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Practical guide / Free to read

Talk through working together.

Explore the business and working life each person has in mind, then leave with a useful next conversation to have.

Begin with the person behind the work

Before you start dividing tasks, give each person a chance to describe what they want from the business. A flexible week, a full-time job, a small experiment, and a business to grow are different starting points.

Try asking: what would a good ordinary week look like for you? What would you want to protect? What would you need to learn before making a bigger commitment? You can prepare your own answers first, then leave the other person's perspective open until you speak.

Give different questions their own space

Discuss contributions, ownership expectations, roles, decisions, disagreements, and what should happen if someone wants to leave. These are discussion prompts. In the US, the appropriate structure and arrangements depend on the business and the state; use the notes to prepare for advice specific to your situation.

In your notes, separate what someone could contribute from what they would do each week and what they expect in return. A proposed contribution does not, by itself, settle pay, ownership, or decision-making.

Background: SBA: Launch your business

Keep different views visible

Write down whose view you are recording. ‘We want to grow’ can hide a difference between someone who wants to try one weekend a month and someone hoping to leave their job.

Use a status that reflects the conversation: not discussed, still discussing, a working view, different views, or a need for specialist input. A working view is something to check with everyone. A completed worksheet is not evidence that everyone agrees.

Talk about the ordinary week and the unusual one

Describe recurring tasks with concrete examples: answering inquiries, preparing quotes, ordering supplies, delivering work, and keeping records. Ask what would happen if the usual person were unavailable.

Leave a place for questions about changes in time, responsibilities, or who is involved. The government's guidance also includes what happens when someone joins or leaves. Your first conversation can identify the questions without choosing a legal mechanism.

Background: SBA: Launch your business

Give the next conversation a purpose

Choose a few actions that could reduce uncertainty: walk through a working week, list existing commitments, prepare a document list, or ask an appropriate specialist a defined question. Name who you will ask to take each action and when you will return to it.

Check the notes with each person before treating a task as theirs. Keep the earlier uncertainty visible when a question is still unresolved. You can revise this record as the conversation develops.

Know what these notes are for

The planner is preparation for discussion. It does not create a contract, allocate ownership, calculate a buyout, or choose a business structure. Take legal, tax, ownership, and other specialist questions to someone appropriately qualified for your situation.

Keep the discussion notes as context for an attorney and any accounting advice you need before finalizing an agreement. Ask how each person’s interests should be represented and which decisions remain unresolved.

Background: SBA: Launch your business

Try it in your own situation

Try a short first conversation

  1. Each person describes what they hope to get from working together.
  2. Choose one topic that could affect the next decision, such as available time or everyday responsibilities.
  3. Record what each person said, what remains different, and what is still unknown.
  4. Choose one useful follow-up action and ask who can take it on.
  5. Set a point to review the notes together.

Keep exploring.

Turn a loose end into a clear next action. Explore Going into business together
Sources and further reading

Original Brass Charter examples and exercises, with background reading from the sources below.

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