I'd think about it....... v-e-r-y carefully.
A few things that have happened to me over the years.
A very good customer of mine had a nice -in-house sign shop. They did a ton of work and also lots of gradis work for other charitable companies. Their sign shop had everything. Well, I used to do the overflow work that they couldn't handle. This is all long before computers....all hand painted stuff. After about a year or so, they wanted me to come work for them and I was allowed to keep my own accounts yet, but their work would have to come first. I was only in business for myself for a short time and having a weekly paycheck, benefits, vacation and pension sure looked nice. My parents at the time said I was nuts f I didn't take it. Many friends and others said the same thing. Well, I mulled it over for a few weeks and finally turned it down for many reasons, which at the time didn't make sense to anyone else. Outcome was.... about five or so years later, the company was bought out by someone else and they did away with the entire sign department and they were all out of a job... except me. Guess where they continued to get their signs from.........
A very good friend, old friend and now employee of ours had his own business. In fact, it was his grandfather's business, then his Dad's and then he got it. After his father passed away, he merged with a friend of his.... and they did quite well, except, neither of them were very business minded and they foundered. A big business guy bought in and became a third silent partner and made them an offer exactly like yours. He gave them anything they wanted and let them alone to do their thing. This went on for about two or three years. They did all of his work for free and the other billing went through his office. What they didn't know was..... he literally took full control of the business and things started missing like pay checks, tools and somehow the entire customer list was unavailable to them. That's when they started asking questions and in the fine print on various pages where they initialed, dated and signed.... was the part that they were actually employees and he was closing down the shop and they couldn't take anything along with them. He weaseled everything away and they left with nothing.... not even the customers that they brought in. The sad part was.... they had the chance to know this and just took everything by mouth to be 100% accurate. Wrong.
I know another guy that had a shop and moved down south somewhere to take on a job with a sign company and after he moved everything down, including his family and all.... they said they no longer needed him.
Some years ago, a guy who was actually over-qualified for our needs came in to our shop and asked for a job. I told him his resume' was quite impressive and I didn't think I could pay him his worth. He said, that's Okay, anything is better than nothing. Well, it is for him, until he finds someone that is willing to pay him more than me. He'll be on his way in a snap. His story was.... he was brought in from across the country to work for a company and could do everything his way. He too, moved his family across the country set up digs, bought a house... the whole nine yards. The job he started on with this company took about 7 or 8 months to complete. What this guy didn't know was.... the owner had someone following his every move, learning everything they could about this guy and how he did things. They took extensive notes and when the job was over.... so was he. Now, the guy that took his place was a friend of mine and I learned about this part much later. He couldn't do what the other guy did and the owner got so mad at him.... the guy quit before he got fired and took all of his notes with him.
I guess what I'm saying is.... no matter how good the deal looks, read it carefully, ask questions and then read it again... then have a legal eye look at it. I know sometimes a move is good and can be the best thing you ever do, but it can also backfire on you and cause great pain and loss. Make sure you have a backup plan... even if you can start a business outside your non-compete zone.... or have a friend you could go work for in case you're being used.
Just be careful my friend........
