Friendship And Business Don't Mix!?!

Friendship and business don’t go together. For some people this is actually true. Trusting a friend is fine but there are friends who abuse the friendship. That’s where the problem begins. My aunt had a friend who also became a customer. This friend bought some livestock from her for a 30-day term. But this friend of hers did not pay on time. She asked for an extension. Then when the extension was up this friend did not even bother to answer her calls at first. One day, my aunt got fed up. When she finally got a hold of her friend, she told her that she would sue her if she did not pay her. Her friend asked for a last extension. And this time this customer paid up. But because of this, their friendship of more than two decades was ruined.

The friendship and business arrangement could also work though. I have read stories about friends who became successful in their joint venture. One thing I have noted is that in their businesses, no matter how small or how grand in scale it was, they formalized their agreements and put them into writing. This is quite important so that both partners will know what exactly it is that is expected of them and so that there is something that they can always go back to whenever there is a disagreement.

The other thing lies on the persons entering into partnership. If each is a man of his word, then he will always honor what they have agreed upon. If each is responsible, then he will not hear complaints from his partner that he is not doing his part. Both partners will each his part and work in harmony.

Of course, it is but imperative that personalities of both partners don’t clash. Before becoming partners each one of them should check if their personalities and their business styles are well suited to each other. They have to know if they can work smoothly together. They don’t have to be the same; they just have to be a good match.