Your best friend has a great idea to make money. Because you two have such great chemistry he invites you to become a partner in business. Would you? Should you?
All the business people I know tell me the same thing, “Don’t do it,” citing one bad experience or another. All had parted ways with their once-good friends.
I can see their point. Business is about making decisions – tough decisions. When you put everything on the line, you tend to become less tolerant about mistakes and different opinions. What you find funny about a friend can suddenly become the very thing that harms your business.
The biggest killer of a friendship-cum-partnership I’ve been told is differences in opinion. I’ve never been in this situation before so I’m no expert 
but must it be true that business partnerships among friends is something impossible?
What if you could separate the domains of the two working friends so that they’re not in a position of having to compete for ideas, opinions and decisions with each other. For example what if friend A just focuses on writing game software and friend B focuses on selling it.
By separating the responsibilities (the further the better) can the friendship escape being judged by some business criteria? I mean we don’t judge the weight of an object with a measuring tape because its the wrong tool for the purpose so why would anyone use business criteria to measure friendship.
I get the answer…silly me. I’m dreaming eh.
Anyway a friend of mine is thinking of setting up a partnership with his best friend. They’re cool guys in their mid 20s. I’d hate to see the untoward happen and knowing these two fellas I know that something will happen. But how do you convince someone to ‘waste time’ on little details like this when the smell of money is so strong.
What about you, would you set up a business with your friend?
never unless you’re trying to con your friend’s money….LOL
The previous effed company I worked at was founded by two best friends. One has a background in management and education (let’s call him A) and the other was an accounting wiz (let’s call her B).
The plan was simple, A would be in charge of the overall running of the business, while B took care of the financial aspect of things.
The company was screwed from day one because despite his tremendous experience, A has no sense of business reality. Every money-related red flags we highlighted to him (expenses, turnover, etc) are dismissed by his favourite phrase; “Money will come”.
The worse thing is, B always succumbed to A’s unrealistic demands and kept on funding the business with her other incomes. A is a pigheaded person who wants to have the last say in everything. To him this is his role in the company. B should just provide the dosh and keep quiet.
Needless to say, they didn’t stay best friends for long. B now works a couple of jobs and side-projects to repay all the debts the accumulated during the existance of the company.
What about A? He fled off to the UK.
Personally I won’t but then again there are some successful stories I suppose… eg. Cat’s Whisker’s boutique, heard a few friends started it up.
Hi lansi, nice name. Dunno about con but I think many don’t know what they’re getting themselves into.
Hi Azmeen, I’ve heard a few similar cases b4. Its a shame cause many ppl took a lifetime to develop their friendship only to lose it in months.
Hi Angel, Cat Whiskers… selling cat clothes?
Hey,
I have a link to your blog in mine: http://www.dropbystation.wordpress.com.
Came across your blog randomly when I searched through blogspot for some cool blogs. Yours really intrigues me since day one.
Here’s what I think:
If you trust that particular friend of yours enough, go ahead and start off a business but ensure that the initial liability is bearable. Differences in opinions always arise, whether in partnership or not. The only significant thing is that in a partnership with your friend, the differences in opinions will matter a lot and they definitely bring up the issues of trust. Make sure that you are not that lazy until you leave everything to your friend to handle, and even when jobs are divided among yourselves, do take the initiatives to cross-advise. This ensures that you realize of each other’s participation and concern over the business.
Just a food of thought.
Jimmy Ng
Hi Jimmy, thanks for linking to my blog. My original question though was not about the success or failure of the venture but whether a friendship can survive that venture. You mentioned a key word trust. Trust in a friendship is not the same as trust in business. Unfortunately many ppl get confused which is which and when they can’t separate it, friendship can become a casualty.
You are welcome Bryan. I am pleased that you would not ask me to scrap off the link to your blog simply because mine is just too bad.
So far I believe that many people try to separate friendship and business, only a handful will try to strengthen the friendship through the ventures they are in. Of course, the sort of trust you are looking for in business partnership may not be similar to that in a friendship, but allow me to point out that the sort of trust you have in a wife may not be also the same as the trust you have in your girlfriend. Certainly, you go through more with a wife than with a girlfriend; just like in a partnership, I presume you shall go through more with your partner than with your friend. Either way, it all lead to one thing: shall the venture fail, it does not necessarily mean that you have a failed partnership and you two can’t be friends after that; shall a divorce takes place, it does mean that you have a failed marriage but it does not mean that you cannot befriend your ex-wife.
All I know is that optimism and good evaluation of all the factors concerned must be part of the success in anything.
Hope you won’t be annoyed by the this attempt to answer your question.
Hi Jimmy, not to worry
I know where you’re coming from and yes I agree with you that its good to keep the optimism in a partnership. Not all friend-cum-partner tie ups are condemned to fail I’m sure.
Hey your blog looks good and I’ve linked to it