Starting OM company, should I have a partner?

I currently have a good friend who also so happens to have good connections to ALOT of good potential clients. He does not know much about the business, but is willing to learn and has a great work ethic.

The problem is and i know from personal experience that you should NOT go into business with family/friends, I really dont want this to ruin our friendship, but i really could use the leads from him.

Should I work out a high commission for him instead of being a partner?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

If your business could use the leads, then don't worry about the family/friend thing. Lots of successful businesses were created and built with families friends working together.

Working with friends can be rough. Just make sure he has a good work ethic and knows that you need to start from somewhere. You are going to need to offer him plenty of incentive so the partnership thing may be your best bet. If he actually has a stake in the company he will probably feel more inclined to make it a success. Many of my friends are really lazy stoners and I refuse to give them anything but commission work.

If you are partnering with him , make sure to make the whole business deals on paper . In future , if you people have any misunderstanding , this paper work will save you a lot of money .

I recently heard that two founder businesses have a much higher success ratio. That being said, I'd be tempted to pay an amazing (50%+) commission.

From my experience, i think starting a company with a partner can be great at the beginning stage (throwing in ideas, rough times, networking).
After a tiny bit of success, most of the time, things fell apart. They begin to slack off (since they had a bit of money now) etc. Just my 2 cents.

Your 100% correct about it motivating him, I was thinking the exact same thing. Why would someone want to build a business thats not theres? makes sence.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I think this will end up being a partnership.