There is something I have learned in my fledgling career of entrepreneurship and that is: Just because you and another person are friends, it does not mean you will be good business partners. A business partnership is like a marriage and unless you and your partner are both willing to sacrifice and compromise it will never work. On the other hand, it is possible for friends to become successful long-run business partners, but it is one of those rare occurrences. What I suggest and what I have decided to start doing is to create my own enterprise and partner up on individual projects, that way everyone gets their fair share in the end and there are no nasty break-ups that can be detrimental to a general partnership.
When I was 21 or 22 I started my first business/partnership with a friend. We had some success in the beginning and we learned a lot but as time went on it got harder and harder to compromise. I don’t know what it is about partnerships so often going south and I was even warned that they rarely work out but maybe it’s the security that one might get from knowing they aren’t in it by themselves. That same security you get can be the very thing that hinders you, whereas being a sole proprietor you may have it tougher being in it all alone….but that insecure feeling, rather getting past that insecure feeling and facing it on your own may be the very thing that helps you and your business flourish.
