I wish I had heeded my own advice. I was always warning others to stay away from doing business with friends, that friendships often turn sour when friends do business together and eventually you will lose money and the friend you partnered with.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to me.
Partnered a friend for business, end up friendship also gone
It all started a few years ago when a close friend of mine approached me about an idea for a business. He wanted to combine our resources and knowledge to create something that would benefit us both.
With no prior business experience, I was hesitant at first but my friend who had done a business before said that he could guide me.
I saw it as an opportunity to learn and grow. I was excited and decided to go ahead with the venture.
Little did I know that getting into business with a friend can be a recipe for disaster. We started off well, but soon enough, our differences in opinion began to create tension and divide us.
We were both ambitious and eager to make a success of our venture, but our differing approaches to how to do this started to cause arguments.
The disagreements soon turned into full-blown arguments and I soon realised it was time to back out. I decided to withdraw from the business and asked my friend to buy my share of the company.
He refused and demanded I pay him for his share of the company. In the end, I had to take out a loan to pay my friend for his share.
I had lost a lot of money and my friendship with my friend was over. We had been friends for years and to see it end because of a business venture was heartbreaking. I had learned the hard way and paid a heavy price.
It’s been a few years since then and I still look back and regret my decision to go into business with a friend.
It’s a lesson I will never forget, and I will continue to warn others to stay away from doing business with friends. It’s just not worth the risk.