Once again I speak from personal experience.

If you go into a partnership ... make sure you understand all aspects of the partnership.

There is no such thing as a verbal agreement ... well there is ... but if you getting the short end of the stick then chances are you gonna end up with the short stick.

When a person tells you ... you are in it "together" ... make sure you understand what it means ... 50 % means you have 50 % rights to everything ... not just the debt.

if you earning R5000 a month and driving an old rusted company bakkie or your own vehicle and your 50 % partner is drawing R50 000 per month (to keep up his/her lifestyle) out of the company and driving a R1.5 M company car ... best you be putting a little more thought into the partnership.

or the company purchased your delivery bike and claiming the vat and expenses every month ... yet its being deducted from of your monthly salary.

There are so many things to be aware of when going into partnerships/joint ventures.

Make sure you understand your role in the company ... each persons role should be clearly defined before it gets out of hand.

You get the partners who always seem to be in the office doing paper work ... delegating to everyone all the time ... always too busy to tackle those crappy jobs.

Beware of going into a partnership where the company is already operating ... and the previous owner feels he is the boss man ... you find he still treats the partners like employees.

Take a break and look around ... listen to your gut ... if it feels like your getting screwed ... there is a good chance you are.