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Offered partnership, need advice.

CheapVehicleWrap

New Member
Taking the advice of someone who has the word "Cheap" in their name, would be cause to seriously consider scurrying away, and quickly...

As I said, Partners are for dancing.
I once thought differently... lost more than I care to admit.

That wasn't advice as much as it was support. And I hope that's not another Momma Joke. And I'm not expecting CHEAP postcards either. Top notch. Rounded corners, DS UV, hand signed etc.
 

artbot

New Member
i'm going to put together a big meeting and pitch what the company should look like. i've been the go to guy for so many projects at this company, practically winning the projects because the proposals i'm putting out. i've got a big dna research facility/university (5 stories) that chose only my pieces from 50 artists. so the whole building will be artbot central.

i think it's a bit of a quarterback scenario. they have the money but they need someone that can really really really throw the ball. you'd be surprised how motivated a company can get when they look to some stupid "kid" scurrying into their showroom with the exact design directions to win every single project.
 

Mason

New Member
i'm going to put together a big meeting and pitch what the company should look like. i've been the go to guy for so many projects at this company, practically winning the projects because the proposals i'm putting out. i've got a big dna research facility/university (5 stories) that chose only my pieces from 50 artists. so the whole building will be artbot central.

i think it's a bit of a quarterback scenario. they have the money but they need someone that can really really really throw the ball. you'd be surprised how motivated a company can get when they look to some stupid "kid" scurrying into their showroom with the exact design directions to win every single project.
The chick down on the corner is a definite go to gal, in fact she has the corner cornered, so to speak.... until the next hot little tramp in a pair of Daisy Dukes shows up and all the boys with $20 bills start scurrying over to her side of the curb... if ya catch my drift..
 

artbot

New Member
unless that girl has a bunch of patentable coating systems, then she's just another chick. being able to combine a brandable design doctrine with proprietary coating systems is what i've got going.

and i think the scurry motif has run its course.
 

Mason

New Member
unless that girl has a bunch of patentable coating systems, then she's just another chick. being able to combine a brandable design doctrine with proprietary coating systems is what i've got going.

and i think the scurry motif has run its course.

Youll poke your eye out kid......

And Im fairly certain you missed my point...

Do what you will, seems you made up your mind a long time ago, stop asking for advice about what youve already decided to do, its impolite and it wastes peoples time.

Although the way things are in this country it seems weve got nothing but time these days.. but thats another thread..
 

artbot

New Member
my meeting will go much differently because this thread. thanks to everyone that gave me their ideas and caveats. really appreciate it.
 

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
No advice from me, but good luck with the meeting.
Any opportunities, unsolicited or not, in this economy sound positive to me.

wayne k
guam usa
 

John Butto

New Member
That girl on the corner that Mason talks about has red bottom shoes which is a brandable design and that coating of proprietary make-up does make her a marketable chick that the boys like to spend their money on, so Mason has a point on who you get in bed with.
 

artbot

New Member
? i'm confused at this point. maybe we should avoid figurative speech and stick just saying what we mean?
 

John Butto

New Member
explanation...

? i'm confused at this point. maybe we should avoid figurative speech and stick just saying what we mean?
Red bottom shoes are the big fad, her coating is makeup that every woman wears, her pimp (partner) is her money man who does her accounting. Are you starting to see that your not getting a partner with your talents, your just pimping your talents out. That girl on the corner is the oldest profession, business model we know.
 

BobM

New Member
If you're convinced that you should go forward, be sure that whatever technology you poses, you continue to own the exclusive rights to. Nothing worse than giving your heart and soul to a partner who will watch and take notes and then out buy your technology and leave you out in the cold. He well could be just “buying you” for a short time to prove the real, marketable value of your process and the way you write proposals.
You may find he’s willing to pay, more short term for your expertise than he is willing to pay to enter a long term less expensive partnership. He needs be more valuable to you than a “financing” partner.
Proceed forward, but one careful step at a time. At the first hint of anything being out of place, run, don’t walk away.
 

SilverScout

New Member
The thing that bothers me is that you are asking for ideas on how to get out of the deal before the partnership is formed. It's one thing to have a buy out clause for ending the parntership. But to look for ways to get out of the deal before it takes place tells me the partnership is going to and will fail.

If you are looking for a partner just to help expand your business, there are other ways to do so. Look into grant money offered by the government and by private indviduals/companies. There are many grants offered by the government that you can get to expand your business while also creating new or more jobs.
 

artbot

New Member
it's not just capitol. if that was it, i'd just go slow and build up. it's the ability to get to the architectural board meetings in months with the capitol to court the $200,000 order instead of the $15,000 small potatoes job from the same project. i could go slow, but tech and mergers are speeding up the pace of business. small shops will be a thing of the past in 15 years. also america will probably tank in the next decade. i need a ten year plan that is solid, ...not hope and see.

as far as the proprietary, i'll need some patents. dupont was quizing me a long while back (about five guys in a lab) wondering how i did my samples and if it was patented. i started the patent process but never finished. i definitely need to retain those intellectual rights.

as far as the end deal. i'm just pitching so far. of course it will have to be lucrative to put up with all the bs that will come with it. just the same, i need to be dodging the bs i've been dealing with going it alone for 32 years. i will never be a marketing/sales/business genius. so why fool myself into believing i could run/own a company that does millions a year. i'm good at the product side of things. i can design a shop and a line and coating systems that can make that kind of money. but i know i couldn't get it to market with enough impact and early market share without being ripped off before i get established.
 

SilverScout

New Member
Artbot.....Please do not take this as being rude or negative. To start with you are dead wrong about the small shop being a thing of the past. Large companies will always depend upon the small shops to do the work they do not wish to do. My company would never consider doing a realtor sign for a lawn.
I still do not understand why you are or would consider getting a partner. You say you are in the business for thirty two years so your company must have a solid foundation. You say you do not have sales or marketing skills, I say hire a sales force to do what you can not. I couldn't sell a glass of ice water to anyone in hell or texas, that is why I have a sales force doing it for me. If you can't manage your business hire a business manager to do it for you.
After reading your last post I keep asking myself why would a company already or capable of doing 200,000.00 contracts want to partner up with a company only doing 15,000.00 contracts?
I guess what I'm trying to say is that it sounds like you have played it safe for thirty two years (if your business has a solid foundation) and all you have to show for it is a solid company doing the leftovers from the larger companies. If you want the large contracts you must take the risks. I started off working for a sub contractor and then bought the company from him. I then expanded by hiring a sales force/crew to get the larger contracts, and then hired more employees to handle the new contracts/work. I now have people who write the bids, sales people who sell the jobs to the clients, and metal fabricators who build the signs and I am adding a fleet of trucks so we can deliever the signs ourselves any where in the US or Canada. If you do not expand in your business your business will go no where.
 
in specific response to the additional comments that artbot has made i would also recommend that you also have a non disclosure agreement in place before sitting down and discussing proprietary processes.

separate than that. I have seen MANY business owners who have been in business for a length of time and they realize that they simply do not want to do it all...there is nothing wrong with that. if you can make this work to your benefit....great. but just be very honest with yourself and your goals. as many ppl have stated if the reason for this partnership is to increase your sales and provide capital there are other ways to go about it.
 
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