This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hello, hello, what's up? This is Chris Guillebeau. In today's episode, this question comes up a lot. Should I start a hustle with my best friend? It's like, you know, we get along great.
Should we go into business together? As I said, it's a common question from listeners, but there is a clear way to answer it. The answer is not always yes or no. I would say it's more often no than yes, but there is a two-part test you can take to know whether partnership or going solo is your best option. And when I say test, it's actually a very simple test.
It's just something you can ask yourself and potentially your best friend or somebody else who's interested in having a partnership. Then you'll be able to see what's best for you. So, should I start a hustle with my best friend? [Music]
Hey, Chris, this is Tracy from Tucson and I've been listening since the beginning. Thanks for all the inspiration and puns.
Here's my question for you. Should I start a hustle with my best friend? I've heard some of the stories you've shared where people end up having big falling outs with their business partners. I don't think that would happen to us, but are there specific ways that we can help to prevent that? Keep up the great work and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this.
[Music]
Thank you so much, Tracy. It's so great to know you're out there from the beginning. I always respect listeners who've been along for 1200 episodes and counting. But of course, if you have just recently discovered the podcast, that is cool too. It's a community.
We've got people all over the world interested in creating extra income, building something for their future, pursuing a creative project, all kinds of good reasons. So, let's talk about this question. Should I start a hustle with my best friend or should Tracy? So, here's the thing. When she says, I don't think anything bad will happen.
I don't think we'll have a falling out, et cetera. Let's assume that's true in her case. But more generally speaking, it's like no one thinks it will happen to them. It's like divorce or any breakup or anything that goes really wrong. If you expect it, then maybe you could prevent it.
Often these are unexpected things that happen. And what does tend to occur is that over time, like here's the negative and I'll talk about the positive as well. But the negative is that often the partners in a partnership end up with different levels of motivation and interest or different levels of commitment. So, one person ends up kind of carrying the flag, which of course can then lead to resentments or at least misalignment. And it can become a strain on the relationship.
So, my first question is always like, why are you doing this? If the point is to do something fun with your friend, maybe do something else, right? It's not like that person is disconnected from the rest of your life. Like you can always ask your friend for help and advice, just like you would always help them. It just doesn't mean you need to necessarily run a business together.
Now, the time to join forces, 'cause let's talk about that too. The time to join forces is when your vision is truly aligned. Like you and your friend really want the same thing. You are equally as committed. You both share the same vision and are willing to put in the same amount of work or at least a comparable amount of work.
If you can answer yes to that question and you each have unique strengths that compliment each other, that's when you might wanna proceed, okay? Like if you're really good at something that your friend isn't and then vice versa, then that can be an ideal partnership. And so even then, I think Tracy asked about, what are some ways I can prevent mishap? Even then, take the time to address upfront who's going to do what, how any responsibilities will be divided. If the partnership isn't 50/50 in terms of both profit and investment, what will it be?
Like if it's something else, let's just decide this now so that we're not talking about it further down the road. And then last but not least, this is always a boring recommendation, but it's important. Get it in writing. And this is not because you don't trust each other, it's because you do and you want to maintain a good relationship. So you want to do everything you can to protect that relationship as you begin a project which may end up being amazing, mutually satisfying, et cetera.
But of course you want to protect yourself and you want to protect that relationship too. So that's why I think all things being equal, your default option should be to do it on your own. And you only look at the partnership when these characteristics are met in terms of same or similar level of interest and investment. And then also perhaps that ability to compliment one another or compensate for each other's weaknesses so that the partnership truly is more than just one plus one or three people or whatever it turns out to be. The point is that that combination, that partnership is more powerful than just the individual efforts combined.
So that's what I think about that. And again, thank you, Tracy. And listeners, if you've got a question of your own, it's been so fun to feature these. We've got a lot more coming up, but I want to invite you as well. Come to sidehustleschool.com/questions.
We're going to feature them throughout the year. Here we are in April already, but much more is coming up along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. Thanks so much. You are a rock star. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
