Hi! I have a friend who is very close to me. As his company is very new so he wants to co-operate with my company. He wants me to help him in administration the company and help to develope his company. But the problem here is that we are in the same industry (Tourism) and both of us want to build our own brand name. Should I help him? if so, what should I do? and what should I be careful in this case? I want to thank you very much in advance for your kind advice! Albert
It is difficult to be friends and to be competing in the same business especially you helping him. I would suggest, either keep him as a friend or a business partner not both.
Yes, I have seen a lot of cooperation between friends turn bad and they became enemies instead. No point rather remain friends.
its vietnam tourism right (from your sig link). i guess this wont be a problem as their is loads of opportunities in the field you are competing. so many players. so helping a friend and getting helped in return you can easily compete with big players in the industry thats my idea, but im not experienced in it
Quoting this for truth, I have tried conducting business to make money with friends and ended up losing them, certain things were not meant to mix. Not saying you cannot make it work but ask yourself if it is worth it.
This is exactly what I was thinking when I decided to help him but now I am afraid that I will loose my friend if our business partnership is not sucessful. It is really difficult for me.
You can help him but you also have to consider your own business too. It's hard to balance business and friendship. Other people value business so much that it is easier for them to give up the friendship. It's also hard to set the boundary between what is ok to tell him and what would be the limits.
You may want to consider merging your companies if that is an option. I've found that having good business partners makes the business more successful as a whole, rather than trying to do it all on my own. Sure, you split the profits, but the idea is that with a few key partners who are good at what they do, the company should realize some economies of scale and make more money. Thus, your income should actually rise in the long term if you do it right and pick partners because they are good at what they do and can benefit the business. Never pick a partner just because they are a friend though, you must be able to honestly answer how they will contribute to your business.