The sixth question on my list of things to talk about before going into business or starting a project together is: 

What role will third parties play? 

(See post #1 in this series here: https://leighchandler.com/questions-to-ask-before-you-work-together)

If you succeed, you will need other people, and involving other people in your project raises financial, legal, practical, and even emotional concerns.  Discussing this ahead of time is a good idea. 

There are three main areas where you might have different ideas about dealing with third parties:

Employees: Do you see yourself hiring employees, and if so, when?  Talk about how you think you would make hiring decisions – both the decision to hire in the first place, and the decision of who to hire.  Do you imagine yourself hiring friends, family, or people you’ve worked with before?  What if you disagree?  How do you see yourselves managing employees?

Partners and Investors: What about investors or other partners?  How do you feel about sharing control of your project with another person? 

Service Providers: Do you need professional work or advice – lawyers, financial professionals – and if so, how will you choose and manage those advisors?  If you need help but can’t afford it yet, how soon will you allocate money to these areas?