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Expert
Posts: 1549
  
Location: Southwest Louisiana | So my neighbors are trying to suck me into going into business with them....They are really nice people, but they don't really know animals. They moved here a few years ago onto the neighboring 20 acres. We are in the middle of the woods, with ours and their 20 acres next to each other it looks like a big 40 acre field in the middle of the woods. They have grown kids who don't live near here. So last year they build this big huge barn, cross fence some areas, get a ton of chickens, some sheep and a few cows. I had to give her advice, fix her up with goat's milk when her baby sheep were born in the middle of the night and the momma died, gave all of the sheep and cows their vaccinations, etc. Anyway, so they got rid of every animal a few months ago. She now needs something to do to keep busy. She has the barn and pens and a few other buildings on the property not being used and wants to board dogs, cats and possibly horses. So she wants me to be her partner and go into business together.
I work from home, I write for automotive companies and some magazines here and there. So I'm here and have the time. It sounds interesting, but I'd like to hear from someone who's done this before. Pros, cons, what to look for, etc. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | To me this sends up red flags. You had to go over there help out quite a bit since she didn't know animals so now if you go into business with her do you think you'll be doing less work?
If it was me I'd decline. She sounds like she has a big heart but no real clue on how to care for animals so big heart and no knowledge usually end in disaster. You're neighbours so can you handle it if it ends badly and now you're stuck living next to them? If they end up caring badly for someone's animal can you handle having your name attached to it.
If you do decide to proceed make sure you sit down with lawyers and hammer out a fair agreement on shared costs/profits. Also make sure you have extra home/liability insurance because in the event something goes wrong there are two sets of funds to go after not one, if the party decides to sue.
Best of luck! |
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 The One
Posts: 7997
 
Location: South Georgia | Based on the wording of your initial post, my advice would be to go with your gut feeling. I would not do it. My guess would be that the workload would not be evenly distributed and you'd be constantly frustrated by the partner's lack of knowledge. |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7264
| Run fast and FAR, FAR away! This sounds like a nightmare! |
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  Witty Enough
Posts: 2954
Location: CTX | Well I would not walk away, but run away! (And people that know me know how uncharacteristic that is for me.
As RNR already stated you had to help them with their animals before, so this sounds to me you will be taking care of all the animals, and also be responsible for them.....
Nope, wouldn't do that with good friends, let alone a neighbor that I barely knew.... |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I worked at a grooming/boarding facility for several years. If you do it, realize that your busiest times are holidays and summer. When our area was under a hurricane watch people wanted to board their dogs with us while they hot out of town. They hot really ugly when we told them we were actually not boarding animals for the hurricane for several reasons, most importantly for the animals sake. You will be washing and dipping dogs for ticks and fleas and walking them several times a day while also cleaning poop throughout the day. Boarding was especially hard on the cats. Even sweet cats got mean because of fear- we didn't have a separate building for the cats. Even Christmas morning and evening I was walking dogs. It sure wasn't a bad job to have, I liked it, but from your post, I wouldn't do it with your neighbor. I agree with everyone else |
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 Go For It!
Location: Texas |
I am not one to generally do the "partner" thing, but for some people it can work well. I would first ask what the terms are. Would you be an actual partner? Would you set up a DBA or corporation? These businesses can be quite profitable if done correctly. Since you would be using her property to conduct the business you would have to decide on the percentage of income that would be shared as well as the work load. It could be a good thing if you think that you could work with them. I would definitely draw up some kind of schedule and make it an actual business rather than just two neighbors boarding some animals together.
Think about it and weigh things out. Be sure to consider expenses like insurance, electric, upkeep of the grounds, paperwork, licensing requirements, etc.
Good luck! And keep us updated on what you decide!
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Expert
Posts: 1549
Location: Southwest Louisiana | After going over there and talking to her yesterday, I'm looking for a nice way to say no way in heck. She has a shed with no windows, she's going to run power to it for a heater/ac window unit, will stack kennels up and let each dog out into the fenced in area around the shed. She is not going to require any proof of vaccinations (after I brought it up) and she mentioned anything other than letting them in and out she'd leave up to me (like bathing, etc). There's no way. They said this is going to be where they retire, so they are here for the long haul. I'd rather be just neighbors. She just wants to make around $4000/year to pay their property taxes. I will probably help her get her website set up and give her marketing advice, since that's what I do, but that's it. Thanks for the advice.
Edited by Rocket'sMagicGirl 2015-10-07 10:08 AM
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Go For It!
Location: Texas |
Hey, at least you figured it out now rather than later, lol.
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Expert
Posts: 1314
Location: North Central Iowa Land of white frozen grass | I would also be a little short on the advise that you give them so if things go bad you don't get blamed. |
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Expert
Posts: 2531
Location: WI | I could only see this working if you managed the whole business and basically 'rented' the space from her. Doesn't sound like she has the right space, though. |
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Veteran
Posts: 234
| I quit reading after going into business with my neighbors - NO- been in a partnership business before and NEVER again - own it 100 percent or nothing at all |
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