Whether you had a pre-existing relationship or not, you and your business partner probably spent a long time discussing your ideas and hopes for the company that you founded or purchased together. However, over the course of business operations, it is possible for your intentions and ideas to diverge substantially.
You may reach a point where you believe that the best financial option is to sell your interest in the business. If your partner doesn’t want to sell the business to someone else, what options do you have?
Your partner could potentially buy you out or vice versa
If your partner doesn’t want to sell to someone else, they may be amenable to selling to you. If they want to retain ownership of the company, then they might be interested in possibly buying out your portion of the business ownership or allowing you to sell your portion only to someone else.
Explore why you want to sell and why they don’t
Maybe you need the capital from a business sale to invest in another project, or perhaps you’re getting close to retirement and no longer want the responsibility of business ownership. Your partner, on the other hand, may think that now is not an ideal time to sell because the business may be worth more in several years. They may also be younger or may just have plans to continue working for longer than you do.
Sometimes, by exploring the reasoning behind business decisions, partners can work through their conflicts and reach a compromise. If the two of you still can’t find a way to reach an agreement or continue working together, pursuing business litigation in order to revise your contract or dissolve your company may become necessary.
