Fast Talk

Smart! As long as a real friend you can trust and not a mere acquaintance.

Smart, so long as one can maintain a balance between a working relationship and a friendship.

Just hire a lawyer to draw up a contract outlining your respective responsibilities and exit strategies, no matter how close you are with your business partners.

It's a great idea to go into business with friends. You already understand one another and how things will work. The issue though can be knowing one another too well. It's harder to get friends to buckle down and do the work, because of the friendly relationship you work. But even when not working with friends, I like to make my colleagues and employees friends because it helps foster a more communicative atmosphere. I believe that would be the overall benefit to starting a business with friends, but it could also be the downfall. At times, you might find yourself afraid to tell friends the truth because you don't want to hurt their feelings.

all depends on if I want them as friends still

There are some issues that can not be ignored when / while going into business with friends. Those issues are the ones that draw the line between success and failure. To name a few: True friendship means trust and trust in business can be a foundation for the platform of loyalty, team work, brain storming that leads to good plans with effective strategies, .. etc. Business partnership means a contractual commitment that all parties involved must honor as well as it is the final platform for working together and each party is committed to his / her duties towards a common mission and objectives. Also, this contractual relationship can be the foundation for legal separation in the future based on disputes and problems / disagreements. When friends are partners means stronger ties between / among board members with no barriers to communicate. My final say on this topic that a team with proper and ethical as well as professional ties are in a great position to build a great business / enterprise. On the contrary is true. Mahmoud Sabbah

Smart! An existing relationship can smooth out some of the rough spots in getting a business off the ground. If you already respect each other, trust each other, and enjoy each other's company, you're more likely to work well together.

I vote smart.

Risky - Doing Business requires getting your game on, not letting your hair down. Professional relationships are valued for the ability to to achieve specific goals. They demand deep dependence, reliablity and sacrifices seldom doled out in equal measure. When goals aren't met the business desolves. Friends are for hanging back, doing life, enjoying each others presence, and being there even when the chips are down.

We used to say: don't go into business with friends 'cuz either you won't be in business or you won't be friends. Seriously, a lot of my thinking on people/friends/business/creativity is drawn from my years playing in rock bands. Personally, I need to be brutally honest in my work environment (hence my freelance status) and many relationships can't tolerate that kind of energy. All of that said, I know people who have made it work and can only marvel. Better people than I, I suppose.

Perhaps this can work if the friendship arose out of a prior working relationship. My own experience is that when such is the case, there is easier alignment on values, philosophy and roles. However, when friends have been partners without the benefit of working closely together in a unit or project, there can be great friction as work volume increases and differences in values becomes more apparent. While a good, mutually written operating agreement and pre-established mission, vision, values, roles certainly help, there is often quick buy in to these without really understanding if there are differences and how those differences will play out over time.

Just like everything else: The right friend, glorious; the wrong one, disaster. Too many entrepreneurs bring along a friend just because they're lonely or scared. Understandable, but remember you can use the friend for a sounding-board or a shoulder to weep on without making him/her a partner. And Gloria Sin implied a vital point (above): The most crucial part of any contract--and often the only part you'll ever need--is the divorce clause. Make sure you have a "pre-nup"!

Depends on 1) friends (people are different); 2) business (businesses are different). Example 1: your friend might know more in the field of proposed business, so you need him. Example 2: your business is a next step for both yours and your friend's hobby, so you go together. Example 3: you simply feel that your friend should not be involved not to spoil the business or friendship... Anyway - decide yourself ;-) ready to help if more details provided.

From my perspective: bad idea - unless of course you have your communications skills honed like a boning knife! Issues that would be addressed between business partners may be left on the sidelines with friends - by reason of the nature of the relationship preservation resources would be used first on the friendship and secondly on the business by one of both of the parties at the table. It's been my observed experience that it's not the walk in the park that it would seem it should be.

Stupid - there can only be one CEO, and trust me that this will rear its ugly head down the road. Remember: Startups take capital, and capital equals equity; the rest is just conversation. Get a good attorney, ensure everything is explicit and in writing, and tread lightly my friend . . .

Smart but again it depends on the person. I am going into business with a friend that I met at a previous job. In addition to getting along very well on a personal side, we also worked very well together. We actually very much balanced each other and were able to help each other in our specific roles. I suspect that this type of collaboration will help us in our business endeavor.

IMO the only reason for any partnership is that you are getting money or brains. I think that a pre-nup, will at least make the relationship last longer, because there are less "unknowns" with how things will be handled during the good or the bad. I vote, never with family under any circumstances.

I've successfully done joint business deals with friends and made A LOT OF MONEY together. From the onset, it was clear the workload / duties each would have and how communications and deadlines would be handled. Big deal! That was just MY EXPERIENCE. Going into buiness together as friends will definitely result in one of two things - better friends or bitter enemies. I've seen both happen to people. So what do you do? Financial arrangements need to be laid out in some sort of contract. An exit clause needs to be added so either person can leave the business. This might be through selling their share of the company or some other financial deal so the other doesn't get stuck with a lot of debt and or no assets. You get the idea. Next go with a business plan. There are a ton of books on creating business plans. Look for books with the best reviews from readers. If you are considering a risking business with a friend then I would say NO. This will lead to problems if it fails. Nothing ends a friendship like debt or huge financial loses. If you have a friend with a good business sense who is willing to establish contractual obligations, then by all means, go for it. If there is any opposition, then forgot it!

I would only do it if I created a State of Grace Document with all those involved. To see what that is go to Fast Company article: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/84/open_cof.html or to www.stateofgracedocument.com I've gone into business with and without them and it's night and day easier with them.

An SBA official told me that the biggest two issues with friends and/or partners is 'work and money' i.e. who is doing the work and who gets the money. He also recommended a great book, available from Amazon, entitled "Surviving and Prospering in a Business Partnership" by Jay Jacobsen. Personally I think a wise choice of partners can take a lot of risk out of starting a business versus going it alone.

You have to ask yourself 2 questions: 1. Do the friends all bring something unique to the equation to result in a synergistic combination? 2. How would you feel if you lost this person as a friend? Can the friendship sustain the unforeseen pressures that being a business owner creates?

Bad idea unless: 1- Your friend has the same level of knowledge in the business as you. 2- Your friend and you both have the same intentions to run and grow the business. I learned the hard way, my "friend" new nothing about my business, i had to teach him the learning curve while we brought in the same income. Well, the business didnt last after growth on my part because he felt as though it wasnt for him. $200k later he wanted out and wanted his return, same idea as marriage, ITS LIKE DIVORCE!!