Do Not Fall into These Logo Design Traps
Who can say no to start a business with friend? She or he is you BFF, after all. You two know each other closely, so surely things will go easy for the both of you. But don’t get your hopes up yet. Starting a business is not that easy, what more if you have to share everything including decisions with someone else. One wrong move and it’s not only the business that will suffer but the friendship as well.
The common mistake people often commit when entering a friendship/business partnership is that expecting that the business relationship will be similar to the personal relationship they have. Because they are familiar with each other, they just carry on with whatever relationship they have only to find out later on that they have different views on things and they don’t often agree on decisions.
To avoid complex problems down the road, it’s vital to discuss things over before the start of the business. Both of you should sit down and discuss how the set-up of your business will be—who will handle the marketing aspect, who have a say on the employees to hire, and who manages the finances. Understand that even a simple problem like wrong placement of logo on the custom stickers can aggravate into a bigger problem. It’s best to take steps to prevent this kind of problems before they take root.
Here are key steps to take to keep the business and the friendship intact:
1. Use the friendship to your advantage. If you two have known each other for a long time, you probably know each other’s strengths and personalities. Use your knowledge about each other to your advantage. For instance, if one of you is better in finances, delegate the financial aspect of the business to him or her. But that requires knowledge of the other partner as well since its money matters. If you think you are better in the marketing aspect, ask your friend to let you hand the stationery, website, business cards, color stickers, and all other marketing aspects of the business. Delegating tasks will help the partners know what areas they should focus on instead of trying to be on all things at all times.
2. Separate business from pleasure. Yes, you are the best of friends, but when it comes to business you have to learn how to separate personal from professional affairs. You have to understand that in the context of business you two are partners. The same idea of partnership abides. You are at the advantage since you already know the person you are talking to so the division of labor will be done easily. Don’t forget to document everything just so you are clear on the ownership issues.
3. Separate personal from business assets. Don’t make it complicated for you. Avoid these two assets from getting together otherwise that’s when the headaches will start.
4. Don’t close the relationship to others. Just because you are BFFs and partners don’t mean that you have to drive people out. Let them in especially if you have employees in the company. Make them feel welcome so you can interact and connect with them easily.
At the end of the day, you two are still friends. So don’t forget to give the same respect you have given to your partner when you were friends. There will be rough roads along the way. Make your friendship your foundation and you’ll surely get through everything easily.
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