Starting a business with a friend can be a good way to begin, but there are several other variables that can destroy a business relationship. You need to have substantial reasons to decide how far you can trust your friend, to know if they have great skills to support your company, and a variety of other key factors.

By taking extra care before making a decision to start a business with a friend or close associate, you can be sure of a less bumpy ride on your business journey together.

However, before you begin, take your time to resolve the following questions;

How much confidence do you have in your partner?

Do they have the skills that you don’t have?

How emotionally smart is he/she?

Do some final checks and assessment

First evaluate if you can work together before defining the nature of your partnership. Start a business without registering an entity or agreeing to be partners. This will encourage you to balance the collaboration and make it easier for any Member to pull out (if they want to) before the business gets more formal.

In the course of the test-run, you can discover your partner’s sides that you weren’t used to, and also figure out a way to deal with their gimmicks. Particularly if your partner is very emotional, has uncomfortable attitudes towards a sharing formula, or has trouble recognizing the positions you have assigned, you will understand that it is best to end the business relationship before your personal relationship takes the fall.

After you have resolved the above questions, then you can move to the trickier part: weighing the pros against the cons.

Here are some of the pros

1. You can trust them fully

2. You have built a bond

3. You share thesame ideals

The cons

1. The question of who is the real boss

2. Too much familiarity is bad for business

3. A break-up can put an end to your business relationship

Should you ever go into a business with a friend, here are a few things you should set straight right from the onset