What's a decent manager commission?

Finding work isn't even the issue—I've got more than enough of that on my plate... after about two and a half years, people just start reaching out and calling me themselves...

It’s not like they're coming around because they love a manager who actually knows how to say "good morning" when they pick up the phone...

Can you be a bit more specific here? What do you actually mean when you say he went ahead and took the jobs he’d already agreed to?

So he’s starting his own LLC and suddenly everything has to run through his business—meanwhile, I can't even send an invoice for the work I've actually finished

(Basically, I'm stuck waiting weeks for him to get his paperwork sorted just so he can collect the cash for my labor)

He’s already handed off some of the trial designs and test projects I did to another designer

But the big project we already agreed on? The one that's basically done? He wants to flip that over to his new company too

He’s even trying to hijack a job where he’s already been paid a deposit—he took exactly 50% upfront, while I'm the one footing the bill for everything else... taxes, overhead, all that nonsense...

And we're barely even started on it; I'll be grinding away on this for at least another two or three months...

Is this actually normal to you guys???????😢

I don't even need to mention that all these gigs came because of the client list I built up over years—and of course, they're tied to the firm he only joined a few months ago

Since we started working together, only ONE single job has actually been billed through him—his name was just on the proposal

If you ask me, he’s just looking to marry you off so he can swoop in and steal your client list.

If those contracts are signed under your LLC, he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Give your clients a call directly and lay it out for them. Tell them you'll be honoring every part of your agreement, but make it clear that he's officially out of the picture since he's no longer working for you.

I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty lost here because you’re only giving me half the story. 😢
1. Who actually owns the company? Is it just you, him, or is it a partnership?
2. Is he technically an employee of yours?
3. Do you guys have any kind of written contract in place?
4. What is his official role or relationship with the business?
5. And what is your actual legal standing with the firm?
6. How long have you been in business?
7. How long has he been involved in this, and what exactly is his status?

I’m honestly starting to lose my grip on this logic 🤔

- Look, if you started a project based on a quote, a purchase order, or some kind of preliminary agreement... then that job belongs to YOU. Period.

- And if you already took an advance payment? There's no way he can just swoop in and claim the work as his own. It's your job, and you have the receipt to prove it.

- I don't even get how you're saying you can't issue an invoice for work you actually finished?? I don't follow... why wouldn't you be able to?

- What's the actual legal setup between you guys here? Are we talking a freelance contract? An employee status? What? Seriously, what is it?

I mean, I'm pretty sure he can't just hijack a contracted project like that. I think even US labor laws would prohibit it... I don't know... where are all the lawyers on this thread?

Maybe you might actually have enough ground to threaten him with a lawsuit (man... I'm thinking of you, Vojkiiiii), because this guy sounds so incredibly arrogant. If you don't act, he'll probably snatch every single one of your clients within two months and leave you to shut down your business entirely.

What kind of estimates, purchase orders, or contracts are we even talking about here?
Look, it's because most of what he does is totally off the books—just a bunch of handshakes and verbal agreements. If he actually hands you a bill, it’s usually just filed under "freelance creative work" rather than an actual business expense from a legitimate company...

The real kicker is there wasn't even a formal contract between us—it was all just a handshake deal

and honestly, I don't think the legal system is going to do much for me here...

I think it’s a lost cause at this point. I’m just gonna cut my losses and walk away—anything to just be done with him already.

So, there’s really no point in debating it anymore. I originally started this thread just to figure out what a fair deal looked like and what kind of terms I should set, but that doesn't even matter now.

Thanks anyway for all the advice, everyone.
🙂

Look... I guess next time you just shouldn't go doing side gigs under the table with people you don't even know...

Look, I never actually said we were working under the table—everything was totally above board—it’s just that we didn't have a formal contract signed between us.

Are you seriously still missing the point here? If you were doing any work under YOUR own business account, you had an obligation to bill for it. And to actually bill someone, you should have signed a contract or some kind of formal agreement with the client. You didn't sign anything with the end user; you signed with whoever commissioned the site. If you skipped that step, then yeah, you really did this to yourself.

If you actually have those documents, he has zero leg to stand on. Especially since he wasn't even an employee at your company. As it stands, I could walk into a few local businesses in my area, scrape their sites off the server, tweak them a bit, and charge them for the "work." It wouldn't matter who originally built the sites in the first place.

Look, you run a business. When you're working, protect yourself. Draft a solid contract, include a maintenance period, and then just tell them... if you aren't happy once that period ends, feel free to find someone else. That way, nobody can swoop in and pull a stunt like this on you for a year or two.

Look, it’s never quite that simple...

It was all based on "friendship" or whatever, and honestly? I was just being naive and too trusting...
But from now on, if it isn't signed, sealed, and delivered in black and white, I'm not buying it. Period.

I didn't exactly hand him his job at the firm—he was brought in by the guy who was listed as the owner back then.

Now everything’s been transferred over to me, and even though that former owner basically passed the torch long ago, he can't handle the idea of me being technically above him on paper. So, instead of playing nice, he decided to cut ties, start his own outfit, and grab whatever assets he could get his hands on.

If you’d asked me before, I wouldn't have worked with someone unless I was 100% sure they weren't going to stab me in the back—but I trusted my old partner's judgment... and well, here we are.
...we were all pretty blindsided, to say the least.

He thinks he’s some big shot, just totally arrogant.

And he's finding out I'm not nearly as clueless or easy to push around as he thought I was.

So yeah, that's it. We're done working together.

All things considered, it’s a pretty strange story 😁

This might sound like a strange tale, or perhaps just an ordinary one presented through an unusual lens.
😁

From what I can gather, you took over the firm where you used to work alongside this individual at the same level.
And now, he refuses to take orders from you; instead, he’s launching his own startup and attempting to poach as many clients as possible to bring along with him.
Still, it’s a fairly standard occurrence in the cutthroat world of American business.

However, the part about taking 50% plus gas money and officially reporting the employee... that really floors me. 🙏

Keith Phillips3 said:Maybe this is just a weird story, or maybe it’s totally standard—just told in a strange way.
😁

From what I can gather, you took over the company where you used to be on the exact same level as this guy.
And now, he doesn't want to work for you—instead, he's starting his own thing and trying to drag as many clients away as possible.
Still, it's a pretty run-of-the-mill situation in the wild west of the business world.

But that part about him wanting 50% plus gas money and full benefits while being officially on the payroll? That’s just wild. 🙏

We weren't actually on the same level at the old firm... we were more like partners working side-by-side... and this guy only joined recently...
My former partner moved on to something else and decided to freeze the original company, so I stayed behind with this new guy... I set up my own LLC under my name (but kept the old company name along with all our accounts and clients)

Now this guy thinks he should be an equal partner—basically stepping right into the shoes the previous partner left behind... he just wants to jump into that spot...

It’s all getting pretty messy...

Run away from him, but don't let him touch the money you make from your jobs. Clients need to be paying your bank account directly (go meet with every single one of them in person and explain what's going on), and honestly, just let him sue you over whatever verbal agreement he thinks you made. 🙂

Chris Ruiz10 said:Run for the hills, but whatever you do, don't let him touch the money from the jobs you're doing. Clients need to be paying you directly into your own business account (you should probably sit down with every single one of your clients personally to explain what's happening), and if he wants to sue you over some verbal agreement, then let him try. 🙂

And honestly, in the eyes of the law, verbal agreements hold just as much weight as anything written on paper. 😁 Once people start playing dirty, I guess you have to play by the rules... even if those rules involve getting a little dirty yourself.

Reach out to ALL your clients immediately. Keep it brief—don't get bogged down in unnecessary drama—and just let them know that this guy has absolutely nothing to do with your company anymore and that all future business goes through you directly. You might lose a few people here and there, but most of them will likely stick with you.

Joshua Chavez said:I mean, if there's a dispute, verbal agreements count just as much as anything on paper. 😁 Once people start playing dirty, you have to stick to the rules... even if they're being dirty about it.

Sure, they count—you just have to actually prove them. 😉 And I think the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff, if I remember correctly.

It’s honestly not worth the headache, the time, or—most importantly—the cash...

I’m done letting this stress me out... all I'll say is that I managed to find more gigs in a single week than some manager does in seven months...

And I wasn't even trying...

☕