Your take on launching 2 businesses with a friend?

[The-J]

Start with one business.

Also, friends as partners usually suck. Sometimes they don't. But they usually do. Basically, your partner needs to be contributing either (a) labor or (b) capital. A 50/50 partner needs to be putting up as much labor as you do capital, or vice versa, or both. If the partnership falls out, typically the friendship goes with it. Think statistically here.

Also:

(everything already planned)

Somehow I doubt that, mate

 

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[miked_d]

1. Don't make your dreams dependent on another person. You are the best person to make them reality.

2. Stick to one business at first or neither will reach their full potential.

 

[jazb]

You are 18, don't think about ''business'' so hard. just focus on sales. sell one thing...then another...and another

 

[Oswalito]

wish I had a friend who was as serious about business as I am.

 

[JasonR]

If you haven't created one successful business yet, what makes you think you should START with two?

 

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[Birdie]

I am currently 18 and live in a small appartment with a good friend (both studying). I have a blog with a strong social media presence running and would use it for marketing for my new product (everything already planned). As i have more ideas than just that one, i thought about creating multiple businesses with him as he is a very good friend, very intelligent and smart and from my point of view better suited for the fastlane than anyone else i know. I think he would like this idea, since he studies mathematics to "get rich" and he always likes new "adventures" (i don´t know how to express it properly in english). What do you think? Did anyone of you try this? Did it work? Currently i think involving him would be a good idea, since 2 minds can think and work more than 1 mind and we could complement each other.
Thanks in advance for your replies, Ses

What does he really bring to the table?
Has he ever made a sale? Does he know about marketing, setting up a website, doing accounting? What are his SKILLS?
Would he be willing to put capital into the business? What percent of your profits will you share?
What will happen if he gets tired of the business and wants out? Will you keep working for him while he passively receives the money?

I would definitely bring him in once you have already made some sales. Like jazb said, focus on making sales, sales, sales.

Once you have a proven concept, you can bring in anyone who is willing to help with capital or putting sweat equity.

Do not bring him in just to have "someone to brainstorm" or to assure you of your choices. It seems like you look up to him and he would override your opinions since you think he is very "wise".

However, if he is willing to invest into it, then by all means bring him in. He should have a stake in your business- both if you fail or if you win, so that it doesn't feel unproportional, if you are doing all the work and he takes it as a hobby.

Good luck

 

[LibertyForMe]

As my good friend once put it, "The fastest sinking ship, is a partnership."

LOL. That is a fun quote, but they definitely are not all bad.

Both people need to bring something unique to the table. Based on watching some people in my life that own a very successful business and are partners, you both need to work extremely hard, and be able to trust each other 100% without having to micromanage.

 

[csalvato]

It's nearly impossible to do anything great without a great co-founder and great team.

But these relationships are like marriages. They should not be entered lightly.

 

[csalvato]

You made it sound like not having a team or partner means you can't succeed

I did not say that.

 

[theag]

Wheres that Luffy meme when you need it

 

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[GuestUser113]

Wheres that Luffy meme when you need it

I got you covered, snake.

 

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[axiom]

I'd give it a try, because having a business partner you like could give you the motivation to keep going when things inevitably don't go as you planned.

On the other hand, figure out which is more important to you--keeping your friend or your business--as it very well could come down to that. Sit down with him and discuss the possibility of your partnership failing and your options in case that happens.

Personally, I am starting up a business alone, but would welcome the opportunity to work with friends that own their own complementary businesses--that way you are not in the same exact sphere, but you still work together in a mutually beneficial relationship.

 

[Avus]

I would test the waters with one business first.

 

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[Luffy]

It's nearly impossible to do anything great without a great co-founder and great team.

But these relationships are like marriages. They should not be entered lightly.

You won't be very self sufficient with that mindset, I don't share your opinion.

 

[mayana]

Partnerships CAN be beneficial under the absolute right circumstances. And it is true that sometimes they are even necessary.

So, two questions?

1. How is this partnership beneficial to your business? Like @Birdie said, what does he bring to the table? His strengths should cover your weaknesses. If he is similar to you (like a lot of friends tend to be), then you might just end up spinning your wheels together and not really accomplish your goals.

2. Is having this partnership NECESSARY? Sure, it sounds great to think of having a partner, but will you still feel the same when you are bringing in a few millions of dollars a year in profit and having to give this guy 20 - 50% of it? Will you regret having taken him on at the beginning because you didn't feel confident enough to do it yourself? I'm not saying that you will, or that you won't, but you have to ask yourself this question, and answer it HONESTLY.

If it sounds like I'm against this idea of a partnership, it is because I've had terrible experiences in the past and lost some friendships. For me to enter into another partnership in the future, it would NEVER be with a family member or close friend, and it would ONLY be if it looked something like this:

1. I'm 1000% invested in the idea and the plan. Like I mean so excited that I am having trouble sleeping at night because of it.
2. My partner was so excited that they are having trouble sleeping at night (read: just as invested emotionally in the business as me)
3. They brought something (like money - especially money - or a skill - like a proprietary idea or intellectual property - that I can't hire someone to do - it's usually better just to hire an employee or freelancer!!) to the deal that the business absolutely won't be successful without.

For me, if the partnership doesn't look like the above, I'm going at it alone.

If the partnership with your friend isn't how I described, you might be better off seeing what you can do on your own. You might have some good success, and you'll have a MUCH better idea of what you might need/want in a partner for your future ventures. Just my advice Good luck.

 

[MikeRaymond]

Personally I have done a project with both a friend, and, a family member.

Both which let me down to not being able to keep up with my high work rate. This caused massive upset in chemistry and greatly effected profits.

I was refusing for them to make a passive income from nothing.

 

[Journey2Million$]

One business is hard enough and you want to start 2 at the same time? Yeah you're 18 alright.

 

[Daniel A]

Thanks alot man, yeah I'm serious about it. I already asked an admin on a forum if he could teach me stuff who used xenforo, like mentor me on creating my own site. Yeah it's a niche group and I love the series One Piece, Luffy is my favorite character in all fiction, even counting real movies.

You're welcome and take full advantage of that opportunity! I can tell you're a mega fan, haha.

The thread is straying off of the original topic, but all the best to you man.

 

[AlterJoule]

I say have your friend start something and you start something. Give yourselves 60 days from the "Grand Opening" date to get sales. If you can both accomplish that on your own then talk after about partnering on something. However, I doubt you'll want a partner then... I doubt he'll want you either.

 

[Digamma]

Not really what i meant. I meant like having one thing to be able to live off and then, when established, building a flagship business

Then start and do something. And ditch the friend. If he's not really smart, he's just dead weight. If he's as smart as you say, he'll F*ck you over.

 

[Phillipbro]

Some of the things I learned:
1. Don't mix business with friends.
2. Have full control of your business, no one is going to put in as much effort as you will.
3. Focus on ONE thing, DOMINATE that ONE thing, rinse and repeat.

 

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[BigBrianC]

I am starting a consultant business. My plan is to productize and pass clients to employees (who are my friends, but they're not partners). Turn that into income with me doing very minimal work then use money generated from that to get into importing, and if i bring a friend there, (s)he will be an employee. Maybe establish you're the boss and he works for you if you're unsure. Also i recommend following my method, build a business, make it passive income, build something with higher margins, repeat

 

[Luffy]

I think it might be good if you're both motivated, personally I'm going solo and in the process of learning to create my own website.

 

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[Ses]

wish I had a friend who was as serious about business as I am.

I think he would be, because if he does things, he does them properly (for example, he was the best student

Start with one business.

Also, friends as partners usually suck. Sometimes they don't. But they usually do. Basically, your partner needs to be contributing either (a) labor or (b) capital. A 50/50 partner needs to be putting up as much labor as you do capital, or vice versa, or both. If the partnership falls out, typically the friendship goes with it. Think statistically here.

Somehow I doubt that, mate

I planned the ways i will go, not every situation that will occur on this way Solid advice

What does he really bring to the table?
Has he ever made a sale? Does he know about marketing, setting up a website, doing accounting? What are his SKILLS?
Would he be willing to put capital into the business? What percent of your profits will you share?
What will happen if he gets tired of the business and wants out? Will you keep working for him while he passively receives the money?

I would definitely bring him in once you have already made some sales. Like jazb said, focus on making sales, sales, sales.

Once you have a proven concept, you can bring in anyone who is willing to help with capital or putting sweat equity.

Do not bring him in just to have "someone to brainstorm" or to assure you of your choices. It seems like you look up to him and he would override your opinions since you think he is very "wise".

However, if he is willing to invest into it, then by all means bring him in. He should have a stake in your business- both if you fail or if you win, so that it doesn't feel unproportional, if you are doing all the work and he takes it as a hobby.

Good luck

Best response in this thread (i think). Thanks


Thanks for all the other responses!

 

[Luffy]

As my good friend once put it, "The fastest sinking ship, is a partnership."

LOL. That is a fun quote, but they definitely are not all bad.

Both people need to bring something unique to the table. Based on watching some people in my life that own a very successful business and are partners, you both need to work extremely hard, and be able to trust each other 100% without having to micromanage.

There is an admin on a certain forum who had a partner who sold the forum behind his back, banned him and changed the site. The one who sold it is also the one who created the site so he was a co-founder, the other guy is undergoing lawsuit after having spent around thousand dollars on the site, that quote is very true in alot of cases.

 

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[Luffy]

I thought you were trolling, but I guess it's a legit site. I almost didn't even check haha. Because of your forum name I'm assuming you were the guy who got screwed over, am I right?

Edit: The site seems to be down now.

No, it's not me I was simply a member but I know the guy who got screwed over. I was a member over there so I heard all members were banned too so I guess I'm out aswell, didn't check though. I didn't really care about that forum besides the beastly domain name. I want to actually buy the domain name or have something similar when I create my own forum. This is why I want to lea you can never rely on someone more than yourself. Besides, partnerships kinda break the commandent of control in CENTS.

 

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[csalvato]

This is why I want to learn stuff myself, you can never rely on someone more than yourself.

I personally understand that there is a ceiling to what I can accomplish on my own, as a sole-proprietor. My gut tells me that the size of a company a single man can own and operate is somewhere between $0 and probably around $1M.

Maybe there is an exceptional business person out there who can, all on their own, create a company that provides $5M of value to the world.

But to create a massive impact you will ultimately need not just one person to rely on...but a whole team.

IMHO the key isn't to find a way to do everything yourself, but to find a way to attract the right people to accomplish the tasks you need done.

 

[Luffy]

I personally understand that there is a ceiling to what I can accomplish on my own, as a sole-proprietor. My gut tells me that the size of a company a single man can own and operate is somewhere between $0 and probably around $1M.

Maybe there is an exceptional business person out there who can, all on their own, create a company that provides $5M of value to the world.

But to create a massive impact you will ultimately need not just one person to rely on...but a whole team.

IMHO the key isn't to find a way to do everything yourself, but to find a way to attract the right people to accomplish the tasks you need done.

(I fully expect you, @Luffy , to somehow twist this into some sort of attack/argument. I am posting this for the benefit of the discussion on how/when to choose the right partner.)

Read my first quote in my signature. I'm fully aware you can't do everything yourself but I'm also not a fan of asking for help or creating partnerships unless it's really necessary.

 

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[Daniel A]

No, it's not me I was simply a member but I know the guy who got screwed over. I was a member over there so I heard all members were banned too so I guess I'm out aswell, didn't check though. I didn't really care about that forum besides the beastly domain name. I want to actually buy the domain name or have something similar when I create my own forum. This is why I want to lea you can never rely on someone more than yourself. Besides, partnerships kinda break the commandent of control in CENTS.

That's an example how value is very subjective. I had no idea what "Luffy" was so I had to finally Google it. Now I know who your avatar is, haha. One of my cousins definitely knows all about that stuff.

That's also a pretty great way to capture a niche (group of people) -- through the domain alone. What about "ItsCaptainLuffy.com"? Just a quick thought.

Anyways, I thought of testing myself in starting a practice forum too. I read that https://www.phpbb.com/ is the most popular free and open-source forum software. Check it out if you're serious man. Maybe it's worth using something more advanced like Xenforo though.

 

[Luffy]

That's an example how value is very subjective. I had no idea what "Luffy" was so I had to finally Google it. Now I know who your avatar is, haha. One of my cousins definitely knows all about that stuff.

That's also a pretty great way to capture a niche (group of people) -- through the domain alone. What about "ItsCaptainLuffy.com"? Just a quick thought.

Anyways, I thought of testing myself in starting a practice forum too. I read that https://www.phpbb.com/ is the most popular free and open-source forum software. Check it out if you're serious man. Maybe it's worth using something more advanced like Xenforo though.

Thanks alot man, yeah I'm serious about it. I already asked an admin on a forum if he could teach me stuff who used xenforo, like mentor me on creating my own site. Yeah it's a niche group and I love the series One Piece, Luffy is my favorite character in all fiction, even counting real movies.