When my brother called and said he needed help opening his HVAC company, I thought he meant he needed help with the paperwork and bank.
I worked in a bank and I was used to doing the paperwork for new businesses.
I could get him prepared for the loan officer, and have everything ready when he went into the office. Many businesses were closed before they opened, because they weren’t prepared. I told him I would be glad to help and told him where we should start first. He told me he didn’t need my business knowledge, but he needed money. I wasn’t going to give him money unless I had a stake in the business. He told me I could call it a loan, but he needed money just to get the preliminaries started. I asked him if he wanted a business partner, and he laughed. When he told me what a great HVAC technician he was, and that was all I needed, I told him he didn’t need me and hung up. It took nearly an hour before my brother called back. He explained that he didn’t need help with the HvAC company, but with the startup. I told him I could help with the startup, but I wasn’t giving him money unless he made me a business partner. This time he hung up. I wasn’t going to call him back and when he called me again, he asked why I didn’t. I told him he needed me and I didn’t need him. He whined and told me that was how the game was played. He needed me, but I was supposed to play the game with him.