from several trade arrangements with its regional partners, the Government wants to expand the global footprint in trade and investment.

“What we want to see from my Ministry’s perspective [is] how we can leverage these arrangements to do much more. As such, we want to work with you (the diplomatic corps) to drive trade expansion, to reduce market barriers and to facilitate direct connections with importers and distributors so that we can expand our exports,” the Minister outlined.

He added that there are significant investment opportunities and win-win proposals for Jamaica and its partners.

“Now is the time for high-value agricultural investment, right here in Jamaica. Things that we produce in Jamaica are sought after all over the world. As such, we do believe there are significant opportunities now in agro processing,” Mr. Green said.

The Minister emphasised that one area now ripe for investments is orchard crop farming.

“We do have land available for investment in orchard crops. In fact, we’ve developed our first ever mango orchard, or mango agro park, where we invite private-sector investors to come in and establish 50-acre blocks of mango farms. That is going well. In fact, we’ve already established about 200 acres. We want to establish another 300 acres in this financial year,” the Minister outlined.

Mr. Green also touted opportunities in livestock farming and the dairy industry, noting that Jamaica is looking to leverage partnerships in this area.

“We want to facilitate greater bilateral discussions between you and your home countries with Jamaica’s agricultural sector around investment… around connecting investors with local projects that can accelerate economic growth,” he told the diplomats.

Mr. Green pointed out that Jamaica’s collaboration with its international partners has been instrumental in advancing the nation’s economic agenda.

By: Donique Weston, JIS

Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson

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Powering the Future: How Tech and Policy Are Driving Explosive Growth in Energy Storage, Renewables, and EVs

Published

4 weeks ago

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March 5, 2025

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The energy storage, renewable energy, and electric vehicle (EV) industries are experiencing significant growth, driven by technological advancements and policy support.

Energy Storage Sector

The global energy storage market is projected to expand from USD 416.02 billion in 2025 to USD 841.19 billion by 2033, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2% (Straits Research, 2024). This growth is primarily attributed to the increasing integration of renewable energy sources and the need for grid stability. In the United States, battery energy storage capacity is expected to nearly double by 2024, reaching over 30 gigawatts (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2023).Mission-Critical Energy Storage Battery Pack Sector.

Mission-Critical Energy Storage Battery Pack Sector

The demand for mission-critical energy storage solutions is intensifying, particularly in sectors requiring an uninterrupted power supply, such as data centres and healthcare facilities. The U.S. battery energy storage system market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 30.5% from 2024 to 2030, reaching USD 4.4 billion by 2030 (Grand View Research, 2023). This surge is driven by the need for reliable backup power and the integration of renewable energy sources into critical infrastructure.

Renewable Energy Industry

The renewable energy sector is undergoing rapid expansion. In 2024, the United States added 48.2 gigawatts of solar, wind, and battery storage capacity, a 47% increase from the previous year (The Guardian, 2025). Declining costs and supportive policies like the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 propel this growth. Globally, China has made significant strides, adding clean energy generation in the first half of 2024, equivalent to the entire electricity output of the United Kingdom for the previous year (The Guardian, 2024).

Electric Vehicle Industry

The EV market is expanding swiftly. In 2023, electric cars accounted for approximately 18% of all vehicles sold globally, up from 14% in 2022 (International Energy Agency, 2024). Projections indicate that by 2024, 25% of all new passenger car registrations will be electric, surpassing 17 million units in sales worldwide (GreenMatch, 2024). This trend is supported by technological advancements, increased consumer acceptance, and policy incentives to reduce carbon emissions. These industries are experiencing robust growth, driven by technological innovation, policy support, and a global shift towards sustainable energy solutions.

Extracted from Alexander Melville Chief Executive Officer Tropical Battery Company Limited (TROPICAL) – Interim Financial Statements For The First Quarter Ended December 31, 2024

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Corporate Movements: Margaret Campbell Appointed CEO of GKMS Group; Lee-Anne Bruce Named COO

Published

4 weeks ago

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March 5, 2025

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GraceKennedy Limited (GK) is pleased to announce leadership changes at GraceKennedy Money Services (GKMS) as part of its ongoing succession plan and strategic talent development and deployment.

Effective April 1, 2025, Margaret Campbell will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GKMS Group. Campbell, who has worked with GKMS for over 25 years, has served as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) since 2020. She joined GKMS in 1996 and has held several leadership roles during her tenure including, Financial Controller, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Country Manager for GKMS Jamaica. A Fellow Certified Chartered Accountant, Campbell also holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Manchester and serves on several GK subsidiary boards. She is also the current President of the Jamaica Money Remitters Association.

Frank James, Group CEO of GraceKennedy, expressed confidence in Campbell’s leadership, stating, “Margaret has demonstrated strong leadership and an unwavering commitment to providing exceptional value and convenience to our customers across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, in keeping with our vision of being the number one Caribbean brand in the world. I have no doubt she will continue to drive GKMS forward.”

Grace Burnett, CEO of GKFG, added, “Margaret’s industry expertise and strategic approach make her the ideal person to lead GKMS into the future. Her experience and passion for operational excellence will be instrumental as GKFG continues to grow and evolve.” The announcement of Campbell’s appointment comes as Burnett, who has led GKMS since 2019, prepares to retire from GraceKennedy later this year.

Lee-Anne Bruce

Additionally, GraceKennedy has named Lee-Anne Bruce as the new COO of the GKMS Group, also effective April 1, 2025. Bruce holds a bachelor’s degree from the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University and is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. With over a decade in senior leadership roles at GK, she has served as Group Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and most recently, Chief Audit Executive. She began her career at GK in 2003, when she played a key role in GKMS’ expansion into the Eastern Caribbean.

Margaret Campbell, incoming GKMS CEO, welcomed Bruce’s appointment, stating, “Lee-Anne is no stranger to GKMS and her extensive experience and understanding of our business will undoubtedly be invaluable in her new role.”

In light of the leadership changes at GKMS, Judith Chung, Group Chief Compliance Officer & Senior Legal Counsel, will act as Chief Audit Executive of GraceKennedy Limited, while Jason Bailey, Head of Risk, will temporarily assume responsibility for the Compliance portfolio.

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