Thanks for the conversation, folks, I really need to get clear on this by tomorrow.

If they have a new employee every week, and 50 more to do six month checkups on, that's a lot more!

It's more this. There are 30 employees and a corporate culture that encourages people to move on after 2 years. She is very smart about this, wanting to keep employees energized and resisting dead wood.

Several new walkers come on every month, some more than others.

The PR stuff could be a full-time gig, as she has outlined it. I am not looking for that.

I was assuming 15, action packed hours per week, but don't think it is possible to do all this in that amount of time.

So much is on the horizon, growth-wise, and I could really help it blow up. I'm worried that even more will be added as time goes on. It is true that I'm good at a lot of this, but I won't be if I have to do it all.

The carrot is that the company is expanding tremendously in the near future. It could be huge, which would make a partnership attractive, but without seeing 'you will be a VP' in the agreement, I'm not sure it will end up being fair.

Sounds like you're pretty clear about what you need and what you would like out of the situation. I guess the trick is getting her to understand that and coming to an agreement that suits both of you.

bonny, I hate that you didn't get a conclusive result with a clearcut treatment route. Grr. Frustrating.

Thanks smonster. It is super frustrating. Just tell me what to doooooo!

I'm really feeling bad about not feeding him right now. I'm getting the laser stare of death. HE feels great, but his gut is a mess right now. We are at cross purposes.

Be the strong mama I know you are! It's for B-boy's own good.

bonny, if you need another set of eyes on what you craft or anything, I'm happy to read over stuff. I'm sure there are others here with more experience in these matters, though.

I may take you up on that, smonster, thanks.

My gut feeling is that this is way too much, way too soon. I was envisioning a 'ramp up' where I took over a few duties and facilitated the PR push for this new product launch...THEN took on more as we made sure it was a good fit.

My resistance is that, without some sort of stake other than a fairly low hourly rate, I will be supporting a huge expansion with very little return.

Now. One of the things I know about this woman is that she is ten times the business woman I am. Her follow-through is ironclad, whereas mine is not. She has built an amazing little empire out of nothing. At the same time, there are things, including emotional fortitude, that she does not have.

Even she said so, "The two of us compliment each other so well that together we would make an amazing whole."

I can't say, "Okay, now that you have built this great biz, I want a 50% stake in what I contribute from the start." That would be crazy. BUT, the new growth won't happen the way she wants it to without me. I've already given her tons of free consulting that brought her to the ideas that she is bringing into fruition now.

I honestly feel like I will be doing a VP's work for an admin's salary.

meara, that's a great question about benefits. I don't know what they are, but will find out before I talk to her.

As for the market, errand running businesses on the Hill get a fairly standard $40 per hour.

bonny, the more I think about this, the more I'm convinced you need a written contract for this work. You two aren't even in the same time zone let alone the same page when it comes to the scope of this job.

I honestly feel like I will be doing a VP's work for an admin's salary.

The beauty in that is all compensation does not have to be monetary. You can structure an agreement that creates sweat equity that can be converted for a percentage of the profits or an equity stake in the business (doesn't have to be 50%), plus a correspondingly chi-chi title.

I've already given her tons of free consulting that brought her to the ideas that she is bringing into fruition now.

This is your problem. You've devalued your services from the get-go. Now you have to bring her perception in line with reality--that kind of work costs money, and you've already given her a big discount with the freebies.

errand running businesses on the Hill get a fairly standard $40 per hour.

Dude, what? My gut reaction to that is that she should be paying you at least that. What you are doing is a much more refined skill set, actually SETS, than picking up dry cleaning.

Also, what Maria said.

And your rate should be different depending on whether you're a 1099 independent contractor or an employee. Don't forget you have to pay both employer and employee contributions on 1099 earnings.

I agree with the above.

bonny, at my university, the hourly pay is somewhat fixed based on level of education. The higher the level of education and/or experience needed for a position, the higher the wage.

So, you might want to think of that as a yardstick to gauge the hourly rate.

I think a contract is key, as well as how many hours you are willing to work. The latter will likely inform how much of the above work (and may I say, it made me exhausted reading it) you can realistically do.