Even if you're not a financial expert, knowing how to calculate equity in business is fairly straightforward: Equity equals total assets minus total liabilities.
An equity agreement is like a partnership agreement between at least two people to run a venture jointly. An equity agreement binds each partner to each other and makes them personally liable for business debts.
Still, as a general rule of thumb, most companies aim for an equity ratio of around 50%. Companies with ratios ranging around 50% to 80% tend to be considered “conservative”, while those with ratios between 20% and 40% are considered “leveraged”.
And remember, equity is expensive. Giving someone a 5% stake, means that that party owns 5% of your firm's net worth and profits forever!