Building a valuable financial framework with your friends. Undertaking with friends can be rewarding, but to keep both business and friendship safe, it is necessary to make property agreements, decisions and plans for the future from the beginning. It is common for many ventures to be made between friends. However, both seek a change but it is difficult for them to make the decision to abandon “the stability” that their current jobs offer them. However, they share a strong motivation: to set in motion the fruits of their savings and launch themselves into the business world.

Sharing time, ideas, projects and challenges with trusted people can be entertaining and motivating. They want to obtain a certain profitability, without taking a high financial risk, with a moderate initial investment and that would give them the possibility that, if the business did not work in the short term, they could lower the blinds without major complications.  But to keep both friendship and business safe, there are points that should be taken into account:

• Do not rely exclusively on self-regulation for day to day. Although among friends you can make many decisions and distribute tasks by mutual adjustment, that is, without resorting to fixed rules, this does not always work. A company is not a video game, a project for the faculty or a football game. Establishing work guidelines and distributing areas of responsibility improves efficiency, reduces the level of conflicts and prepares the company to grow.
• Adjust reality and legal framework. In confidence, aspects related to business ownership, equipment, brands, domains or other assets that can be key if the project prospers can remain informal. Sometimes the activity is formalized in a different way than agreed between partners (for example, a single member who signs up to be able to invoice, or a person who puts the money while others must make their contributions in work). Keeping reality as close as possible to formality helps to avoid surprises in the face of disagreements.
• Establish criteria to address conflicting decisions. Surely, at some point in the history of the business will have to make decisions about how to borrow, sell, close, add capital or change course. What happens if they do not agree? Will it be decided by voting according to the share percentage or should there be unanimity? Who do they want to appeal to in case of differences? How can society be dissolved if necessary?
• Regularly review the plan and vision of each partner. Perhaps the vision that starts the venture is shared, but over time personal situations may vary. Setting annual planning meetings and reviewing the course helps to talk about substantive issues and adjust visions.
• Leave spaces for friendship, free of work. When everything is work, friendship can be eroded until it disappears. You have to make an effort to find spaces where you can have other non-labor conversations, such as those before you start working together.

And if you’re still not convinced that you need to think ahead of time about business and friendship, look (or look again) at the movie Social Network!