Starting a business with your best friend seems like the ideal situation. You’ll be your own bosses, work together every day, and do something that you love. However, if you’re serious about it, you need to put the work in. 70% of businesses fail, so what will make yours succeed? If you are going to go ahead with starting a business together, you’ll need to do several things.
Find Something That Suits You Both
It’s not enough to find something that sounds fun, you need to find something that works for both of you. What are your strengths and how are they compatible? Do you like marketing or do you want to work behind the scenes? What kind of time do you have to devote to it? When you have kids, you’ll need to figure out how to balance launching the business and caring for them. These are things you need to discuss before you settle on a business idea.
Make Everything Legal
Treat your business like a business and treat your best friend like any other business partner. Draw up contracts and get everything in writing. This protects you both against any issues in the future. Money can become a tense subject, especially if you don’t have the same attitude for it. In the US, over $2 billion in credits and refunds go unclaimed each year. If you and your friend would have a falling out over dealing with this for your business, you need to know exactly how it’ll impact the company. By making all decisions official, you’ll clear up any confusion during difficult times.
Bring On Outside Help
If you have the budget, bring in someone to do some of the work for you. By hiring a marketing team to take care of your advertising, you can free up time for both of you. This will make you more productive and reduce the stress level in your work. Just because it’s both of you doesn’t mean it can only be you two. And by hiring a professional marketing company, you can guarantee results Did you know that content marketing is 3x more successful for generating leads and generally costs less? Whether you hire people to work for the company or bring on contractors to do temporary jobs, getting help when you need it can benefit both you and the company.
Use Good Communication
Always be in communication with your partner. Don’t assume that just because you’re best friends, you’ll agree on everything. Have regular meetings where you discuss business matters in an objective way. If you are regularly communicating, you’ll be able to catch small problems or disagreements and work them out in a healthy way. This will save you from dealing with much bigger problems that would result from a lack of good communication.
Set an Expectation for Work/Life Balance
Make sure that you nurture your friendship outside of your business. Take breaks together where you’re not allowed to discuss marketing or any other part of work. You started this company because you love each other and thought it would be great to work together. Don’t forget this during difficult times. By treating your friendship as a priority and keeping it strong outside of work, you’ll have a healthy foundation for your professional and private lives.
Make sure that you’re both prioritizing your lives outside of work as well. You need to keep your friendship strong. But you also need to keep things going outside of your relationship with each other. Both partners should have the opportunity to spend time with their families and get the solo time that they need in order to recharge.
Working with your best friend can be a fantastic decision, especially if you’re both parents who want to start a business. As long as you treat your business like any other professional endeavor and cherish your friendship, you’ll set yourself up for years of success.
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